This is going to be a fairly long blog. It's been a long month and a bit with a lot to share.
Summer in Canada is awesome for a lot of reasons. The days are long and there is a whole ton of stuff to do. Canadians also embrace these warmer months and you'll find them outside hiking, kayaking, fishing, going to festivals or farmers markets, camping, gardening and doing almost anything to get outside, in a really enthusiastic manner. I guess when you've got almost 5 months of snow then it makes sense to enjoy the sunny seasons.
I started this blog sitting in Vegas departures waiting for our flight home.
From where I'm sitting I can see a whole bunch of my fellow travelers gambling and drinking in the airport which pretty much sums up Vegas.
Vegas is a crazy, crazy place. It's a big, loud hedonistic dream (often the embarrassing type you don't share with polite company). It's built for entertainment baby and lures most into the spending of large amounts of money.
The reason we are in Vegas? Bob Dylan! Adele is a huge fan and hasn't been to Vegas so we decided to brave the heat and go see what the Bob had to say for himself (And it was part of Adele's birthday present).
We arrived on a Friday and checked into the Palms casino. During our stay we had a helicopter flight, gambled a bit, had a fair share of multicolored cocktails, walked the strip and watched the Bob. Was a lot going on so will highlight a few experiences/thoughts below
1. Vegas is a crazy place
2. Downtown vegas to Fremont street is a 10 km walk. Maybe you should check with a map before walking this in 37 degree heat. Adele and I stopped in casinos on our little strip hike and had a few cocktails every now and then. After a while we ran out of spots to drink and had to hoof it, dry, for a few km (VELLY, velly hot). Arrived in Fremont and drank the biggest cocktail we could find. Have a funny tan because we got sunburnt on one side of our bodies – spared where our shadow fell.
3. Bob Dylan is old and raspy but was awesome. We both really enjoyed his show. The audience was just as interesting as he was. Before the show we chatted to a couple who had been to 107 of his shows. Another chap was chatting to another Bob-afficionado and they where boasting about who had been to which concerts, comparing notes and were getting really excited about the, “ best singer-song writer of our time. A legend. One of the best story tellers ever”.
When Bob came on the crowd of about 2000 people (It was quite an intimate venue) stood up, fist pumped and cheered. The was a very large portion of the crowd that looked like they had either 1) not left the 70s or 2) were reliving some acid/drug fueled day in the 70s. Can't really adequately explain it but was very interesting and entertaining.
Bob is doing quite well for a 70 year old fellow who is still touring. His voice is a lot hoarser and I'm sure he's lost a few moves but it was fantastic watching a living legend.
Every now and then he would do a knee pump or stand wide stance and swing his hips (Happily his hip didn't pop out). It was gritty and imperfect but I wouldn't expect a 70 year old rock star to be any different – to me it gave the show a feeling of authenticity that I really enjoyed. Adele really enjoyed the show and I'm really happy we went.
4. Took a flight over Vegas in a helicopter. Was a bit pricey and short but was a fun way of seeing the strip.
5. Don't go swim in a Vegas pool if you have any hang ups about your body. Spent a while in the Palms pool fulled with hoards of bronzed and toned bodies. Not really my scene – there was a very large amount of image savvy people clad in very little. I'm sure if recycled there was also enough plastic to keep Tupperware industry going for a few years. Also there's no room nor is it deep enough to swim – I love pools but for swimming and don't get it if there's nothing to do but float, flex, ogle or drink. Was a fun vibe and probably being a bit judgy but not my scene. If you like partying, drinking, have a signed photo of yourself or like dry humping strangers in a pool next to other strangers then go for it.
6. Met a few interesting characters who work in Vegas that have wound up here by some or other chance. Our driver today had set up casinos in South Africa and spent months in SA. Was nice to chat to someone who's experienced home. Must be an interesting place to work. I'd love to come back and visit vegas off strip to get a feel for how the locals live.
7. If you want to forget your name, be someone else or have almost any experience that money can buy then come to vegas. Was a fun weekend.
Funny story: Every time we've been to a North American airport Adele has been “randomly” selected for a bag check, body scan or gun shot residue/chemical check. A friend of ours, also with a green passport, has been through a similar experience. Today for the first time my little criminal was not subject to an interrogation of any sort. Funnily though, out of the 20/30 people ahead of us a guy just before Adele was selected who happens to be South African and was complaining to his buddy, “Hoekom kies hulle altyd my?!”.
Damn you green mamba, damn you “random” checks.
So that's Vegas. Flight delayed 20 minutes! So have a little more time before we get going. Not a lot of photos of vegas because one of us, not Adele, forgot to charge our camera fully.
Where I did not forget to charge my camera or charge a battery was on our recent trip to the Canadian rockies with Claire and Nic.
We were very lucky to have them come visit us for a week. Had an amazing time.
They are great, great holiday companions. Very easy and Nic puts out. Seriously though, they are wonderful and if you don't know them then you should probably get to know them so you can go on holiday with them – you can thank me later.
More of that in a second.
Just before our holiday in the rockies we joined a friend of ours and his family in Raymond, Alberta for our first street parade. Mike, who invited us, is from Seattle and is used to parades with fighter jets and giant floats but he promised us a good show (Crop dusters and kids throwing candy) so we went for the fun.
It was well worth the trip. Raymond is a small place but on this day the town swells from about 2000 to 10000 people. It's a big family reunion day and people get together to celebrate with their clans.
The parade was awesome! Funny and awesome! Verry, very funny!
Imagine a procession of horses, cars, advertising, cars coming down the road all throwing sweets onto the road and into the crowds as kids run between the procession to collect their candy.
There was a float for the local jail, a solitary octagenarian on his scooter, skateboarders, a Davey Crocket look alike and other fun and silly items in the procession. Was a good laugh and a fun day. One of the funniest floats was a plumbers van with a toilet mounted on the roof and a young boy seated on it, throwing candy into the crowd.
Will post a few pics below.
After the parade Mike showed us around and we had a fantastic family lunch with them. Was great to be included and will definitely be back to the Raymond parade. Missed the crop dusters flying overhead so will have to go back next year.
Almost forgot, the parade was to celebrate Canada day. Don't think it's as crazy as the 4th of July in the USA but they do a really good job of being patriotic. That morning we had breakfast at one of the other docs house. Was a fun morning and got to meet a few new people. They're the kind of people who include everyone, are warm and kind and it was great to be there. Sang “O Canada” which is their national anthem – getting quite fond of this song.
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| Raymond parade |
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| In all it's glory |
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| Child throwing Candy from toilet |
The timeline goes like this in case you're getting a bit confused: Raymond, rocky mountains and stampede (Nic and Claire), Adeles car, week of work, Vegas, week of work, airshow and birding, week of work and finally long weekend in Montreal.
Back to Nic and Claire. Picked up Nic and Claire at the airport for a week of fun in the rockies. Drove from Calgary to Banff. From Banff up to Jasper along the Icefields highway. From Jasper back down to lake Louise. From Lake Louise to Canmore and then back to Calgary where we enjoyed the Stampede before they headed off to visit other friends.
The rockies were wonderful. Have a whole bunch of photos which will do it much more justice than my words so please check them out on facebook – see link http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150316491245867.390476.532515866&type=1 , will post a few below too.
A typical day would be us getting up early (Usually around 6-30/7), having a bowel of cereal or breakfast if included, going for a hike, having a sandwich or lunch out, having a rest, going for another hike and then having supper or a barbecue.
It's a really busy time of year and we did really well by getting up a bit early and often didn't have anyone hiking with us which was awesome considering that Banff looks a bit like disney land when everyone gets up and running.
Again did a tons of stuff so here is our trip summarized below
Accommodation: Stayed in a whole range of accommodation. From really world class backpackers to cabins and lodges. In Banff we were close to the river. In Jasper we were a little out of town but had good access to a few hikes. In lake Louise we stayed at a place on a popular hiking trail and next to a river – had a lekker braai by the river. In Canmore we stayed in quite a lekker backpackers.
The hiking: Enjoyed all the hiking. Was just great to be outdoors with clean air and really good company. As I said – we hiked in the morning and in the afternoons mainly. In Jasper we have quite a lot of fun hiking near a glacier (Not on a glacier) where there was still quit a lot of ice – in fact some of the hikes where not open because of the heavy snows this year. Hiked/Crawled up the steep icy bits and attempted to ski down. Also hiked to a few lakes in Jasper – Crystal clear and perfect water.
Nic and I swam in almost every lake we came across. The water was usually incredibly cold and we never lasted that long inside. The water was clear and perfect though. Got braver and braver and spent more and more time in the water every day.
Hiked in Lake Louise and Banff to many a mountain lake and up a few mountains. Spectacular views and scenery. Also caught the gondola up the mountain in Banff.
I would say we averaged about 6 to 12 km a day +- Was fun and amazing and can't wait to do it again.
Mountain lakes: Lots of cold mountain lakes to swim in. They all were picture perfect and there were bright blue, light blue, turquoise, ice filled, red and all sorts of other wonderful colours.
Icefields highway: Drove the Icefields highway up to Jasper and back to lake Louise. Rated by many online as the prettiest drive of their life. Was really spectacular with mountain and lake vistas. Drove past and walked to glaciers on the way – hence “Ice”fields highway.
Weather: We were incredibly lucky with weather. Had mostly perfect, sunny days. On the 1 or 2 days that it was overcast and rainy we were lucky to be driving the Icefield highway or doing something that else.
Game, birds and flowers: We where really lucky with game. We saw a Grizzly bear, brown bears with cub, a Moose, Elk, white tailed dear, Marmots, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, chipmunks and all sorts of other small furry creatures. Considering that there are only 300-400 Moose in the park we were incredibly lucky. I think the only manimal we did not see, that we wanted to see, was a beaver – sorry Claire.
Enjoyed some good birding too. Often when we go birding our fellow travelers eyes will glaze over and they'll feign some interest. Nic and Claire were awesome – they (esp Claire) got out the book with Adele and spent good time looking up birds on hikes or sitting next to rivers or lakes. Claire has a green thumb and we really enjoyed the flowers we found on the trails. There were all sorts of interesting and wonderful orchids in all shapes and sizes.
Banff: Busy but very pretty and the town has been designed with mountains seen down all the main roads. Adele and I got a bit tiddled here in a pub listening to a band singing about getting tiddled – a lot of fun on her birthday. Banff was also the site of our first swim in the river – maybe the coldest of them all. Nic managed to get in until the water was somewhere between his knees and his waist and then exited very quickly.
Jasper: Equally as pretty. A little less busy than Banff. 2 nights here. Some great hikes. Great little places to eat.
Lake Louise: Stayed in nice Cabins. First cabin along the walk through a Canyon – really pretty. Second cabin along a river where we braaied. Lake Moraine – probably one of the prettiest lakes. Had an awesome hike uphill to a tea house. Claire “lied” to Nic about how far a hike was – very funny – Nic had thought it was a 30 min walk when it was actually a 7 km round trip.
Canmore: Out of the park but very equally as awesome. Lots of wonderful places to eat – great food and beer in a small micro brewery. An old quarry serves as a large outdoor pool. Spent an afternoon swimming with mountain view in all directions and enjoying the locals.
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| View from top of Banff Gondola |
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| Hiking in Jasper |
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| Scrambling in Jasper |
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| Break time |
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| Glacial water and cold feet |
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| Loved the trees |
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| Wild manimals |
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| Stop on Icefields highway |
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| Dis Koud jong |
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| Morraine lake |
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| Legends |
So we had a fantastic time in the mountains. Cannot get enough of that mountain air and scenery. Don't think I did it enough justice but trust me when I say, “make friends with Nic and Claire, and then go on holiday with them. Thank me later :)”
After the rockies we went to the Calgary stampede. Yee hah!
The Calgary stampede is dubbed the greatest outdoor show on earth and I think it did pretty well in living up to the hype. We stayed in quite a nice backpackers within walking distance to the stampede grounds which was very lekker and convenient. I had made a mistake and accidentally only booked for 3 of us so the guy let us double bunk for free – yay!
The stampede was a lot of fun. Lots of cowboy hats, beer and fried everything – we tried a deep fried twinki among other greasy, delicious delicacies.
We went to a dog show (very cool), watched Chuckwagon races and a very trippy but fun evening show, enjoyed a few show rides and watched the rodeo.
I think the rodeo was the highlight of the stampede for me. Lots of adrenaline and very exciting. Next yr is the 100 anniversary and you'll definitely find Adele and I sitting beer in hand, cowboy hat on head and having a fantapantastic time.
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| Kitted out for the stampede |
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| Rodeo |
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| Yee ha |
So you'd think that this would almost be done but you're wrong. If you've read this far then you either love us and enjoyed reading this, have nothing to do, are stuck somewhere with an internet server that only gives you access to this page or have read this over a few days. What ever your reason, thanks for getting this far. Have already condensed everything and not sure I've done it justice but you're almost there . . . . . you can do it!
Last weekend we spent a weekend in Montreal, Quebec. We had a really good time on honeymoon in Paris and have been told that Montreal is a very vibey and romantic city. My hope was that we could have a quiet, romantic weekend together in a new city.
I think that we achieved that.
Montreal was awesome. It doesn't feel like you're in Canada at all. When you arrive in Montreal all the signs are in French, everyone speaks French and the tourists are French. I think Quebec is the only place in Canada that does not need to, legally, have duel language signage.
Like a country within a country.
We stayed in the Old town and downtown parts of Montreal close to all the action.
Old town Montreal has cobble stone streets, is very busy and has a wonderful cafe culture – lots of pavement specials as my dad would say. The buildings are all old or have to be built in the same style as the other buildings in the area so there is a very old, European feel to the city. If anything burns down you are not allowed to rebuild. One of the restaurants have taken advantage of this and use the skeleton of the burnt out building as an outside eating space in Summer. Downtown Montreal is a bit of old and new juxta positioned and is also very vibey and busy with lots of boutiques and eateries especially on St Catherine street.We found French Canadians to be just as friendly as all other Canadians. There were 1 or 2 snooty waiters/waitresses who gave Africa time a run for it's money and were a little more rude than we're used to but generally a friendly, awesome city.We spent most of our time walking and enjoying the sites. These are my 3 highlights
- On day 2 we walked from our hotel up to the top of the Mount Royal (A mountain in the centre of montreal (Which gives Montreal it's name). From the top on we enjoyed panoramic vistas over the city and watched people reading, hiking, running, cycling, doing tai chi and generally enjoying this green space. Interestingly the park was designed by the same designer as Central park.From the mountain we walked down and North East through the city. We had a tasty lunch and then walked to another park where we relaxed and lay under a tree reading. Then we walked back along the length of St Catherine street through the Village, the largest gay village in North America, through the Latin district and through the rest of downtown. Was a glorious 16 km walk with lots to see and tons to do. In summer in Montreal there are a few areas that are blocked off to cars and as such there is a very energetic street culture - wonderful!!
- Went on an amphibious bus tour through downtown and old town Montreal. Was an interesting vehicle – not the fastest on land or water. Learnt lots of fun facts about Montreal like the Empire state building is based on an original building done by the same architect in Montreal. He liked the result so much that he built the same building, albeit a bit bigger in New york.
- On our last night Adele and I had a yummy supper in Old town. From there we walked down the canal as it got darker. There was a lovely ambience and it was very romantic. Was the perfect way to end of a very wonderful weekend. Loved you Montreal. hope to see you again soon.
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| Old town |
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| More modern downtown |
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| View from Mt Royal over old town and downtown |
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| Loved the burbs |
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| Just for laughs comedy festival |
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| Old town |
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| Pavement culture |
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| Romantic at night |
So that pretty much sums up our last 5 weeks. There are a lot more things to add but I think this has been long enough so am just going to list them in point form.
– Have discovered Frisbee golf. There are different Frisbees with different weights and properties for different effects.
– Saw Harry Potter – awesome!!! Sad that Sally will not have any more adventures.
– Bagel says hi and seems to be happy and still well adjusted.
– We bought a second car – a little Volkswagen Beatle. Got it for a really good price and it's a fantastic little car.
– Have submitted all our forms for permanent residence. Hopefully in 6 months we will be permanent residents of Canada.
– We might buy a house – will keep you posted. Is the same price as renting but still a big decision and the cause of some stress.
– Chantal and Duncan threw a surprise dinner for Adeles birthday with a few of our favorite people.
– Lethbridge has quite a popular airshow which we enjoyed from a friends garden. Was awesome. Last yr there was a crash – luckily not oopses this year.
– Have found a retired fire fighter who takes us birding. Knows all the spots and has a really good knowledge. Have had 1 really great trip with him.
– Have made some really good Canadian friends who we spend a lot of time with. Whether it's the docs at the clinic or Jessica and Steve. Feel like we are starting to have a great network of locals to hang out with and have fun with :)
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| As far as the eye can see....... |
So hi to all you wonderful people. We love and miss you. Hope to see or chat to you soon.
Thanks for reading this and let us know what your news is.
Ryan and Adele
