So with Kirsty safely out of the way in New Foundland for the weekend I was able to enjoy my freedom and snooze my alarm as many times as I wanted without anyone nagging me to get up...felt like the first days at uni again! I joke, it was actually really strange to not have my exploring partner around and to not have to consult anyone else over what to do, where and when to eat etc. I definitely couldn`t have done the whole trip on my own! But having said that, I had a great few days, seeing more of Toronto and then stopping off for a couple of days in Ottawa before heading to Montreal.
I somehow managed to get two private guided tours in one day in Toronto, a day that was so hot I think everyone else had decided to stay indoors in an air conditioned room... The first one was a tour of the provincial parliament building, which I fancied going to see after our excellent tour of the one in Victoria. This one did not disappoint either! The lovely tour guide was very friendly and informative and I was able to ask as many questions as I wanted as it was just me, which was great! I learnt a fair bit and feel I now have a better understanding of Canadian politics than I do of the British system, slightly shameful. Although as the guy kept pointing out, the two systems are virtually identical so in theory I should have learnt a lot about the UK too! I didn`t realise before that the provincial governments in Canada are all responsible for things like health care, education, drinking laws and driving, which can lead to significant differences across the country. For example in Alberta you can obtain a Learner`s Permit and start driving from the age of 14 (!) as long as there is someone over 18 and with a licence in the vehicle. This seems ridiculously young but is apparently due to the fact that there are a lot of farms in this province and allows children to drive farm vehicles whilst helping out their parents. One bit of the tour I particularly enjoyed was a room with a display of photos of the Queen on her various visits to Toronto over the last 20 years or so! I was even given a diamond jubilee flag to take away as a souvenir!
The second tour I did was a walking tour around the downtown area, where I got to see lots of different buildings and enjoyed learning a bit of history. It was cool to see old buildings hidden amongst all the malls and modern complexes, places which might otherwise remain unnoticed if not pointed out. I`m afraid I can`t actually remember any useless facts to bore you with here!
On my last night in Toronto I enjoyed a free outdoor concert as part of the opening night of the jazz festival and then went out for dinner in Little Italy with our lovely hosts Elise and Kat. There were lots of places they were surprised I hadn`t been to in Toronto so I`ll just have to go back sometime to do everything else!
I decided I couldn`t pass through the capital on my way to Montreal and not stop there so I took a Greyhound (that`s a coach for those of you who don`t know, I didn`t ride there by dog) and spent a couple of days in Ottawa (or Oddawa as I started to say when I felt too British and self concious). You may think we`ve stayed with some random contacts so far on the trip but I think this one really tops the lot... I was very kindly put up by Julie, the sister of a friend of Kat`s, remember the friend of a friend of Kirsty`s we stayed with in Toronto...making her the sister of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend! The travelling world is great and Canadians really are so friendly! Not only was I given a bed for two nights, but I was also entertained so I felt very well looked after! On my first afternoon we had lunch accompanied by sangria sitting outside a pub in the sun, then I was given a mini tour of the city by Melissa, one of Julie`s friends, including the parliament, Parliament Hill and the market area. In the evening I enjoyed hanging out with Julie`s flatmate Peter and his friends, and experiencing something of Ottawa`s nightlife.
During my visit I also went to the beach (on a lake of course!) and did yet another parliamentary tour! This time the federal parliament so it was slightly different, I had to put my bag through an x-ray machine before entering for one thing! Being a bit of a parliamentary tour snob now I have to say this was one was slightly less informative and the group was rather too large...but still interesting! There are lots of allusions to France and the UK throughout the building, in reference to Canada`s past. I think my favourite part was the library which is a beautiful round building, with beautiful wooden carvings, tiered bookshelves and spiral staircases. It was the only part of the central parliament building that survived a huge fire in 1916, thanks to someone thinking to close the heavy metal does before he left! I also went up the Peace Tower, a bell and clock tower which houses a memorial chamber in commemoration of all the Canadians who have died in battle, and enjoyed the views over the city and across the river to Québec from the top.
I had a very enjoyable stay in Ottawa and am glad I made the stop. Most of the people I met there seemed to be there because of university or government related work, so yet again it was an odd capital city to visit, without as much life as other places I`ve visited. I`m still trying to get to the bottom of why and how it became capital, so if anyone has any information to offer, please let me know!!
No comments:
Post a Comment