Articles by Juliette Giannesini
French woman in English Canada. Occasionally: speaks Mandarin or Spanish, bitches about the Canadian weather, writes left-wing rants, gives test to her students so that she can read the paper and have breakfast, speaks of cultural difference or goes backpacking across the world. And enjoys Canada as her new home.
Spring on the Hill
Last weekend, Feng and I took a long walk on Parliament Hill and along the Ottawa River. The Parliament grounds were crowded—the nice weather and the Tulips Festival brought a lot of tourists, mostly from China, India, the U.S. and other Canadian cities.
North American Desserts: The Carrot Cake
I’m not your typical cordon bleu French cook, but I tend to stay away from supermarket bakeries because the lists of ingredients they use scare me. So once in a while, I bake. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated: I usually follow recipes loosely (seriously, who has all the ingredients on hand?) and hope for the best.
Picture of the Week: War
Canada is a peaceful nation, which is probably why next to the “war – this way” sign, there is a “wong way” sign. Or at least, that’s my twisted interpretation of this picture I snapped between Parliament Hill and Sparks Street.
Ottawa Tulips Festival – 2012 Edition
The opening weekend of the 2012 Tulips Festival was very warm, and most of the flowers had just bloomed. Dow’s Lake was packed and people were fighting to have their picture taken by the flower beds. Eh, this is Canada, we don’t get to see flowers other than at the grocery store for six months at the time!
Canadian Small Towns - Gananoque
Even though I’m very much a city person and can’t imagine living in a place with a population of less than 500,000, I’m in love with Canadian small towns. Over the year, we visit quite a lot of small towns, mostly in Ontario but also in the U.S. Some were just a stop on the road to or from somewhere, some were a getaway, but most of them were simply lovely.
Foodie Review: Vittoria Trattoria
I usually avoid eating in the Byward Market because some of Ottawa’s worse restaurants operate there, and because food can be pricey and mediocre. I always feel for tourists who end up there and pay big bucks for bad food. But sometimes, there are nice surprises.
Picture of the Week: Little Italy
In Ottawa, the heart of Little Italy lies along Preston Street, in the area known as “Corso Italia”. Like in Chinatown, the entrance on Carling is marked by a metal arch in the colours of the Italian flag. Even the electrical lockers are painted in the colours of the flag!
A Quick Trip To Toronto
Toronto is one of my favourite cities in Canada, and we’ve gotten to know it pretty well through multiple visits. This time, we were there for the Bryan Adams concert and only stayed for a day, but we still enjoyed a nice walk in the city and a stop at two of our favourite restaurants: The Old Spaghetti Factory on the Esplanade, and a small Chinese dumpling place in Chinatown.
Bryan Adams Concert in Toronto
Yes, I like Bryan Adams. I don’t care how corny some of his songs can be, he is classic. The decision to make the trip to the concert in Toronto was a last minute one. We both weren’t too busy at work, and the weather was suddenly warmer. Plus, we wanted to check out the Air Canada Centre.
Picture of the Week: Let's Kidnap a Girl!
I’m a huge fan of signs and I always keep an eye out for the funniest or strangest ones, at home or abroad. I found this gem when exploring the Central Experimental Farm a few days ago. It was put up in the very quiet parking lot. Feng and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. “The hell…?” we wondered.
