It has taken so long to settle down and write this post. I wish I could say it is because I’ve been out and about, having the best time of my life. But no. Like every non-trust-fund-having adult out there, I have been working hard. It has gotten so busy that I sometimes have work…
I know it’s a bit crazy to say, but I have been quietly ranking the Farmers’ Markets in Ottawa for some time now. In my head, I started a silent competition where I ranked the weekend markets based on ‘interesting-ness’, the number of stalls in the markets and the range of goods available. While everyone…
I am in love with small towns. I don’t know how I arrived here. I always considered myself to be someone who would not find a small town interesting. But that seems to have changed. Since I visited Perth in Ontario for the first time last year, I have begun to seek other nearby small…
Are there are places you’ve heard about and formed an impression of without ever being there? I have a list. For example, I’ve heard a lot about New York and seen photos of people in Times Square, but I can’t get over the one photo a lady posted on TikTok where a rat jumped in…
It has been a while since I returned from my trip to Johannesburg, and save for the small baggage problem, I had a fantastic time. By the way, if you are reading this and happen to work at Air Canada, it has been almost two months, and I have yet to receive a resolution to…
If you are fortunate to live elsewhere, you’ve probably enjoyed watching flowers bloom in March and have been basking in the beautiful combination of sunshine and spring breeze. In Ottawa, for reasons best known to the god of the weather, we’ve had no such luck. We held our breaths for spring weather in April, but…
I’d like to believe I am speaking for everyone in the Ontario-Quebec area when I say we are all done with winter and would like it to end. I consider myself resilient to cold weather, but this winter has dragged on for so long, I have forgotten what it feels like to enjoy the sun…
It was my birthday last week – woohoo! I did not plan anything because I was too lazy to plan. But I did not have to. A few days before, the boy told me he had booked a weekend away for us at Wakefield Village in Quebec. I had heard about Wakefield, and I had…
Everyone talks about how wonderful Montreal is, so I was curious for a long time. Amongst Canadians, there is a Toronto vs Montreal banter that people love to get into. I often found myself smiling awkwardly as they went back and forth because while I had been to Toronto, I had not yet been to…
It is my third winter in Canada and I think I have developed some coping mechanisms for the frigid weather. Last time it was one-degree Celsius outside, I said to the boy as we embarked on a walk, “it is warm outside today!” I am beginning to sound Canadian. When I first moved here, winter…
A few months ago, an old colleague was in Ottawa for a couple of days and reached out to me. While on the phone catching up, he said “jeez! Is there anywhere to go here? Ottawa is so boring.” I have heard this sentiment repeated in various quarters that Ottawa, the capital city of Great…
I am taking a break from sharing my experience with the Canadian healthcare system to write about something that lifted my spirits during the holidays. Spoiler if you’ve been reading about my journey so far: I had endometriosis surgery less than a month before Christmas and spent all of December recovering. I was advised to…
If you take a trip from Vancouver to Squamish like the boy and I did, you should extend your trip to Whistler. From Squamish, Whistler is a picturesque one-hour drive by bus, and it is one of the most beautiful serene places you can visit. Many people go to Whistler during the winter for ski…
My favourite thing about visiting London is that I always stumble on something new to try – restaurant, activity, or a hidden gem in the city. For this reason, I don’t plan many activities when I have a trip to London. Instead, I leave room to be surprised. There are of course the standard bits…
If you are in Vancouver on holiday and are yearning to get away from the skyscrapers and bizarre art installations, relief is a short bus ride away. The boy and I got our bus tickets online from Busbud and headed to Squamish from downtown Vancouver. The bus ride was uneventful. Besides a couple of traffic…