Canada Day 9. Underground City

Today was a lot cloudier today (although not much cooler) but that actually worked out pretty well since I was planning to enter the Underground City! Basically, there are miles and miles of shopping centres and tunnels running underneath Monteal 

Because there is so much snow and it gets so incredibly cold here in winter it's impossible to shop outside, it'd just be too dangerous. So they have 4 or 5 big shopping centres entirely underground and then there's connecting passages from one mall to another.

It's surprising the different shops they have as you really can find just about everything you need!

This one was called Complexe Desjardins and was one of the smallest!

After a lot of window shopping (got to keep an eye on that baggage weight allowance) I headed out down Sainte Catherine to the film festival that's being held. Since the films were all in french though i didn't exactly linger!

As I was heading back to the hostel I passed Plateau Mont Royal and saw there was a big street market going on! So I obviously detoured!

Almost every shop and cafe on the street had their own stall out which was really lovely as there was a definite atmosphere of neighbours doing the fair together

I had to take a photo when I saw this!

Turns out it was Mix Arts festival, which made sense as there was a little bit of everything 

There were also some really good sales with some of the boutiques having  40% off sales (so tempting)

I settled with buying a mango cut into the shape of a flower instead!

Apparently it's on for a few days so I'm definitely going to stop by tomorrow for dinner as the paella and some of the japanese food looked amazing!

Canada Day 8. Plateau Mont-Royal & Parc La Fontaine

After several hours, some serious ingenuity, tweezers, several drawings, and stress my camera is back up and running!!

I started out today was heading to the east of the hostel to Parc La Fontaine. Which was a very quiet and beautiful little park that isn't really visited my tourists all that much and as such gives you a much better idea of what the locals do in their spare time!  

The lakes were a gorgeous blue and the weather was simply beautiful 

There was also a lot of wildlife! Tons of ducks and pigeons, and more squirrels than I've ever seen!

Look at this cutie!

It was a lovely way to start off the day just walking through the trees around the lakes.

After spending a good chunk of the morning at the park I set off to Plateau Mont-Royal which is basically a few streets dedicated to boutiques, restaurants and cafes. 

I'd walked past it the day before but I didn't detour as I wanted to do some other bits and pieces but it's a really lovely area and I completely get why it's a local favourite!

There was some pretty cool and vibrant graffiti artwork on the sides of several buildings in this area too

The streets are incredibly french and the atmosphere is very central european so it was really nice to spend some time here. 

it was just such a pretty area to wander around

I stumbled across a mini park down one road too which wasn't on my map but was a very pleasant surprise as the shade offered some respite from the sunshine!

Several of the cafes had traditional french cuisine and all the menus were in french! It really felt like I wasn't in North America anymore. And I understand why it's considered quite separate to the rest of Canada as theres definitely a lot of pride in their heritage here I think 

When I left the restaurant section I pottered in the local shops, and this bookstore featured an adorable, and quirky, feature! He was say there in the sunshine the whole time I walked up and down the street, and seemed quite happy to soak up the sun and have the occasional passerby stroke him

This shop stood out with its craziness, but the sweets themselves looked really good

even more artwork!

I really liked Plateau Mont Royal as every single shop had something different to offer and, not for the first time, I wish I could have bought everything! I'm definitely going to be stopping by here when I can  - it's just a lovely place to spend an hour or so people watching with a drink, or to stop by for lunch!

Canada Day 7. Downtown Montreal

So my camera isn't 100%. Far from it. But i managed to get it working for a while today so I actually have some (vaguely) interesting things for you to look at!

A lot of my cycle in Montreal and I actually think this statue is pretty fitting with the watery/icy reflection contrasting with the burnished warmth of Montreal cycling in summer!  

It really is so nice to have old buildings dotted about inconsequentially after NZ!

Did I mention Montreal are big on their bikes?

I basically just wandered into Downtown Montreal today, I popped into a handful of the beautiful churches and into a couple of the stores to window shop but my camera died halfway through the day so you're getting a bit of a random selections!

There really were some lovely churches in the heart of the city. 

And weirdly at lunch time everyone went and sat on the church grass to have their lunch!

There was a bit of a protest of the gaza strip, although I think it was more about handing out leaflets than an actual protest (all the leaflets were in french so I can't really be sure!)

One of the most beautiful churches I stopped to visit

There were also quite a few green spaces tucked between the skyscrapers which was nice - I guess Montreal tries to make the most of its summers since its winters are so snow-filled!

Montreal really is a very beautiful city - It'd be interesting to see it in winter actually since there were trees and greenery everywhere in Montreal 

And it was in the park my camera fell apart for the day. It worked out quite well though since after reading in the park I headed into a few shops so I wouldn't have taken anything very interesting!

Canada Day 6. Broken Camera

So I have absolutely no photos to share today as my camera simple isn't co operating. 

As usual on my first day I decided to spend it simply wandering, slightly aimlessly, around the area so I have my bearings for the rest of the week. I wandered into downtown and around the parks of central Montreal. 

I did debate about buying another camera but, honestly, I don't want to. If I buy another camera I'd like it to be an upgrade and not just something bought on a whim of desperation. However if I can't get it to work by tomorrow (i am a plan of action for this evening) then I think I might have to buy another camera - I can't leave Montreal and then Iceland without having a single photo!

Also it kinda feels like I'm missing a limb without my camera!

Fingers crossed my plan for fixing my camera works, because if not my lovely DSLR photos will be replaced with 16megapixel point and shoot mechanics. I know, the horror.

Canada Day 5. Into Montreal

I vastly underestimated just how ‘french’ Montreal would be! I knew French was the first language of most people but now I’m here it’s really hit – all the signs are in French, and all the menus so going out to get something for lunch was fun!

Today has been pretty mixed so far. I woke up ridiculously early, but checking out went fine. And despite having to lug my suitcase half an hour to the bus stop, where my internal dialogue would have certainly made a grown man blush at the number of profanities… I managed to get a window seat, and the 6hr journey went fairly quickly. 

However, when the driver took my suitcase off the bus he slammed it down on a loose slab and one of the wheels ‘popped’ off. I’d already been thinking it would be wise to catch a taxi as it was a 45minute walk uphill to the hostel, but the lack of a wheel cemented getting a cab.

Sometimes you just need to rant and moan, and that’s pretty much all I did when I skyped mum earlier today but it was exactly what the doctor ordered and I just felt ‘better’ after moaning for half an hour about my suitcase (which I’ve no idea how to fix) and my camera (which I’ve also got no idea how to fix) and general lack of sleep (which is really hard to fix in a hostel).

I basically just spent the day pottering about the hostel, looking over my photos (which I haven’t had time to do for over a week) talking to friends online and just generally doing very little other than enjoying the sun and relaxing!

I'm sure i'll have more exciting things to ramble on about soon!

Canada Day 4. A Hazy Shopping Day

I’ll be honest with you here, today was quite simply spent being hungover.

A nice drink in a lounge with Johnny turned into several drinks in several lounges and pubs. So I wasn’t feeling up to tackling anything other than simple tasks today, namely laundry, packing and booking my bus and somewhere to stay in Montreal. I did pop to The Eaton Shopping Centre in the afternoon as I wanted to look around the ‘Canada famous’ mall and I figured I could do that much without falling over.

A lot of the day was also spent nursing my camera as it’s not handling the amount of water exposure it received at Niagara very well – much like how my head wasn’t handling the bottle of champagne we finished the evening on.

So aside from being utterly sleep deprived (I climbed into my bunk bed, without falling I might add, at 5am and I’m having to wake up at 5am tomorrow morning to catch my bus to Montreal) Canada is treating me quite well!

Fingers crossed my camera magically starts working though!

Canada Day 3. NIAGARA FALLS

So, today I was fortunate enough to get to see another wonder of the world and it was pretty amazing.

I thought about going on my own but catching the bus and doing a tour were roughly the same so I figured why both worrying about catching the right bus when I can get a tour and have the day planned for me? As it is I'm incredibly glad I booked a tour!

I got picked up from my hotel around 9, and then it was a relatively short drive to the Falls! (about an hour and a half, maybe 2 hours)

The falls were not quite what I was expecting. But then I didn't know what to expect! 

You hear so much about the falls and in person they were pretty amazing!

They fall in a sudden and incredibly dramatic horseshoe ring and create an super dense mist!

The Hornblower (the boat I was to get later) heading towards the falls!

And the Maid of the Mist. It's a shame I couldn't get this iconic boat but its currently only running from the USA side of the river and its only got a month or so to go before its officially retired

After hopping back on the bus, and chatting to the guy sat next to me (Johnny) we were driven down to the base of the falls and we jumped on the Ferry! It felt a little like you were going on a roller coaster, we all got wristbands and had to queue up and go in an elevator. And we all got photos of us taken before we jumped on the boat

Oh, and we got those incredibly beautiful plastic ponchos.. 

The American Falls!

This was pretty much all my camera could manage on the boat! It was crazy! And the americans were all cheering as we road the waves and got DRENCHED!

Everyone said you just got a little wet… A LITTLE wet?!

It was pretty funny seeing everyone's reactions though

I'm incredibly glad I did the boat ride as it was really so much fun! Despite dripping after 

(I was also incredibly glad I wore waterproof mascara…)

Then we had an hour or so to walk around the town that is nestled next to the ferry landing station, and it definitely wasn't what I was expecting!

It was just like a theme park or a mini vegas… it was strange! But it was interesting to see how much tourism has obviously impacted the town!

After grabbing lunch with Johnny (and having to run back to the bus since we were late) we set off again to another sightseeing spot

The weather wasn't too happy though so the bus gave us all more ponchos!

We nicknamed ourselves the poncho tour as we all looked ridiculous

The whirlpool itself was actually surprisingly impressive. I'd heard a few people say they weren't impressed, and obviously after the magnitude and splendour of Niagara Falls they aren't all that, but they're still a nice stop off

After running out and taking some photos of the whirlpool we all ran back to the bus so we could get on to Niagara on the Lake. It's a really cute and quaint town that I'm sure would have been lovely to stroll around in warmer weather. As it was we sort of just did a lap stopping in a few shops for samples (feel margarita and ice cream samples are good no matter the weather!)

Saw a woman rolling cigars!

its funny actually as me and Johnny were talking about the lack of Starbucks and how it was a nice change since they really are everywhere in North America, and how it's nice the town is so big on preserving the local shops etc we turn around and see this! I guess Starbuck really are everywhere

we also stopped by a pub that's supposed to be haunted. They have to keep the union jack flying other wise the ghost gets grumpy apparently.. 

I had to take a photo of this shop!

 Then it was onto Niagara Teaching Winery to try some of the local 'ice wine'. It was actually really interesting to learn about how it's made, they have to wait until the grapes are completely frozen on the vine before picking and then since al the water is frozen they tend to only get a drop or two from each grape. That all means that it takes 10-20 times more grapes to make a bottle of ice wine compared to your usual table wine.

The result is an incredibly sweet and unique wine that was simply delicious!

We got to sample three different wines and I couldn't resist buying a bottle to bring back with me so I could let you try some!