My wish right now? For someone to walk up to me and tell me I've won a trip to Europe. Maybe England, with it's beautiful castles and rich history, or Italy, for the wonderful food and culture, or maybe France, for the Louvre and the people. A girl can dream right? There is so many places I need to check off my bucket list, so many things that I want to try, but one thing comes first. Exploring my own country. Canada is an amazing place that is often forgotten by travellers. For thick dense forests, to the tundra, the prairies and the great lakes, Canada truly has a lot to offer. From the beautiful Lake Louise, known for its teal water and constantly being used as a computer background, to the Îles de la Madeleine, with their beautiful coast line. Every province or territory has something different to offer. Dogsledding, camp fires, skiing, zip lining or eating maple syrup fresh from the tree, as long as you look for it you'll find something amazing and breath taking to do. Wildlife is a huge part of Canadian living. Have you ever had a deer eat carrots out of your hand, or wild birds taking seeds off your hat? If not try it, because it is truly amazing. For those with imagination try geocaching, a global treasure hunt that brings you to some of the most amazing places in the world and in Canada. For those with a love of the city, just spend a few days in Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver. There is something for everyone in this great nation. And for the food lovers there is the delicious (though not very nutritious) poutine! So like Classified said in his hilarious yet extremely true song, Oh Canada, "I know where I'm from and I told ya before, North of American hard to ignore, every time I go away I tell em for sure, I'm from Canada" Cheesy? Yes. But true for most Canadians? Of course. So now it's time to enjoy my country because here in Canada you don't need to go across the ocean to do something great, you just need to walk out your front door.
HI Kelly!
ReplyDeleteI totally love this entry. You wrote some beautiful things. It is so true that we have so much going on here in Canada, that is unfortunate we don't get the chance to see it all. Canada is very much like Australia. It is such a big physical space where distances between points are so vast, making it almost impossible to cover it all.
I took the year off last year and traveled all over the world. Here is what I learned.
Things I learned on my year off...Marriage is a two million way street when you travel.
Regardless of where you are in the world, Buenos Aires or Kuala Lumpur...it is impossible to learn to tango. It doesn't take two to tango ...it takes a village.
A sure fire way of not leaving an inheritance is to take a year off.
You get a higher score playing Bejewewled in nice hotel rooms than in the crappy ones.
George Clooney is unstalkable....even in Cabos St. Lucas..
Ordering a Cocktail in Vegas is totally different from ordering one in Ho Chi Minh City. One is a fancy drink, the other a food paired with pig rectum.
Littering in Hanoi means throwing an entire garbage bag out your window on to the highway. Littering in Singapore means putting gum in a public waste container and then getting caned for it.
Money is all relative. You can lose it anywhere. In Italy, sexy guys race by you on scooters and cut your purse strap with knives to steal it, taking along your right hand in the process. In Beijng, they steal it all in cab fare while impressively never really getting you to your desired destination. In Florence, you part with it reluctantly every time you even catch a whiff of the heavenly scent of leather, and in Vegas, you willingly just lay down all you got and give it to them on pretty little felt tables.
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ReplyDeleteThe "mash up" of snake varieties in my nightmares are all listed neatly on menus in Hong Kong.
Every Health food store should carry the following:
Sea Grapes from the Nha Trang River, ice cream made with liquid nitrogen from Danang, dried pickled plums from Kuala Lumpur, sugar beets from Brussels, Argentinian wine, and medicinal weed from Amsterdam.
Never assume cars will stop for pedestrians....anywhere in the world . Most don't even stop after they run you over.
2 months of mail when you get home is overwhelming. Two months of ignored bills is liberating. Neither comes close to the challenge of finding your front door key in your luggage .
The mission statement for American Airlines is "never, ever allow your passengers to make their connecting flights"
They do serve baked Alaska in Alaska.
Everyone should bother seeing the glaciers in Alaska. No one should bother seeing the Mona Lisa in the Louvre.
The sun sets virtually everywhere. It is who you are with and what you are doing that makes them spectacular
That same sleep that is such a luxury when you are working turns into a complete waste of time when you're off .
When the water gets rough, the boat speeds up.
Never count on catching a Marlin. Seriously....!
Food accompanied with diet coke and wine anywhere in the world is scrumptious .
Mexicans hate Corona.
Captain and Tenille must have written Love will Keep us Together while traveling.
One dinner at the Chophouse in Chicago costs just as much three squares for three weeks in Vietnam....and that includes your flight.
Towels in Chicago hotels are the the size of tablecloths. Towels in Vietnam hotels are the size of washcloths.
Rome really wasn't built in a day!
You don't have to be religious to appreciate the Vatican.
The Notre Dame Cathedral in Montreal and the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris are not part of the same chain.
The best brunch in the world is called Fizztastic in Beijing.
Beijing Duck is the same as Peking Duck....for those math-science people who are not historians or geographers.
Aside from Moscow, Ottawa is the coldest capital in the world.
Ironically, Canada has the best air conditioning in the world.
It CAN rain coconuts in Belize!
When you travel in a backpack you end up wearing the same outfit every day. When you travel with two big suitcases with wheels, you end up wearing the same outfit every day....it just takes longer to find it.
I cannot go back to work as I have forgotten all my school passwords.
It is wonderful to spend a year where travel is your daily routine and "coming home" is your quick getaway.
Laughter is sometimes the ONLY medicine.
Nothing makes you feel so young and look so old as travel.
Home is your family and friends no matter where they are...or where you happen to be.
:) M.Morton