Quarter of the Century

My nonno was a Leo, just like me, so my mom would often compare my headstrongness to his. This always made me happy because he was a clever man who loved to create things, every thing, and I wanted to be just like him. (Except for the thick eyebrows, which my mom said I also got from him.) He'd draw and paint and always had room in his house for a stray animal. Most of their animals were strays, actually. I'd sit down and watch him tinker away in his workshop, or watch him make tomato sauce from his giant home garden, how very Eye-talian. At that time my attention span was short and it felt like he'd spend an eternity on the same batch of tomatoes. Of course he was a soccer fan, and he'd give me a toonie for every goal I scored when I had a game. My mom used to say that his red hair (later turned white) matched his fiery temper, and he looks like a proper mafioso in our old photo albums. But Leos are ruled by the sun, and the sun was what brought him down.

On the day that he died, he was ventilated and seemed to be beyond consciousness. (Years later I'd finally understand what "palliative" meant.) But when I held his burning hot hand, he squeezed back.

I wonder what he'd think of me now.

LIFE IN TRAINS: Montreal

Montreal was the last segment of our VIA Rail trip. We took it easy here because we were both exhausted from the previous trips; the month of July was basically work → travel → work, with no days off in between.

Basilique Notre-Dame

We ended up having a lucky trip. Apparently there was some sort of car race so the subway was free the weekend we were there! And wherever we went, it seemed like the long line-ups always started after us, thankfully. And then we wandered onto the Just for Laughs Festival, just by chance, and we saw a fireworks show on Saturday night (only partially obscured by trees).

Musée des beaux-arts

We also walked up Mont Royal rather than taking a bus like last year. Once I saw all the stairs, I immediately regretted wearing jeans... except we were up at the chalet before we knew it. I guess Vancouver prepared me well because those stairs were next to nothing. But I was still sweaty.

Juliette & Chocolat

After wandering Marche Jean-Talon, we were too tempted by all the cheese and charcuterie that we decided to have our own CHEESE NIGHT: camembert, limburger, some sort of cheddar, pate, salami, fancy jam, a nice baguette, and fancy French desserts as a belated birthday celebration (many thanks). Then we watched Friends, as we did every night we were there.

So basically we travelled all the way to Montreal to watch Friends on Netflix.

Lots of people travelled from west coast to east coast, which I certainly would have done myself if I didn't need to keep my job. But I'm pretty happy with the sights I saw and the ridiculous situations we always find ourselves in. The train ride was a journey in itself.

I'm really glad I got the chance to travel for cheap, because the next two years are going to be non-stop.

LIFE IN TRAINS: Ottawa

No offense to our nation's capital, but two days in Ottawa was more than enough.

This is likely because we had also visited Ottawa a few years prior to visit Ran and got a lot of the good stuff done then. This time, we didn't have Ran as a tour guide - she ended up guiding us around Vancouver instead! - but it was nice to have a short trip and see what Ottawa was up to.

Not much, it turns out. But the leisurely pace in Ottawa was very appreciated, considering the packed scheduled everywhere else.

LIFE IN TRAINS: Vancouver

The Chief

I've always wanted to visit Vancouver, hearing endless stories about its beauty and good food, but plane tickets from Toronto to Vancouver are known for being ridiculously expensive and it's hard to justify just the plane ticket when I have so many other things to pay for. With the Canada 150 pass, we get to brag that we got a round ticket to Vancouver for $150! Can and I figured that this would be worth being on a train for 4 days straight.

My coworkers told me that Vancouver would probably be a lot like Toronto, and it definitely was similar in a lot of ways. I always hear that Vancouver is so much friendlier and more polite than Toronto, but honestly the two cities seem to be about the same in terms of manners. The main difference I noticed is that because the city is so much closer to nature, there are many more nearby and free outdoor activities.

The second difference is that Vancouver wakes up late and closes early. We were having a surprisingly difficult time finding a non-chain breakfast place that opened early enough for us to eat with Ran before her work. We walked over for some ice cream only to find out the place closed at 10, much to our surprise, so we had to come back another day. I guess we're more used to Toronto's schedule.

The third difference are the flashing green lights. One of my friends quickly discovered that this is not an advanced green, like it is in the rest of Canada.

Lighthouse Park

Lynn Canyon Valley

Our to-do list consisted of "premium tourist" activities including biking along the Seawall, shopping at Granville Public Market, eating at Richmond Night Market. My personal highlights was my mini shopping spree at Daiso and eating gold leaf ice cream.

We tried to go to every park, trail or hike available to us. At Lynn Canyon, we watched daredevils jump off Twin Falls and dipped our feet into the clean, freezing waters. At Lighthouse Park, we traversed the Valley of Giants. And at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, we wasted $40 on a ticket.

The most difficult hike was definitely Stawamus Chief up in Squamish, aka "The Chief". It took approximately 8 hours in total, but I can proudly say we managed all 3 peaks! As a beginner, this is a huge feat for me. The entrance sign even recommends hiking boots, so not Adidas Superstars, and an "adequate level of physical fitness". It was certainly something else to see all the old-growth forests and vast mountains.

You can't get that in Toronto.

Capilano Suspension Bridge Park

In our usual style, we meandered/took a detour/got lost quite a bit. But this always ends up being our most memorable adventures, not limited to soaring back from the Seawall like madmen and making a bunch of friends while hiking the Chief.

Vancouver was basically a lot of eating and a lot of hiking, which is how we justified eating. It felt like a whirlwind in the best way, subsisting on very little hours of sleep and a lot of coffee in an effort to cram as much into one week as we could.

We'd have 4 days to decompress on the train, anyway.