Tripping, Tripping, Tripping...

Tuesday 31st January

If there is such thing as a ‘bucket list’ today, I think today would be it! While we didn’t really have plans today, beyond a tour of the Capitol and a little bit of a wander around the city, we ended up hitting probably a dozen things that I’ve always wanted to do. So many iconic sites in such a short period of time made for one of the most tiring days of my life, because it literally meant continuous walking from 9.30am to 7.45pm. We sat down for 20 minutes for lunch, but apart from that it was go go go! 

Our day was, in list form: 

• A walk past the library of Congress (which we are staying next to, and can see out our hotel window)
• Tour of the Capitol Building
• Sitting in on both Congress and the Senate
• Definitely not falling asleep during Congress and dropping a stack of papers onto the person sitting in front of me (COME ON. This guy from Texas had been talking about gas and God for way too long.)
• Smithsonian Sculpture Garden
• Washington Monument
• Many boring money things, fancy banks and things? I don’t even know.
• Ford’s Theatre, the location where Lincoln was shot, and Peterson House, where he died some hours later. I have seen the gun that killed Lincoln, the clothes he was wearing that day and his bloodstains on a pillow. HISTORY YEEEEEEEAH!
• The White House
• Many, many squirrels
• Lincoln Memorial at Sunset, sitting on the marble floor and staring up at the statue. Very Ferris Bueller.
• Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
• Jefferson Memorial across the water
• Watergate Hotel

 And I’m not even sure that was it. There were just so many amazing buildings packed into one day. Everywhere you looked on the mall there was another marble building, another monument or another guy that we were absolutely certain was a spy (Come on, wearing a black trench coat and hat? SPY!). This was all aided by the fact that it was a clear blue-sky day, a ‘jackets off’ event that excited everyone.

There’s nothing else I could say to really highlight how back-to-back incredible yesterday was, so I’ll leave it at that. Except to say that I have never seen my family as happy as they were when dad found us a big cab to take us back to the hotel.

Monday January 30th

We left the house in the mid-afternoon, after jamming the car to capacity with our huge suitcases and six people. Goodbye, rented Dodge. I will miss you and your nooks and crannies my phone somehow managed to keep slipping into, and the two middle seats that transformed into these elaborate cubes whenever you slid them forward to get out of the back. We went through all the US customs and security before the flight (which felt really, really wrong), and I was somewhat flattered by the fact that because this is my third time into the US (even though the second was just for the transfer to Canada), they only scanned half of my finger prints. Yay, they trust me!

I curled up at the gate to read Bill Bryson’s Mother Tongue (again from the start because it has been almost a year since I started to read it), but swapped to my Louis Theroux while on the plane. I felt it was more appropriate to be reading about the weird and wonderful nature of American sub-cultures when flying towards their country, rather than the writings of a bearded Englishman.

We were picked up from the airport by a shuttle and drove directly through the centre of Washington in the early evening. Even with a huge thick “FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS” sign blocking my view, everything here (in this neighbourhood anyway) is just beautiful. We are a two minute walk from the Capitol and Library of Congress, and about thirty seconds from Pennsylvania Avenue- the street that the White House is on. Despite the fact that some of the stores on the street looked quite interesting, (including one which seemed to sell wigs, pierce ears, rent computers and also have a fax machine) most of the buildings are huge, ancient, and stunning. We walked to the restaurants here for dinner, and discovered the burger joint we picked had been visited by Obama last year.

Washington sure feels like my sort of city.

Sunday 29th January

Today was one of those days that was amazing, not because of the things that we did or saw, but just because we were in Canada. I mean, the things we did today could mostly have been done elsewhere, but everything was made much more magical for the location.

After a drive of more than two hours, we arrived at the Toronto Zoo. Although they had many animals that we have already seen in Zoo’s in Australia, they also had a lovely range of animals more suited to a colder climate, so we took every opportunity to see as much of these as possible. We started off with the ‘Tundra Walk’ because, as ridiculous as it sounds, the animals that live on the Tundra’s were quite content on this very chilly winters day! While I’m sure the polar bears on the Gold Coast etc are well cared for, it’s pretty clear that they were built for and loving this exact weather. We stayed for quite a long time, watching them swimming lazily through the water and snapping up small fish hidden between the rocks. From here we saw wolves, who were howling together with their faces turned to the sky, little arctic foxes curled up like hats, snowy owls who rotated their heads to glare at us, reindeers, furry horses, otters all asleep in a comfy looking pile and lots more of fuzzy and scaly friends. My absolute favourite was the fluffy beaver, who swam right up against the glass, before snatching up an apple and going into his den to chomp it down.

After a day of lots of walking in slippery weather in less-that-supportive-uggs, my ankles gave up and cried out ‘no more’. The family was walking along this route that was long, and up a very steep hill to see the moose, and I knew I wouldn’t make it without whinging non-stop, so instead I decided to take a little break, and sit down under a small pergola to read some and allow my ankles to have a rest. While this sounds a bit lonely and sad, it was actually so lovely and relaxing. Sitting under cover, with Canadian geese flying overhead, I became the subject in my own personal snow globe. Although it had been cold all day, the snow now came hard and fast- great big flakes that soon got caught up in my hair and wet the pages of my book.

I moved where I was sitting, to avoid the wet, and noted that I had left a little dry spot where I had been sitting for just a few minutes. When the others returned, we walked back downhill to the car park through a wooded area that in the space of 30 minutes had been transformed to a Narnia wonderland, so much so that we kept expecting to see fawns peeping out from behind each of the trees. The whole park was carpeted in a lush layer of white, and once we’d reached the bottom of the hill, our footsteps from the top had already been covered over.

To cap of this very Canadian day, we went for a drive through downtown Toronto. Alisha got her tour guide on, and we drove through a range of places- the hospital district (odd sounding, but kind of beautiful?), China Town (including my favourite store “Amigo Convenience Gift Variety”), past the Opera, through the University. It was nice to get such a knowledgeable tour of such a beautiful city.

Exhausted and cold to the bone, we returned home to a farewell dinner and our warm beds, never before so keen for a glass of white wine and a steaming hot cup of tea.

Saturday 28th January

Today I learnt that: a) Setting my sister and I loose in an inexpensive clothing store can in fact be very expensive indeed; b) An extended Italian family can be overwhelming with their friendliness; and c) Walmart is simultaneously the best and worst place on earth. 

Part a) Forever 21 is just about the best store on earth. Lots of cheap coats, lots of pretty dresses, lots of very inexpensive jewellery. Woot. But when you had both mine and Sarah’s purchases together, you get quite a load… almost $400 between us. But for that I bought two dresses, a skirt, a pocket scarf, a pair of shoes, a coat and a new bag for uni next year… making me a very happy chappy indeed.

Part b) Today we met only a very small handful of Alisha’s extended family, and they fulfilled every expectation we ever had. We had Nonna Isa and Nonno Giuseppe, who both spoke very limited English. Well, Nonna Isa could say “Your family is so beautiful” and many variations upon that, which she repeatedly told my mother. Nonno Giuseppe spoke no English whatsoever and just sat drumming his fingers on the table through all of the (mostly) English conversation. There was also Nonna Tina who spoke lovely English with an adorable Italian accent, who when saying goodbye to me, said that she hoped that “every wish and dream in my heart comes true”. There were also some aunts and cousins and Anna’s sister Lucy (who somehow managed to make cappuccinos without a cappuccino maker?), all of whom were super friendly. We began our meal with “buon appetito” and whiled away a few pleasant hours drinking Italian wines and stuffing ourselves with pasta and fish and ice cream and conversation. We exchanged 50-cent coins with a cousin, with the promise that they would be returned when we meet again in the near future. 

Part c) This was Sarah’s last day overseas, so we all dropped her off at the airport and then, with barely concealed excitement, drove straight to Walmart. Oh, the magic and glory and bags of chips for 30 cents concealed behind those glorious blue and white walls. It feels incredibly wrong though, having the same store selling toiletries, groceries, clothes, shoes, luggage, exercise equipment and flat screened tvs. However, I was able to purchase a belt that fits me nicely, to prevent the continuous hoik-ing up of my jeans, some new shampoo and after wash treatment, a pair of brown flats (FINALLY!!), two pairs of little wool gloves (children’s size) for 89 cents each and some swimmers. I forgot to pack mine, and since we have pools at both Florida and Phoenix, and I’d already missed out on swimming in Ottawa, I was keen not to miss out again. After the debacle of finding the right size, what with everything being four sizes bigger, and then things being on totally wrong hangers, and then the size that fitted me being way too short in the body, I finally found a cute black one-piece with a little bit of a fifties vibe to it, and a little black skirt as well, as an alternative to boardies.

In conclusion, it appears that all I need to be happy is: a) Lovely new dresses, cheap coats, fancy shoes; b) Home cooked pasta, Italian accents, friendly conversation; and c) Cheap clothes, cheap accessories, fifties inspired swimwear. 

I am very okay with this.

Friday 27th January

Today, while supposed to be one of our ‘quiet’ days, turned out to be quite the opposite! I think I like the sort of holiday when a quiet day includes seeing one of the Wonders of the World.

This morning, after another gorgeous home cooked breakfast by Roberto, we made the two hour drive south to the Niagara Falls. I once again fell asleep, keeping my record of falling asleep in the car each and every day so far! This time however, I managed to do it whilst keeping hold of my book, so it just looked I was just concentrating really hard. Oh yeah, I got the skills.

While it was miserable weather, half raining half snowing (I have never before wished that the temperature would drop, so it would snow rather than rain!), the falls were still absolutely stunning. Little bit of an amazing moment, seeing something that is so famous and so well known, right in front of my eyes. Thousands and thousands of litres of water rushing past every second, swirling insanely at the top and then crashing 50m below into a churning mess… which a large group of ducks decided looked lovely to float upon. It was truly beautiful though, water with such force behind it that it projects out more than a foot after the rock ends before it begins to fall, water that falls in such quantities that it sounds like helicopters circling overhead. Maybe they would have been nicer to see on a day with less rain, but regardless I don’t think I’ll forget that first moment of just… ‘wow.’

The rest of the day was cheesy tourism at it’s best. We went to the Rainforest Café for lunch and ate fried chicken amongst the gorillas and butterflies, and tonight we went to Medieval Times! A themed restaurant set in, duh, medieval times, it was sword fighting, horse training and falcon flying fun! Oh, it’s the daggiest form of entertainment possible, but as Alisha said, where else do I get to boo and hiss an evil knight? Complete with a feast eaten with your hands and a golden cup, this one was definitely a favourite with the whole family.

Today was definite proof, though, that you can’t escape Australians anywhere! We were in an English medieval themed restaurant in Canada, … and were served by an Australian. We were confused for a little while and just through he had a very odd accent… until it clicked and we realised that we must all sound like that! I enjoy the sort of solidarity you find with others overseas though, and while in this case he just may have fancied Alisha (and by maybe I mean DEFINITELY, there was winking and the provision of extra potatoes involved), he seemed so keen and excited to talk to people about what we did on Australia day, and where we were from, and how crap Canberra was, ha. Coupled with the fact that a jungled-up version of a Gabriella Cilmi song was playing in the Rainforest Café, today has shown me that no matter where I go in the world, I’ll always find something that makes me feel close to home.

Friday 26th January

Today was just one of those days where everything worked out exactly as it should. Apart from the fact that I slept blissfully through my alarm and had to get ready in six minutes, nothing could be better timed. We went to Cora’s for breakfast, a restaurant that we had tried to find the previous morning, and it was as adorable as the smiling sun logo lead us to believe- a good omen for the rest of the day! Using the GPS to guide as, we were winding our way through backstreets to the headquarters of the RCMP (the Royal Canadian Mounted Police- MOUNTIES) when mum accidentally bumped the touch screen, and somehow changed our destination. We re-calculated and it was all fine, but this change of route meant that we were guided past the University of Ottawa who were holding their orientation activities. Obviously, this would not be an exciting turn of events, but in this case there were DOGS PULLING SLEDS. 100% serious. Newcastle has drinking and snow cones, Ottawa has fricking snow dogs. Though we were already on our way to see the Mounties, we vowed to return!

The RCMP was all rather giggle worthy, for me. First of all, I got to see 30 Mounties in their uniforms, and while they had no redcoats, they still had those knee high boots and silly shaped pants which I adore. And while I don’t like to think I’m all that bashful anymore, whenever I made eye contact with one as we toured the stables, I swear a blush rose in my cheeks. What can I say, I really like a uniform. We toured the facility where they keep and train the horses for their musical presentation, and learnt all about this special branch of the Mounties- whose only job for three years is to ride the horses in a procession and tour around the country! Our second act of good timing for the day occurred when our tour had finished, and the guide told us that they would begin a practice session in literally 30 seconds, if we’d like to watch. We jumped at the chance, and got to see about half an hour of the students and their horses parading around the arena and following patterns and directions.

Although this was all lovely and very Canadian, our most stereotypical Canadian experience was in, of all places, the gift shop. The lady behind the desk was just the most adorable thing I’ve ever met. She had a really strong accent and she said both ‘eh’ and ‘oot’ in about the five minutes we were there. She was also the stereotypical really super friendly, and lived up to my expectations, set by Kate Beaton, when after we’d only exchanged a few sentences, she said “Oh boy, it sure was such a pleasure to meet you. Hope you have a safe flight and a fantastic rest of the holiday. Thanks so much for stopping by, have an awesome day!” I just wanted to put her in my pocket.

We headed back to the dog sledding, and as soon as we opened the car door we knew it was going to be really, really fun. They were pumping this cheerful French music, and I swear that whatever music you pick, French sounds better than English, because this was just the cutest thing ever. There was a huuuge line for beaver tails, but not one at all for the sledding, which we thought was odd. We went over to the ticket tent, and our hearts just about broke when the girl said that the event was only for university students, and that they had run out of tickets! However, it was all good because she then told us on the sly that there was no actually ticketing for the sledding, and we could probably just pop over and they’d let us have a go. Oh, and boy did we have a go. Not going to lie, probably one of the most fun minute long experiences I’ve had in my life. We had plans to go dog sledding when we were in Canada, but it would have meant at least an hour of driving, paying a hundred dollars each and wearing full water proof ski gear. This was just perfect- it was on our way to another destination, it was free, and we spent the little minute long ride sitting on a comfy cushion while someone else drove.

The dogs were so keen to just run, they got so impatient every time that they had to stop to let the passengers get on. They got progressively naughtier and naughtier until they finally busted through the fence and ran out to talk to the crowd waiting around! Third item of luck for the day, mum and dad got the last rides before they shut. At first we felt a little guilty that us non-students had taken away rides from actual students, but we were reminded that while this was a once in a life time deal for us, students living in the area probably get the opportunity much more frequently. Anyway, we weren’t complaining because it was freaking awesome! 

After this, we drove into the centre of Ottawa to visit Parliament house. There are so many old beautiful buildings in Ottawa, it’s crazycakes. Parliament was beautiful and elaborate and old, and is surrounded by other buildings of a similar combination of stunning design and noble history.

From here, we walked to the famous canal that runs all through the city. Standing on one of the bridges that cross it, we could see for miles down this white expanse covered by people weaving backwards and forwards, dancing and skating and eating food from the stores set up on the ice.  Through much of the winter months, this canal freezes solid and is opened as the world’s longest skating rink. While we are not skaters, we went for a wander on the ice, and it sure was a unique experience! Apart from the fact that we were absolutely freezing by this point (and standing on a frozen block of ice doesn’t really help), it was lovely to invisage that while today we were slipping and sliding all over the place, in two or three months time this would be a slow moving canal, lined with green trees and surrounded by picnickers. We tried poutine and beaver tails and revelled in the joy that a bunch of grease and sugar can bring tired and cold feet.

After a long day of wandering through this unique city, we finally made it back to the car and I spent those few hours reading Louis Theroux by torch light and looking out the darkening car window, watching little white flecks of snow speeding towards me, then slowly melting away.

Wednesday 25th January

Tuesday 24th January

Today we experience the best of both worlds- modern, bustling CBD Toronto, and then the much more quaint, French based Ottawa. 

After yesterdays rains had washed away the lovely carpet of snow that covered the lawns (leaving little raccoon prints visible all over!), we woke this morning to see small flakes of snow falling slowly from the sky. This was possible the smallest thing that has ever excited me, but I was ecstatic! Although I’ve been to the snow three or four times, and I’ve seen it on the side of the road on a handful of other occasions, I’m not sure anything compares to seeing it fall softly down. Standing in the driveway, wearing my little woollen hat, I caught a snowflake on my tongue, which although definitely a silly choice is equally a lifetime must do. It got all tangled up in my hair, and soon I was a veritable salt and pepper. Mundane activities like sweeping the snow of the car was very exciting indeed, and I’m not sure the sight of snow hitting the windshield, or seeing huge drifts ploughed to the side of the road, is something I’ll ever tire of.

Due to the snowy weather (although it was a relatively warm day at between -1 and 4 degrees Celsius), we spent the morning inside at the Museum of Inuit Art, admiring the intricate and adorable carvings from bone, horn and hide.

My favourites were the musk oxen, with their curly horns that look like carefully brushed hair, and the incredibly detailed and tiny scenery. A depiction of birds on a cliff for example, used porous whale-bone as a cliff side and dozens of stone birds, measuring between 2 and 4mm long nesting in each little hollow. A row of 8 men on a piece of stone 3cm long was equally impressive, as was a depiction of a hunting party, complete with white dog and fluffy tail.

For lunch we sampled the delicious Tim Hortens, a restaurant chain considered a Canadian staple. After being so intrigued by it and excited by our first visit (which it definitely earned, as it was inexpensive and delicious), we became less and less enthralled each visit we would make that day- ending on a count of three!

After the Art Gallery, we briskly walked back to the car and went on a small drive around the busier side of Toronto, complete with a view of CN tower and for some reason, a large canoe? It really is a lovely city, not too tight packed and busy, but you can tell that in the summer time with the lake fronting, it would be a very lively place. Which means of course, that we’ll just have to come back!

The rest of the day was dedicated to driving to Ottawa, Ontario’s state capital, located six hours north east of Toronto. As cold as we were walking around in Toronto, Alisha promised us ‘it will be at least ten degrees colder in Ottawa, so enjoy being able to feel your face while you can!’ And right she was. The further we drove north, the higher the snow drifts became, the bigger the snowflakes grew and the more marshmallow-y became the children we drove past! Seriously, children in snowsuits are just about the cutest thing ever. Suits so puffy that they sort of have to waddle down the street, and with the sleeves sewed up so that their hands don’t get cold. Little Michelin men have never been so adorable! The drive to Ottawa, while long, was really picturesque. I’ve tried really hard to lock down one or two mental images of each activity we’ve done so far, because I don’t want to be one of those people who experiences their holidays through a camera lens. For this drive, it was image of a little cottage, situated on a huge block of land of orange brown grass, lit from behind through a small beam of sunlight through the huge clouds. This would already be a nice image, but it was perfected by the flock of Canadian Geese in flight overheard. We saw scores and scores of geese that day, flying in formation over our heads. I’m not sure if they were migrating, or anything, but they may as well have just been putting on a show for us, for how perfect the picture was.

We arrived in Ottawa late at night, and now I’ve spent far too much time looking out my window at the snow-covered rooftops and getting an internet hit after four days without. Early rise tomorrow, for a tour of the Parliament (I think) and a day at the Museum of Civilisation. I can’t wait!