Destination: Prince Edward Island

My little summer excursion this year was to Prince Edward Island to visit my friend from grad school who lives there.  Although I spent most of my time in Summerside, her town, I also got to see quite a bit of the island.  Having never been on the east coast of Canada before, I didn't know what to expect.  It ended up being a very pleasant break from Ontario for the week!

Transportation
I ended up taking Air Canada to Moncton.  It is a lot cheaper to fly into Moncton and take a bus to PEI than it is to fly to PEI.  The bus company that runs out in that end of the country is called Acadian Bus Lines.  It ended up being $30 to get from Moncton, New Brunswick to Summerside, PEI.  Here's a tip: get the student rate on the bus.  They did not check whether or not I was a student when I boarded the bus, and I bought my ticket online.  The worst that can happen is they ask you to pay the difference.  In regards to the Air Canada thing, I ended up taking a Jazz flight, which I was apprehensive about.  It's one of those small propeller planes that you need to walk out onto the tarmac to get to.  I  thought it would be bumpy flight, but it was actually really smooth.  Another option for flights to get to the east coast is to take Porter airlines.  They are more conveniently located in downtown Toronto, and I heard they are a really cool airline company (free booze + high comfort). And when Porter has sales (which they usually do), it ends up being quite cheap as well.

Now, a quick word on transporting yourself around the island: you need a car.  There is virtually no public transit, and whatever little there is will be ending soon.  I was talking to my friend who lives there, who needs a car to get everywhere.  Another option to getting around the island is by bike.  One of the most interesting features of this island is that the province has converted all the old railway tracks around the island to multi-purpose trails that you can bike on.  Finally, what you need to know about the island is that is costs $44 to cross the toll bridge to get there.  Should you decide to spend a day on the mainland in a neighbouring province, you need to factor this in to your transportation costs. 

 What to do... (aka what I did!)

Summerside: Summerside is a small town in PEI.  As such, there is not too much to do here.  The main drag in Summerside isn't that long, but does have a charming coffee shop called Samuel's.  There are also some touristy shops along the waterfront, and a pub that is right on the water.  Just like elsewhere in PEI, there are ample bike and walking trails along the water and through the town.

Thunder Beach: Since I was spending time with islanders, I was taken to some pretty cool and lesser known parts of the island.  One thing my friend was adamant on was not paying to go to a provincial or national park beach, as she said the free beaches were just as beautiful.  She took me to thunder beach, which I really liked.  There were large red sand cliffs which quickly dropped to a beautiful sandy beach, very picturesque!  The water itself was great (once you got used to it!) and was the perfect depth.  There were sandbars in the middle to lounge on, as well as deeper water to enjoy the ocean waves!  One thing I like about beaches is not too much wildlife... I fear animals in water.  Although there were a few crab scares in the water, and some little bugs that were biting me on the beach, there were no other disturbances.  I should have a wildlife rating for these kinds of things. It could come in handy for anyone else who is terrified of touching a fish or something in the water.  My friend and I also walked the length of the beach to a rock called teacup rock.  That was another thing about this beach- there were so many neat rock formations! After thunder beach, we grabbed iced cream at one of the many iced cream shops on the island.

North Rustico and Cavendish: This was a filled up day! We began at the Green Gables house, because I wanted to see what it was all about.  It didn't cost that much to get in, and we toured Anne's house and walked two trails through the woods.  It really wasn't all that exciting, but I see the appeal if you were a kid and you read her books.  Lots of Asian tourists there, which I am told by my friend is the norm-  apparently a lot of Japanese people like Anne of Green Gables.

After that, we went to touristy Cavendish! This is an area of the island with an abundance of resorts, mini put, amusement parks, tourist shops and restaurants.  It was here that I tried my first Cows iced cream (a PEI staple).  I got a flavour aptly named Mooey Gooey, and it was delicious... definitely one of the best iced creams I have ever had!  I also got to try Pizza Delight- an east coast pizza chain that tasted strangely similar to Pizza Hut.

After our stint at Cavendish, we headed to North Rustico, a charming fishing town to take some great pictures.  My friend showed me the rotating house- a house being built on the cliffs that rotates 360 degrees to give the entire house views of the ocean.  Pretty cool, huh?! After walking around the fishing town and taking as many pictures as we could, we headed back for the day.

(The road to) Charlottetown: Charlottetown is the hub for most adventure on this island, so we planned a whole day around it.  On the way there, my friend took me to a charming place called The Dunes.  This place was an art gallery, store, and restaurant all rolled into one.  The goods here were from both east coast artists and artists from India and east Asia.  We had some really delish cocktails and browsed the place while we waited for our table.  Then we ordered some great sharing plates from the menu and sampled some great food.  The place was really cool... I haven't really seen anything else like it.  I recommend going on the way in or out of Charlottetown.

When we got to Charlottetown, we parked the car, got some Starbucks, and walked along the waterfront.  There are some beautiful houses in that city- so old and unique! But one thing that struck me was that very few were made of brick (my friend says this is common in PEI because it costs too much to import bricks).  We walked down Victoria Row to see all the cute stores and restaurants, all in old buildings (my favourite!).  It was PEI jazz week so there was live jazz bands around the city which was cool.  We went olive oil and vinegar tasting at a place called Liquid Gold, which was an interesting experience.  I had no idea how flavourful olive oil could get!  Then we went to the waterfront to look through tourist shops, and I picked up a PEI dirt shirt (I had to).  There was a handful of good dinner places in Charlottetown to choose from, and my friend chose to go to Merchantman Pub. I got the fish and chips which was pretty good, and my friends got the fish cakes (because they were sold out of the crab cakes, the reason the girls wanted to go there!).  After this, we went to PEI's only brewery, The Gahan House, where we had a sample tray of all the varieties of beers they made there.  There were quite a diverse set of beers to sample, and after getting a little buzz on, we went in search of some live music.  We went to a bar called Fishbones, which I loved.  They had a large (fake) tree strung with lights in the middle, an awesome live jazz band, and a washroom with a basket of amenities for guests to use (I definitely used the hairspray, lotion and body spray!).  Lastly, we went over to a really cool bar called Marc's Studio (tribute to Marc Gallant) where we chilled on couches listening to some good indie music and catching up.

Overall, I would have to say that PEI is a nice ocean getaway for Canadians looking for some rest and relaxation.  I very much enjoyed the beaches, and even though I am not a seafood fan, I have to say I enjoyed the seafood as well.  There isn't too much going on to do on the small island, so I would suggest bringing the entertainment yourselves, or be content relaxing and just enjoying the natural environment.

Destination: Florida

My grandparents moved to Dade City, Florida, when I was in 4th grade.  My subsequent plane ride to visit them was my first flying experience... it was horrible.  Nonetheless, my experiences in Florida have been wonderful.  Maybe the fact that we drove down from there on out helped.  In fact, I think back often to how much I love the Florida natural environment... the smell of orange blossoms, the mid-day powerful thunderstorms, the Spanish moss draped over everything.  Not to mention the beautiful beaches.  This is my recollection of my years spent there, and what I most enjoyed about my visits.

Dade City, where I spent most of my time, is a small town in between Orlando and Tampa, in inland Florida.  My grandparents lived in a retirement community, which are all over Florida (seriously, everywhere!).  The best part of that was having access to a beautiful palm tree lined pool,  and taking early evening walks along the streets which bordered on an orange grove (which was later cut down for more retirement communities).  There is a fabulous Mexican restaurant in Dade City called El Poncho Villa... very authentic, and very tasty.  The first year we went down there, we ate at Kafe Kokopelli.  I remember it being very cool inside, and it being the venue where I tried Alligator meat... very chewy, not very tasty.  And of course, you can't beat Checkers, which is my fast food joint of choice in the south.  Tasty burgers, seasoned fries, and you can get a banana milkshake with your combo! Yumm!

Dade City is a small town, with lots of pretty parks and churches.  The town hall and downtown area is very quaint, and I always liked walking around there.  Outside of Dade City there are farms and swamps and lots of wildlife.  I love driving around that area.  There is also a really neat state park called Withlacootchee state park.  We did a couple hikes there trying to find some cool wildlife in the swamps.  Other than that, we had to drive quite a bit to our other Florida Destinations.


Unlike most families who went to Florida, we did not go to Disney World or Sea World.  The most kid-friendly spots we did go to were the Kennedy Space Station, Florida Aquarium and the Edison House.  All of them were really cool... we got to crawl all around spaceships, see what a take off would feel like in the control room, and go out to see where the real take off's happen.  At the Tampa Aquarium, I got to pet sting rays and sharks.  At the Edison house, we got to see what his labs looked like, and what his summer mansion was like (I vividly remember a very old-school swimming pool!).  Other than these things (and the numerous mini-put trips), we opted more for natural environment trips and beach days.

We went to Homosassa Spings State Park, where there was a zoo.  We got to meet Manatees there for the first time! They are such large and gentle creatures.  The park also did a good job educating patrons on the dangers that manatees face in the natural environment, and what precautions we could take to make sure we didn't harm them.  It was really neat seeing animals native to that area of North America.  Then we go to take a glass bottom boat ride through the swamps, which was also super cool!

One of the beaches we likes was Howard Park, which you had to drive out to on a looooong spit into the gulf of Mexico.  I always liked those kind of beaches where you had to drive out on a long spit, with ocean on both sides.  I also wondered how terrifying it would be during a hurricane!  The beach was very nice, but sometimes too crowded.  My parents are always in search of natural beaches and seclusion.  The actual beach and ocean bottom of this park was very nice... very clear, not too many things to step on (which was always a concern as a young girl...).

Tarpon Springs is a really neat town.  There are a lot of big, beautiful houses there.  There is also a main drag where you can buy sand dollars, natural sponges, and other ocean paraphernalia.  Also, there is really good Greek food there... I guess they have a strong Greek population.

We also tried the St. Pete's/Clearwater beach once (and only once).  There were cars on the beach, lots of obnoxious people, loud music, and raked over sand.  Very lame for shell collecting.

I have a great aunt who lives in Fort Meyers Florida, which also had a nice beach.  I remember it being very "resort-y", and the bottom of the ocean having lots and lots of live sand dollars, which really freaked me out as a kid.  While there, we also checked out Sanibel Island.  The water there was very warm and clear, but it dropped off rather quickly.  It was nice to drive around and look at all the different beach houses.

The 2nd best beach we went to in Florida was Fort DeSoto State Park.  This beach was lonnnng, so you could find a place that was more secluded.  There were really awesome sand dunes, and behind the beach was a line of trees and a natural creek that ran through, so it felt very wild.  If you walked out, there would be sand bars where you could walk along or lay in the shallow warm water.  There was plenty of beach to walk up and down, plenty of shade closer to the trees, and plenty of neat shells and other things washed up from the ocean.  It was here that I stepped on and killed a crab.  It was also at this point that I decided never to eat crab, because the experience was so disgusting.

The best beach in Florida was Caladesi Island State Park.  To get to it, you had to enter Honeymoon State Park and park your car and pay for a small motor-boat ferry across the bay to get to the island.  It was the ultimate in seclusion, and I saw some of the most beautiful sunsets from this beach.  The island almost felt untouched in that there was turtles, dolphins, and other really neat creatures around.  It was small enough that you could walk end-to-end in a couple hours.  I remember seeing storm clouds roll in over the gulf from here as well... really cool stuff.  The ferry over has a fee, as does admission into this state park, but it is worth it.

Florida, you will always have a place in my heart.

Destination: London, Ontario

Well, since this is supposed to be a travel blog and all, I figured that to fill time until I get to Spain (and to delay writing my thesis), I would write about places I've lived or traveled.  You know, recommendations and stuff.  I thought the easiest place to start would be the city I've lived in on and off for the past 6 years of my life: London, Ontario.

London is a mid-sized city in south-western Ontario, and a big university town.  it is also known as the forest city.  However, the city is large enough to carry its own without the University of Western Ontario breathing down it's neck.

Here are some things to do if you want to venture to campus:

1) Workout at the newly built gym, the Western Student Recreation Centre.  $9.04 will buy you a day pass where you can explore all the recreation facility has to offer.
2) See a movie for ultra-cheap at Western Film (like, $4 cheap).  While you're at it, buy a trough of popcorn.
3) Take one of the scenic hikes along the Thames River.  The river runs right through campus, and adds a touch of charm to London.
4) Grab a beer at the Grad club.  There you will see faculty, and be able to choose from a number of beers on tap (there are a lot! They even have Mill Street Lemon Tea beer, my fav.)
5) See if there are any exhibits open at the MacIntosh Gallery, or if the Cronwyn Observatory has opened it's doors to the public.
6) Attend Homecoming at Western.  Current students and alumni alike gather to partake in copious amounts of drinking and purple-wearing whilst tailgating in the parking lot before the big game.  It's about as American as you can get, in regards to school spirit and varsity athletics.  Super fun!

Now, of course there is off campus to explore as well.

Natural Environment: There are two really nice parks in London - Victoria Park (in downtown London) and Springbank Park (a little off the beaten path).  Other than that, London has the perk of being in a really nice location natural-environment wise.  There are provincial parks nearby to spend the day at (along Lake Huron and Lake Erie), as well as conservation sites that are a bit closer.

Food: Disclaimer - I am a foodie.  I feel at home in large cities where I can explore a range of different kinds of foods, and find hole-in-the-walls to frequent.  I love food.  In regards to restaurants in London, I have found that there are 3 types that you could fit any restaurant into here: crappy, chain or expensive.  I have been to many crappy restaurants... hoping that I would find a little known gem in London (6 years and no luck with that one).  The chains are the usual - Jack Astors, Kelseys, The Keg, Milestones, Moxies, etc. Now, the expensive, here's where it gets good.  There are a list of great places to eat here, but none of them are particularly cheap:
1) Davids Bistro.  The best.  David knows exactly what he is doing with his menu and his dishes, and he knows the perfect wine pairing.  If you want it cheap, try the lunch menu (where mains won't run for more than $15).  Same portions as dinner too! But seriously, the food here is delicious.
2) Garlics, Black Trumpet, Kantina, Abruzzi, Tru, and the Tasting Room are all other great ones (and they all have websites, with the exception of Black Trumpet).  They are expensive, but you will get a good meal.
3) You may have noticed that there are no ethnic restaurants on this list... unfortunately, I find it very hard to find good ethic food in London.  The best so far include: King of Pigs (portugese, they make excellent rotesserie chicken, and their pirri pirri sauce is to die for!), Ozen (very good japanese food, made well, priced reasonably, and including a rather unique menu), Barakat (excellent lebanese food... try their vegetarian platter and get extra garlic puree and try their lentil soup) and Budapest (really interesting Hungarian food... in a REALLY cool setting... it would be worth it to go here just to sit in the authentic restaurant).
4) If you want to cook food yourself while here, go to Covent Garden.  This is the fresh, local market.  The food vendors there are great, and you can get the freshest and tastiest produce around, as well as artisan items and gourmet foods.  Also, as random as this sounds, but Field Gate Organics (an organic meat market) sells the BEST bacon I have ever had.  Seriously.  Get some and fry it up, you won't be disappointed.

Etc: There are other ways to fill your time in London other than being outdoors or eating (although I would sometimes beg to differ...)
1) The Grand Theatre - I've seen some shows here before, and a lot of good ones come through (most recently, Hair, The Great Gatsby and Cinderella).
2) If you are lucky enough to be here during the festival season in the summer and fall, go to Victoria Park to check out any one of the festivals that frequent during the warmer months.  My favorites are the Latin festival (where you can salsa your ass off) and LoLa (London Ontario Live Arts Festival).  Both fun!

3) Aeolian Hall.  This is tied for my favourite music venue (tied with Massey Hall in Toronto).  This beautiful establishment is run entirely by volunteers.  The people who work there are amazing.  The Aeolian does so much for the community as well, so it just feels great to support that cause and at the same time see a musical artist that you love.  I have seen Owen Pallett, Dan Mangan, Basia Bulat, Obijou, and Whitehorse here... all spectacular shows.  Also, they offer a bottle of wine and plate of cheese for, like, $20. A night at the Aeolian  =  a great night.

4) See a foreign film or documentary at Hyland Cinema.  Also, another great establishment of London.  This place shows the best movies, stuff that I have never seen offered at any other theater.  It's a great hub to stay in the loop with artistic films.  Grab a rose tea and a seat in the dark, old theater and enjoy the show.
5) Walk around the Old North area of London (where I am lucky enough to live).  The houses are beautiful.  They have such character, and its a nice little architectural stroll.

These are the gems of London (in my opinion).  They are special aspects of this city that are unparalled by gems in other cities.  There are other things in London (such as a Museum, some sort of old army base, some sports teams), but they aren't better than the ones that exist in other cities (nor do they really come too close).  These are things that make London special, that I will miss frequenting, and that are worth experiencing if you are in this city.