Correr Es Mi Destino » Snapshots

Spring on the Hill

Zhu — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:00:11 +0000

The weather is still lovely in Ottawa and most of us try to spend as much time outside as we can—it’s about time we get a tan!

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.

Funny enough, when we reached the gates of the Parliament, Feng and I realized that we had never taken a “traditional” shot of us in front of the Centre Block. Pretty ironic considering how many times we’ve been there! So we asked one of the tourists to take us, a good ten years after settling in Ottawa.

From the Parliament, we took the stairs down to the Ottawa River and walked towards Victoria Island, close to Portage Bridge. The view on Gatineau and on all the interprovincial bridges was lovely and the path was mercifully quiet—not too many tourists realize there is a path all along the river.

You can see the complete Ottawa Spring set on Flickr.

Red Tulips in Front of the Parliament

The Parliament

Tulips and Peace Tower

The Centre Block

Feng and I realized we didn’t have any picture of us in front of the Parliament, for all the times we’ve been there!

The Centre Block

Red Tulips and the Peace Tower

Red Tulips and the Urban Jungle

Parliament Hill

Gatineau and the Ottawa River

The Library and the Centre Block

Bridges Between Quebec and Ontario

Alexandra Bridge

Gatineau, Quebec

Walk by the River

Reflection of the Parliament

In Bloom on the Hill

Ottawa Tulips Festival – 2012 Edition

Zhu — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:00:44 +0000

Hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, we got a surprise snow fall. The weather recently got warmer and it always feels humid. With all the rain we had lately, the trees, grass and plants are chlorophyll green and I think this time I can say it’s spring. Finally. In May.

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!

Lovely sea of colours, isn’t it?

You can see the complete set of the Ottawa Tulips Festival on Flickr.

Ottawa Tulips Festival

Canadian Small Towns - Gananoque

Zhu — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:00:32 +0000

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.

It’s a cliché but the pace of life is different and people are friendlier than in the big cities. It’s also refreshing to see fewer franchises, more “mom and pop” stores, and fresher products. It also helps that Ontario is a lovely province, and that a lot of these towns are in a beautiful natural setting. Most small towns here really try hard to be welcoming, unique and original and they each have their own little quirks or attractions.

Last week, on our way back from Toronto, we decided to break the five-hour long drive in Gananoque instead of Kingston (home of the Tragically Hip!), our usual stop. We had been to Gananoque once before, in 2008, when exploring the Thousand Islands.

Our stop there was quick but very relaxing. As soon as we stepped out of the car, we noticed how quiet it was compared to Toronto and to the highway. We walked around Joel Stone Park and the marina, and enjoyed what probably is the calm before the storm for this touristic site.

You can see more small towns in the Ontario Travels set.

Gananoque and the St Lawrence

No related articles.

A Quick Trip To Toronto

Zhu — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:00:35 +0000

Toronto is one of my favourite cities in Canada, and we’ve gotten to know it pretty well through multiple visits. It’s an easy getaway destination, a mere five-hour drive from Ottawa, and there are a lot of cheap hotels if you don’t mind staying in the suburbs, like most of Toronto residents.

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.

The drive into Toronto never ceases to amaze me, as the highway plunges between the condos, always taller and always closer. I never truly understood real estate and why people think investing in a $300,000 condo by the freeway is a good idea. I can understand the lucky—and rich—few who live in condos right in the downtown core, but why bother living in the suburbs in a condo? I guess it’s like real estate in Paris: you buy whatever you can and hope for the market to keep booming.

We often end up in Chinatown during our trips to Toronto. I like the atmosphere, and the fact that it’s always crowded. The number of small businesses is amazing, and there aren’t too many franchises in the neighborhood, which makes for an interesting walk.

This time, after eating our dumplings, we ended up in a small side street of Kensington Market we had never explored before. It was full of “alternative” clothing stores, and the smell of incense was overwhelming. Kensington Market boasts an amazing number of murals, most very well done and they liven up the area.

On the way back to Chinatown, we bumped into Olivia Chow, the wife of late NDP leader Jack Layton, giving interviews in Cantonese—no idea what she talked about!

You can see more pictures of Toronto in the Flickr set.

Always More Condos To Build…

: The Hockey Hall of Fame

: Chinatown

Bikes For Rent

On Bay Street

Incense Burning

Shoes For Sale

Alley

Self Portrait

Murals

May Day Celebrations

Toronto Skyline From Dundas Street

Olivia Chow Giving Interview in Chinatown

Late Night in TO

Foggy Highway

No related articles.

Bryan Adams Concert in Toronto

Zhu — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:00:51 +0000

Yes, I like Bryan Adams. I don’t care how corny some of his songs can be, he is classic.

When I was in China in 2000, I picked up the 98 album “On a Day Like Today” and my friends and I loved it—probably because the lyrics were so easy to understand for us, non-English speakers. Plus, we were in a “Bridget Jones” phase where all the guys were asshole anyway, so most of the songs on the album confirmed what we highly suspected about the opposite sex.

I saw him play in Nantes once—must have been in 1998 or 1999—and I had good memories of the concert. He is one of these artists worth seeing live, I think.

That said, 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.

The drive was quicker than expected (less traffic in the middle of the week I guess) and we made it downtown Toronto just in time to grab dinner before the show.

Security at the Air Canada Centre was a bit more lax than at Scotiabank Place, and I was able to take my DSLR with me (or at least, no one stopped me). We had good seats too, on the floor, so I’m glad I took the chance.

The show was awesome. There was no opening band but Bryan Adams sang non-stop from 8 p.m. to close to 11 p.m., and he played all his classics, plus many other good tunes. I wasn’t disappointed—he is a great live musician.

The crowd was great too. Lots of women, and some were really young—I wonder how they discovered Bryan Adams, who is an artist from 1990s!

You can see the complete set of pictures taken during the concert here, on Flickr.

The Air Canada Centre

Bryan Adams in Toronto

Early Spring at The Farm

Zhu — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:35:43 +0000

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.

On a nice sunny day, I went to explore part of the Central Experimental Farm, close to where I live. I usually go there for the lovely ornamental gardens but of course, it’s too early for that. However, the light was beautiful that day and we started to wander around the buildings.

We skipped the Canada Agricultural Museum (I’ve seen cows before…) but quickly got lost in the maze of old colourful buildings, most of them research facilities belonging to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Blue, bright red, yellow, orange… some had a fresh coat of paint but on most of them, it was peeling badly, adding to the atmosphere.

I love that we can escape so easily from the city… while still being in the middle of the city!

Slowly Blooming

Green Fields

Trees Are Still Bare

Blooming

Experimental Farm Buildings

Moss

Geese Having Lunch

Experimental Farm Buildings

No related articles.

Nantes’ Industrial Past

Zhu — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 17:50:44 +0000

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).

From the crooked buildings quai de la Fosse, you can see the Loire River, the massive brand new courthouse, the Île de Nantes (and its mechanical wooden elephant), the Titan Crane (left as a reminder of the chantiers Dubigeons, the shipyards). A number of historical ships are docked there, including the trois-mâts Belem (a 19^th century merchant ship) and the Maillé-Brézé (a destroyer of the French Navy). This is also where the Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery was built.

I grew up quai de la Fosse, and then moved a block away when I was a kid. It remains one of my favourite places to hangout. Funny enough, the bourgeois of Nantes dislike the area and would rather gather on the infamous “Boulevard Guist’hau” (a rather dark and windy boulevard with almost no shops around) or in the Cours Cambronne (equally windy and dusty).

Bridge to the Courthouse

Quai de la Fosse and the Trois-Mats Belem Boat

Isle of Nantes

The Buren Rings

Along the River

The Titan Crane and the Isle of Nantes

The Machines de Nantes

The Maillé-Brézé Boat and The Titan Crane

The Isle of Nantes

By The River

Old Door To Nowhere

The Tip of The Isle of Nantes

Sign Fail, Nice Helicopter!

No related articles.

Fire in Nantes

Zhu — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:21:36 +0000

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 in the street but I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. But today, when I went grocery shopping in the morning, I realized most streets a block away from my parents’ place were blocked with dozens of fire trucks, and that firefighters were working hard.

I don’t read local news and I was the only one puzzled (and half-asleep) in the crowd of bystanders. Apparently, a fire in a restaurant had started on Sunday and was still going strong. Add to that the fact that the restaurant was in a semi-underground mall between to pedestrian streets and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

Thankfully, there were no victims but the streets are still blocked a day later and the fire isn’t completely contained yet.

Fire in Nantes

Street Market in Nantes

Zhu — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 22:00:45 +0000

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.

In the downtown core, local vendors put up stands outside of their shops and they were joined by hundreds of “outsiders” such as food stalls and market vendors. The streets were so packed you could barely move.

Unfortunately, I didn’t find any good bargains. French fashion may be world-famous but you won’t find affordable Chanel or Dior clothes in local stores. Most vendors offered pricey “made in China” summer dresses, t-shirts and jeans or cheap make-up, much like in any other market.

One thing I noticed in France is that the notion of “personal space” is very different from North America. In Canada, people barely touch each other and if they do, they apologize profusely. In Nantes, people seem to enjoy bumping into each other. “If French drive like they walk,” I told my mum, “I understand why there are so many traffic accidents!”

The fact that pretty much everyone was drinking something (because you really need a beer when you go shopping for clothes, right?) probably wasn’t helping. I still can’t get over how much French drink!

Street Market in Nantes

The Île de Versailles

Zhu — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:01:44 +0000

The weather is still lovely in Nantes and I’m trying to make the most of it—it could be winter again when I come back to Canada after all!

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!

In Bloom

Crossing The Pond

The Erdre

Reading Under The Shade

In Bloom

Japonese Garden

The Erdre

On The Bridge

Under The Bridge