War, This Way, Ottawa, May 2012

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.

This sign shows the way to the nearby Canada War Museum, a museum with which I have a love-and-hate relationship. Canada’s national museum of military history covers the country’s military past, from several hundred years ago to the most recent involvement in conflicts. And that’s the last part that bothers me: I find it strange to have wars that are currently being fought or were fought recently (for instance, in Kosovo or in Afghanistan) exhibited in a museum. I do not think we have the necessary insights yet for that.

I’m all for honouring and remembering veterans, but I wouldn’t want history to be mixed with political agendas.

Maybe it’s my European upbringing—in the old world, history is only “history” if it happened a few centuries ago!

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Electrical Locker in Little Italy, Ottawa, May 2012

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!

There are tons of Italian restaurants for all budgets on Preston, as well as a few coffee shops, a bodega and a soccer club. Every year, the neighborhood hosts the Settimana Italiana di Ottawa and other events such as a Farmer Market.

Yet, as pleasant as strolling down Preston is, I can’t help thinking the area isn’t as lively as it should be, and most restaurants are rather cliché. Perhaps it is because there hasn’t been a wave of immigrant from Italy in a long time (the first one was around 1900, and the second after WWII), and because most people of Italian descent don’t celebrate their roots as much.

Even though I have one of these hard-to-spell Italian last name, I’d rather party in Chinatown, a few blocks away. Sign of times?

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Weird Sign At The Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, April 2012

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.

“Looks like it’s a warning against old perverts kidnapping innocent girls,” I ventured.

I know it must mean “use the crosswalk and hold children’s hands” but really, couldn’t they come up with a less confusing sign design? Or maybe it’s just us…!

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Self-Portrait, Ottawa, April 2012

Last Friday, I published my 900^th article. I only realized it afterwards: I don’t pay attention to numbers and I was really annoyed with our famous Canadian weather that day!

When I typed my first post on Blogger in November 2006, I had now idea I would still be writing today. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, mostly motivated by boredom and culture shock. And six years later, I’m still there, still enjoying blogging. Funny, isn’t it?

So in honour of this 900^th article, here are 10 things I wish I had known about blogging.

Blogging is time-consuming — I’m lucky to rarely experience writer’s block. Yet, blogging takes much more time than I would have thought at first. Finding ideas for articles, taking pictures, doing some research , editing and proofreading articles, uploading pictures, replying to comments etc. is a lot of work. Most writers develop some kind of routine (such as scheduling articles) but while it helps, blogging remains a time-consuming activity if you want to be serious and consistent.

Bloggers will develop good marketing skills — Most people don’t blog for themselves—they want to be read. And considering the number of blogs around, finding an audience and building a community is almost a full-time job. There are different ways to drive traffic to your blog but all include some kind of marketing skills. You could promote your blog on social media, participate in blog carnivals or simply leave meaningful comments on other blogs you enjoy reading but whatever you do, you have to be your own advertiser!

… and good technical skills — Those who are on Blogger or WordPress.com don’t have to worry much about the technical side of their blogs. But those who, like me, have a self-hosted WordPress blog fear each major version update. Updating the core of your blog can be tricky, and that you could be stuck trying to decipher cryptic error messages to put your blog back online. Besides, these days, a lot of bloggers want to stick out and express their creativity. Even if you use a theme or a template, there are parts of your blog you may want to tweak. And for that, you will have to edit the CSS or know some basic HTML!

Blogging isn’t always free — In 2007, I chose to leave Blogger, a free service, to use WordPress, a self-hosted blogging tool. It was a personal choice I don’t regret, as WordPress offers a lot of flexibility. But this choice had a price: I had to buy a domain name and pay for web hosting. The total cost is reasonable (about $100 per year) but it was still an investment at the time.

… but these blogging-related fees can be paid easily — Fortunately, I quickly realized these blogging fees could be paid fairly easily if I was willing to compromise on my “no advertising” policy. When I started blogging, I didn’t want to display any kind of ads. I changed my mind when blogging became time-consuming, when I started answering a lot of questions about Canada and when I had to pay for my hosting fees. Today, I make a little bit of money every month with Google Adsense, Text Link Ads and the pictures I sell in the Shop.

Communication is the key — I’m a firm believer that blogging is all about communicating, and that bloggers should have some contact info available and/or a comment section. I personally stay away from blogs that make commenting difficult (i.e. asking people to register to comment). Not all comments are deep and meaningful (including mine!) but keeping the communication open does wonders for the community, and you can learn a lot from those who take the time to leave a comment.

Bloggers do receive weird requests — The downside of inviting people to contact you or to leave a comment is that you will get strange requests. Just today, I had three of those by email. The first person wanted me to help him promote his volleyball tournament (why me? Why? I never ever mentioned volleyball on that blog!). The second one asked me to promote a new website about Greece (lovely country, nothing to do with Canada though!). The third request was three lines in Spanish from a reader in Colombia who wanted me to sponsor her entire family (no “hello”, no “please” and no “thank you”). I put up a FAQ page with some guidelines regarding questions but it doesn’t seem to deter weird people. Oh well.

Fighting spammers and scammers is annoying — Another blogging annoyance is those bloody spammers. You don’t realize how much of a pain they are until you reach 139,345 spam comments for 14,583 real comments (the latest stats available on this blog). Fortunately, Akismet blocks most if not all of them. As for scammers, you will get people stealing your pictures, your blog articles, your entire blog… just be prepare to deal with that.

There is such a thing as blogging etiquette — The first steps of a new blogger online can be daunting but most people are more than willing to help if you are willing to respect the etiquette!

Don’t blog because “you have to” — Blogging is something you should do because you enjoy it. If you don’t anymore, then there is no point in forcing yourself. Readers will feel your lack of interest. Sometimes, it’s better to take a break or post less often than to fill the gaps with poorly-written articles.

Any tip you’d like to add?

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Three Frozen Tulips, Ottawa, April 2012

On Monday, I was publishing a photo article on “Early Spring in the Farm”, and I was joking about jinxing the nice weather.

Well, looks like I did (sorry Ottawa!).

On Monday morning, we woke up to freezing temperatures and light snow. The snow actually melted during the day and it turned into rain pretty quickly, but the “oh crap” feeling lingered through the day.

I just don’t know what to wear these days. Thrown with abandon on the chair in the bedroom, there is a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, two pairs of jeans, one sweater and my scarf. Come on weather, a bit of consistency would be nice!

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If you’re thinking of going solo to discover Australia, here are some top tips on how to keep up with your social life while you’re on the move.

Where to stay

When booking your accommodation, try to avoid hotels and resorts and go for hostels and B&Bs instead. Hostels and B&Bs tend to be more social and have more communal areas. Make the effort to hang out in the communal lounge and get talking to people. You’ll meet like-minded travellers and strike up some friendships.

Tours

Tours are a great way to ensure you stay social. There is a huge variety of tours out there, including ones to suit all ages and destinations. If you go for a longer tour, you’ll be around the same people every day and have the opportunity to get to know them well. If that’s not your thing, even a day-long bus tour is a good chance to interact with people. Solo travellers often go on tours, so you’ll be sure to connect with other singles.

Courses and classes

Have a hobby, passion or childhood dream to indulge for a day? Book yourself into a cooking course in the Blue Mountains or a dance class in Sydney. You’ll be paired up with new and interesting people who share the same passion as you. It’s a great chance to build a new friendship or even just keep the loneliness at bay with a few after-class cocktails.

Don’t forget your nearest and dearest

Meeting new friends is obviously a priority when travelling solo, but what about staying in touch with old friends? A chat with friends and family back home can be just what the single traveller needs every now and then. Take advantage of social networking sites and Skype as cheap, accessible ways to stay in touch with what’s going on back home.

Say yes

One of the best things you can do to stay social when travelling in Australia is to remember to say “yes”. Stay open-minded to new experiences and people, and you’ll end up with friendships you never thought you’d have.

Go online

Use the power of the web and go online to meet people while you’re travelling. Follow a blog that relates to where you’re travelling and ‘post’ and interact on it. Dating sites are a great option if you want to connect with people romantically. Join the thousands of Sydney singles at eHarmony AU, for example, and fill up your evenings with meeting new people.

Dining out

When dining out, hunt for restaurants with communal tables. They’re more common than you’d think in Australia and they provide a great excuse to get chatting over dinner.

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Shoveling the Snow, Ottawa, March 2012

Most Canadians keep a shovel in the garage, and it’s not to build sandcastles, but to shovel the snow.

A single snowstorm can bring ten, twenty, thirty of more centimeters of snow and it can make getting out of the house a challenge. If you live in an apartment, you’ll be fine (yet you may have to shovel your balcony). But if you live in a house, you will soon be familiar with the shoveling routine. Clearing the driveway, especially the end of it, is the number one winter chore.

There are different kinds of snow. Wet snow may be the prettiest but it’s also a bitch to shovel because it’s so heavy. For ice, you need a metal shovel (or a flamethrower… I still wish we could use these!). For the heavy slush at the end of the driveway, you mostly need patience and a lot of time.

That said, shoveling snow is good exercise and a great way to meet your neighbours! You are all in this together… eh!

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Flooded Intersection, The Glebe, Ottawa, March 2012

The weather has been very strange for the past few days. We had snow, blizzard, very strong winds, warmer temperatures, hail, drifting snow and then cold temperatures. This resulted in dirty snow banks and some slush.

Trust me, there is nothing more beautiful than a fresh coat of snow but there is nothing worse than slush. The slurry mixture of ice, water and dirt blocks drains and piles up on sidewalks. It makes walking around an adventure.

I don’t mind walking in the snow, although much like walking on the sand, it can be tiring. But I do hate getting my feet wet or worse, getting splashed by a car!

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Red Gloves on Snow, Ottawa, February 2012

Everybody knows that: winters are cold in Canada. Yet it’s an enjoyable (if a tad too long) season, and the best way to make the most of it is to prepare for it accordingly–that includes dressing warmly.

They key here is to block the wind. Contrary to popular belief, Canadians don’t wear several layers of sweaters and five pairs of pants to stay warm. In fact, most of the time, I just wear socks, a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a sweater. But I have a very warm knee-long jacket, and I often wrap a scarf around my neck—I have a rather large scarf collection—because it feels comfy. I rarely wear a hat because it really messes up my hair (I sound like an airhead writing that, don’t I!) but my jacket has a hood—good enough if it snows.

However, I’m terrible when it comes to wearing gloves. Doing so is common sense: the wind can be extremely cold and winter weather is generally dry. But I always seem to need my bare hands and I hate taking the gloves off and putting them back a second later after making a call (touch screen does not work with gloves on!) or taking a bus ticket out of my wallet.

Yet, the pair of gloves I stuck to was the $10 one I picked up a few years ago, right before the Vancouver Olympic Games. The patriotic “red mittens” were seen just about everywhere and were surprisingly warm and comfy.

I still have this pair from the 2010 collection (other similar models came out since) and I love it!

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Gumball Machines, Gatineau, February 2012

When I was a kid in France, chewing gums (called “le chewing gum”) were pretty popular, mostly because it was banned at school and because brands such as “Hollywood Chewing Gum” and “Malabar”, the French bubble gum, were trying to convince us that it was the coolest thing around.

Chewing gum was introduced in France by WWII American soldiers and it remained a little piece of exoticism for most French.

Although I’m not a huge fan of sweets and rarely have candy or chewing gum (I like mints, that’s about it!), I found these gumball machines at the mall very picturesque. And only a quarter too! That’s quite a bargain for a huge piece of gum.

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