Articles in Snapshots
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.
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.
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.
Early Spring at The Farm
Some days are hot, some days are cold, but we are slowly getting there—spring is on the way. The grass is green, little critters can be spotted all around the city and flowers are blooming. It will take a while to be in full spring mode, but at least winter should be behind us by now. Hopefully, I didn’t just jinx it.
Nantes’ Industrial Past
One of my favourite districts in Nantes is the one close to the Loire River, by the quai de la Fosse. The former dodgy neighborhood was home to the shipyards and, at the time, prostitutes and brothels were known to satisfy sailors’ needs quai de la Fosse (there are still a number of strip bars along the quay today).
Fire in Nantes
I’ve been spoiled with photo-ops lately! A demonstration, the annual street market, the carnival (that I skipped)… and now a huge fire. Nantes is definitely the place to be in March-April!
Yesterday afternoon, I smelled smoke …
Street Market in Nantes
Sales are an exciting topic in France for two main reasons: first, clothes aren’t cheap, second, sales and discounted prices are rare. In fact, the French government regulates sales and only allows two six-week-long markdowns a year, one in June and the other in January. But this Saturday was the annual “braderie” (street market) in Nantes—an exception to the rule.
The Île de Versailles
I took a long walk to the Île de Versailles, a small island on the River Erdre. The place is modeled after a Japanese garden, and dotted with patches of bamboo, rhododendrons and bonsai trees.
It’s a great place to get a “out of the city” feel, even though it’s tiny and can be crowded on nice days. I love seeing trees in bloom—the landscape was still very winter-y ten days ago in Canada!
