We had been waiting for this moment with the same eagerness as an American teen about to turn 21. Finally, we hit the Canadian jackpot: a long week and hot weather.

It’s Victoria Day in Canada and the weather has been gorgeous for the past three days. Shorts-and-sandal weather, not “hey, let’s grab a hat, gloves and a coat to go for a walk!” weather. Bank holidays don’t mean anything for Feng and I, we usually still have to work, but enjoying some nice weather between assignments made all the difference.

The annual Canadian Tulip Festival had been going on for a couple of weeks already but I refused to go wearing my winter jacket and yes, it was that cold last weekend. Today, it was perfect. We joined the busloads of tourists, mostly Indian and Chinese, and walked around Dow’s Lake, looking for the perfect flower (me) and trying to eat a giant ice cream cone before it melts (the guys).

Happy long weekend, Canadians! Flower and ice cream porn below…

Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow's Lake
Ottawa Tulip Festival at Dow’s Lake

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14 Comments

  1. Isa May 24, 2016 at 4:10 am

    Finally! Spring’s here! You must be relieved. Montréal’s climate looks way less harsh, I don’t think I could handle the Ottawian one!

    Reply
    1. Zhu May 24, 2016 at 3:45 pm

      Honestly, it’s about the same as in Montreal except Montreal gets more snow I believe. Maybe I complain more?

      Reply
      1. Isa May 25, 2016 at 7:34 am

        You really think so? Ottawa’s a bit up North so I figured it wasn’t the same…
        And you owned the right to complain after so many harsh winters!

        Reply
        1. Zhu May 25, 2016 at 3:20 pm

          Uh uh ma chère… nous sommes au sud de Montréal! C’est du Nord au Sud Montréal, Ottawa puis Toronto 😉

          Reply
          1. Isa May 26, 2016 at 5:43 am

            Bah merde alors !!!

          2. Zhu May 26, 2016 at 3:23 pm

            Je fais régulièrement des “découvertes” géographiques en France aussi, des fois ma mémoire de la vieille carte punaisée au fond de la salle de classe est… pas fiable 😆

  2. Cesc May 24, 2016 at 10:13 am

    I enjoyed reading this. The pictures are so beatiful.. yaay! to great weather.. Its nice to have a break from the cold. enjoy!

    Reply
    1. Zhu May 24, 2016 at 3:45 pm

      Thank you! Yes, spring/summer weather is such a relief after a long winter!

      Nice to meet you 🙂

      Reply
  3. Frenchie au Canada May 24, 2016 at 1:15 pm

    J’adore le T-Shirt nirvana au milieu des fleurs 🙂
    Chez nous on a eu un temps POURRI. Mais bon, chacun son tour, vu que pour l’instant nous avions eu un superbe printemps 😉
    Elles sont belles ses tulipes en tous cas

    Reply
    1. Zhu May 24, 2016 at 3:46 pm

      C’est LE festival des tulipes du Canada, parce que le pays a accueilli la famille royale d’Hollande pendant la guerre 😉

      (Nirvana ne fait en revanche pas partie de la tradition :lol:)

      Reply
  4. Chiruza Canadiense May 25, 2016 at 8:10 am

    Ok, so….two questions / comments:

    – It’s beginning to get too warm Montréal….yesterday and the day before it was unbearable under the sun, and last night I couldn’t sleep because of the heat. Honestly, I don’t like it….I’d rather have winter all year long !

    – Don’t you get bored in such small city like Ottawa ?? Montréal is bigger than Ottawa, and I still get bored in here….seems like a small village, instead of a city.

    Reply
    1. Zhu May 25, 2016 at 3:27 pm

      Yes, summers are very hot and humid here, much like in Buenos Aires. I love it 🙂 You haven’t lived through a Canadian winter yet, be careful what you wish for!

      I’m a bit concerned with your comment to be honest, you went through so much to get your PR… and you’ve been there for a month (about that, right?) and you’re already bored in Montreal and heading to Toronto. I’m not sure what to tell you… it’s okay to look for the best place for you and to criticize and all, it’s not like I’m offended, but at one point you have to know what you want! To answer your question, yes, I do get bored in Ottawa now but I loved it for the first… five, six or seven years, because everything was new and fun. Now it depends, but life changed quite a bit too, and I changed as well.

      Reply
      1. Chiruza Canadiense May 29, 2016 at 5:34 pm

        It’s not like I’m bored in Montréal now….I’ve always been. Even when I came last year, I found this place sooo boring.

        Why would you be offended ? Montréal is boring. Any smaller city is even more boring. That’s the reality. And don’t get me started with small villages….

        What makes you think I don’t know what I want ?

        Reply
        1. Zhu May 29, 2016 at 7:42 pm

          Then I guess I’m wondering why you chose Montreal!

          I think my reaction is because you’re so new here. Like, imagine someone who just landed his dream job after many many interviews. And then he starts the job and a month later, he hates it, he says it’s boring, doesn’t like his coworkers, etc. I would probably think “dude, you’ve barely started!” But if the same person would complain after working there for a few years, I would be more sympathetic, “yeah, maybe you’ve learned everything there was to learn, you probably need a challenge.”

          I’m not a huge fan of Montreal, I’ve never felt comfortable there for many reasons. I did like Ottawa when I first came, I’m more split now but I think it’s because I’ve been there for a long long time and I changed.

          But the reality is that Canada doesn’t have that many big cities even though it’s a huge country. In this state of mind, you’re likely to dislike Toronto as well. I had the feeling that you had a plan because your immigration process took so long, so I’m wondering… what you are looking for, I guess!

          Reply

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