Dan was booked up with travel plans for all of 2011 however, he was able to squeeze in a quick visit to Canada in April, and spend some time with me. In 3 weeks we managed to cover a few of my favourite places and those which Dan had planned to see. We had to stick to locations close to home because I had to attend a pre-departure seminar for my internship in South Africa. We had a schedule where we used our free time to travel, then I worked in Ottawa for 3 days, then we traveled some more. Here are the places we covered in that time.
Toronto
Dan's arrival was probably the most hectic arrivals I have ever experienced. I was in the process of organizing my visa application papers for South Africa where I would be starting an internship early May. Dan was also coming to visit me before my departure so naturally everything was happening all at once. I enjoy the pressures of planning so I was sure that everything will get done on time. Until Dan's plane got delayed in LA, I believe the reasons were weather related. Instead of arriving Monday night, I had to pick him up Tuesday at 9am.
I already planned to go Tuesday and drop of my paper work before picking Dan up. I was going to take transit from downtown Toronto to the SA consulate, 45 min via car ride. The only reason I know this is because I ended up renting a car at 8am when I realized how complex it would have been to do this trip via TTC. Flustered, and driving, I already knew that 30-60min delay will occur and Dan will have to wait at the airport. Not being successful with the paper work, I left the consulate office at 9ish driving to the airport with a little rage, until I heard the news on the radio. A transport truck exploded on the 401. Hearing this made me break out into tears and hating life a little more now. I not only missed my opportunity to get my SA visa application submitted, but I have left Dan stranded at the airport. Once at the airport, hoping that he has found some distraction, Dan was sitting completely alone at an international airport. After much apologizing, he understood the circumstances. He kept smiling as he was over joyed to see me, flustered and all. We were quickly back on the road trying to get my paper work submitted to the consulate. We too failed again, and had to spend the next day trying but this time with success.
We met with some friends for dinner and enjoyed the night in Toronto. We were back at the airport nice and early ready to fly the next day as we were off to Quebec city. Massive snow dump the they we were flying, and neither of us were prepared for snow as it was April at this time. Ready or not, we were excited to see Quebec city.
Flying to Quebec city
At this point we had no idea how much snow to expect. I prepared Dan for a cool spring weather, and told him that it's been dry for a while now. Either way, the snow was fun for Dan to see as there was enough to build igloos :-)
We managed to find a cute place to rent across the rive in Levis (not the denim) and commuted into the city via the ferry each day. Old Quebec city is probably one of my favourite places to visit when the chance is there.
Montreal by train
Only 2 nights spent in Quebec city and then we were off to Montreal. We were lucky to meet up with some friends who were in the area and had a night out on the town. This trip was filled with delicious meals at each of our stop which is why our pictures are mostly of meals :-) Montreal Poutine, Hot Pot, and the Three Brewers (or Les 3 Brasseurs). On the train we enjoyed our own deli and fine foods, purchased before our departure.
Yum! There is one picture missing from this collection, and that is of Schwartz's restaurant in Montreal. Delicious smoked meat sandwiches at 2 am does hit the right spot ! Oh, and for dessert, Paris Crepe!
Ottawa via another train
Renata works while Dan enjoys the days. It is over cast, but the snow has completely disappeared in Ottawa. I had to attend a pre-departure seminar before leaving to South Africa, but I wasn't worried leaving Dan to enjoy the city. I love Ottawa and if he found himself bored here, that would be a big surprise for me. The parliament (my other favourite place to visit, don't even mention the library), museums, shopping, market, I can go on and on. Sure enough, Dan had no trouble enjoying the city, I was the one wishing to be free and enjoying the activities with him. At night we did some wondering but mostly for dinner and then off to bed, so I was ready for 8 hour lectures the next day. I had to enjoy the city via Dan's pictures and stories, but I'm glad someone enjoyed it :-)
(on of these days I will get to see the Gov. library and the tower)
Guelph for a week
Last train ride was probably our longest, from Ottawa to Guelph. Here we spent a week visiting the city and surrounding attractions like Niagara falls. I had the chance to introduce Dan to some of my friends and again enjoy lovely dinners and lunches. I wonder if I gained much weight during these few weeks. But since I don't own a scale nor care about the force which I exert on this earth, I am not that interested. By this point, Dan has made good friends with poutines from each of the cities we visited, and of course Tim Horton's :-)
Toronto before Dan's departure
Due to Dan's hectic arrival (and my paper work glitch) we did not get a chance to visit the CN-tower our first time in Toronto. But we did have a full day to enjoy before Dan's departure so we made sure that both the CN tower and the distillery district was covered on his final day.
We had a wonderful 3 weeks together. Dan left to go back home to Brisbane and I boarded the plane a few days later to Cape Town, South Africa.
R :-)
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