Living and Breathing Saguenay

Last weekend (29th Nov - 1st Dec), four friends and I went on a road trip to the village of L'Anse-Saint-Jean, near Saguenay in Quebec. We were all wanting to take a bit of a breather, get away from the city and see some Quebec countryside, especially after the beautiful snowfall that we had just had.

The best thing about road trips is that they often become a crash course in getting to know people. Our group was about as varied as can be - we each came from China, Iran, Aruba, Poland and Australia respectively, so had a lot to talk about. Our eight hour car trip became a sharing of cultures, languages and ideas, from things as trivial as food to politics.

Passing by Quebec City...already -6 degrees.

I found it quite surreal and odd to think about the fact that, though we all came from different corners of the world, we were all able to share and communicate with each other through the English language. I find it nice sometimes that it's my maternal language that often allows people from different backgrounds to communicate! It certainly rendered my heritage as boring though, so I tried to mix it up a bit by offering them some gems from the Australian dialect of English, such as the treasure of diphthongs and the easiest way to sound Australian (add 'mate' to the end of any sentence).

And interestingly, it was our diversity and interest in each other and the place we were visiting that made our adventure...well, all the more adventurous! (More on this later)

So, I was expecting the countryside to be beautiful near Saguenay...but not quite so beautiful as it really was. Every minute or so I had to stop and sigh as I saw another unexpected image of complete and utter beauty that literally took my breath away.

Taking the luge down the hill near the hostel, leaving for the day's activities, trekking through the woods, horse riding in the mountains...everywhere we went was stunning.

Leaving the hostel in the morning

On our way to go snowshoeing in the woods, we had come across some locals trying to get a car out of a ditch and had asked them what the best hiking route was. After about an hour of trekking it through the pristine countryside, admiring the absolute silence, gentle chill and still forest, we were starting to get a bit tired.

No wind, no sound, just silence

We were starting to doubt whether or not we were going the right way to the lookout when we suddenly heard the sound of motors behind us. We turned around to find the two guys from earlier - come to give us a lift on their snowmobiles!

They were some pretty cool dudes, and the man who was driving the snowmobile I got on had the need for speed! I for one screamed "Woohoo!!!" all the way down the mountain as we zoomed past the incredible scenery, breaking that calm and silence we had enjoyed earlier!

We were then led to the lookout, where we admired a spectacular view of the semi-frozen Fjord du Saguenay, lined with little chalets and snow-topped pines.

The Fjord du Saguenay

Our absolute awe at the surrounding scenery and our diversity led our new local mates to invite us into their chalet to warm up by the fire (a welcome haven from the -12 degree weather outside!). Whilst at first I was worried that things were sounding a bit too Wolf Creek-esque, it turned out that the men were so lovely and just genuinely nice locals, sharing a taste of their life with us. They explained that seeing tourists in awe of the views reminded them of how lucky they were to see it every week.

Chalet in the woods

They also recommended us a great diner called La Fringale where we rested for a poutine stop in the afternoon as the sun was setting.

I was just loving the welcoming spirit of the people from the villages and getting a sense for the variation in the way they spoke French too! As well as these men we met on the road, we also had a great experience with the guys who took us on our snowy horse ride adventure. The man running the tours was a legend, organising a trail ride for us at the last minute. 

Horse riding through the hills

I found the way he spoke French very warm and welcoming, and much more laid back than the city folk I've met in Montreal. I noticed in the villages that people used the word "là" a LOT - sometimes even filling whole questions with it!

Some examples I heard were:

• When we were organising the time for the ride: "Là, là? Je dois faire le ménage, là. Mais on peut le faire à 10h?"

• When he was showing us his warm clothing and how the locals dress themselves for winter : "Ça, là? C'est chaud, là."

I found it all very sweet and have started trying to work this gorgeous (and useful) little word into my conversations.

I found the other guy organising the trail ride interesting too - he had just finished uni and was in the process of building his own house, wanting to grow his own food and live in the woods, working with the horses. It was really nice to see how people lived in the villages, how they found happiness and dealt with other people - it has certainly been different from my experiences in cities.

We had a long, but safe trip home from a wonderful snowy adventure listening to some jolly Christmas tunes on the radio. When this one came on, it made me feel really nostalgic (but of Charlie Brown or Arrested Development I can't be sure!):

It sure was beautiful driving through the snow and admiring the views by the river on the way back. Here's hoping for a White Christmas this year!!

This week, I will finish my exams (yay!) and after that I will have one more week to make the most of the amazing city of Montreal. I have already had to say some goodbyes and it has been very sad so far but I'm trying not to think about it too much until the moment I have to leave for real!

Looking forward to a productive week!

Erin xo

Couldn't ask for better travel companions!

Some Treasures in Toronto

After that amazing trip to Boston, Toronto had a lot to live up to.

I was pretty excited already for it because it was the setting of one of my favourite films/comic series, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. I had found a pretty sweet website detailing a lot of the filming/drawing locations and I was very keen to pay a bit of a pilgrimage of sorts when I arrived there to Bryan Lee O'Malley's geeky cult creation. Yep, I was so excited that I even watched the film on the bus there to get me prepped.

I started off my stay in style with a dinner at the top of Toronto's most iconic building: the CN tower. I will give it to them, it does make for a very memorable addition to the skyline. It stands 553 metres high and was the world's tallest tower at the time of construction in 1976 (it's now the fifth tallest tower in the world). The food was amazing at the 360 restaurant, and gave a great view of every angle of the city! I have definitely found that an observation tower is a good way to start your stay in a city - it allows you to get your bearings and identify the main attractions that you might be interested in seeing in your stay.

Me and the view from the 360 restaurant

The CN Tower from below

Then the next day it was on to the pilgrimage! I started off with a stop to Scott and Wallace's apartment in the movie (the same as drawn in the comics). It very much blended into its surroundings and was dressed up a bit for the movie with snow and a door, but is actually someone's garage! I also paid a visit to Bryan Lee O'Malley's old house on the same street.

Scott and Wallace's apartment

After this I headed to Casa Loma, an extravagant old mansion once belonging to businessman Sir Henry Pellatt in the early 20th century and the filming location of a number of movies such as Chicago, X-Men, and you guessed it, Scott Pilgrim!

The majestic Casa Loma

It was a very strange place, quite eerie and almost Gatsby-esque in its extravagance. As Pellatt became broke quite quickly after its construction, Casa Loma was abandoned for many years and had no use at all until it was transformed into a museum and tourist attraction. The museum was alright, but quite expensive and I was just there for the architecture if anything.

I had had many recommendations from friends to go over to the Toronto islands by ferry and explore, and I was almost considering not going because I was running out of daylight in the afternoon. But I made the 3:30pm ferry and it ended up being a great decision - the islands were absolutely stunning and gave an incredible view of the skyline! It was so lovely to see the "beach" looking out to Lake Ontario (which is HUGE!), and just walk the boardwalk in the evening. In summer I imagine that the islands would be even more enjoyable.

The Beach

It ended up being actually quite a good time of day to go, as the sun was just starting to set as I left, which meant that I got to watch the skyline light up before my eyes on the ferry ride back.

Sunset on the skyline

That night I went to see James Vincent McMorrow live in the Opera House - it was a great venue and he absolutely blew me away! He mostly played songs from his new album, Post Tropical, set to be released in January, and from the moment he started singing I knew it was going to be an incredible gig. What. A. Voice. You can check out his new single Cavalier from the new album here:

It was great to get a vibe for Toronto through seeing a gig, and I went to get a drink with an English farmer I met at the concert at a cute little organic beer place afterwards.

Another highlight of my stay was seeing The Second City, a famous comedy club in Chicago and Toronto that does sketch revues and improvisation. I was in stitches and even managed to get some of the Canada jokes (there were a lot about Rob Ford...). Another great recommendation from my Toronto buddy!

Outside The Second City

I also managed to catch the annual Santa Claus Parade in the middle of the city and paid a quick visit to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) on Sunday, which was very pleasant! I was so impressed by the sheer amount of people who turned up to see the man himself, and in mid-November no less!

On Monday, I went to the newly opened Ripley's aquarium, which I would highly recommend to adults and kids alike! It was an incredibly interactive place, with lots of colours, a magic carpet leading visitors through the shark tunnel and even a petting area where you could touch crabs and stingrays. I could tell that the kids were absolutely loving it too as I heard shouts of "This...place...is...AWESOME!" around every corner! I personally loved the jellyfish room - it was so peaceful to watch them floating with the lights and colours, and the music that they had in the aquarium went very well.

Just floatin' around

Finally, I grabbed some lunch at a very trendy Japanese restaurant near the bus terminal which I would highly recommend called Don Don Izakaya. Such great decor, food and the staff were very friendly! I was thanked by every staff member in the store as I left.

Don Don Izakaya

You know, it's interesting...although every city that I have visited on exchange has had similar attractions (eg. museums, art galleries, iconic buildings on the skyline), every place has had its own flavour and unique personality. Toronto for me was an exciting and vibrant city with a lot to do, and much more fast paced than Montreal. I was shocked by the prevalence of French even in Ontario, a reminder that Canada really is a bilingual country, even though the number of English speakers dominates.

Going to Toronto also made me feel less embarrassed by the misunderstandings I've had in French in Montreal as I realised that there is even variation in the English spoken in Canada! One such experience I had was on the way to the James Vincent McMorrow concert. I was about to take a streetcar when I realised that I didn't have any change, so I went to the nearest Macca's to ask for some change for a fiver.

The guy on the cash register said: "Ah alright...we've only got loonies, is that ok?"
"You've only got what?" I said.
"Loonies!" he said. "Sorry about that."

I was thinking...crazy people? What on earth is he on about?? I asked if it was a Canadian thing and he laughed out loud, explaining that loonies are one dollar coins and toonies are two dollar coins. Well there you go! I couldn't believe I hadn't come across that variation yet, but I guess in Montreal they still have the word "sou" for cents in French.

Well those were my main impressions of Toronto - I have fallen behind with my blog a bit so will try to catch it up in the next couple of days! My next post will be about my amazing winter weekend in Saguenay!

Erin x