Day 17, 18 and 19: Montreal and Ottawa City Trips

On the 17th day, we went to Square One mall. I felt like I was shopping inside the Galleria (Makati). Well the configuration is similar to Galleria Malls and even some of the lay-outs of the tenants and parking area. My cousin's kids had their haircuts!

We left Mississuaga for Montreal at 730pm on the same day and arrived Quebec at 1:30am. We stayed at Holiday Inn (Express) at suite accommodation. My cousin managed to get ½ price of the second night stay and fair enough the place is excellent for families. I slept in the sofa bed and I really enjoyed my stay considering that the hotel has as free wireless internet connection. I had the chance to finalise my report and sent it to my supervisors by email.

Well, on our first day, after we took our free breakfast at the hotel, we immediately proceeded to St Joseph Oratory. It was easy to find it using the newly purchased GPS gadget. The place is really interesting and well-recommended for people who have devotion to St Joseph, the father of Jesus. Later on, we went to the popular bakery for "Bagel". Believe it or not, a long line of people waiting to be served for delicious bagels! I love the chocolate ones, including the salmon filling. My cousin was telling me that, without tasting the bagel, it means you did not visit Quebec!

By the way, everybody speaks French in Quebec, even traffic signs and posts are in French! Generally, the city centre is not busy because of the weather, and it seems that the streets are bumpy most of the time. Houses are painted in bright colours with winding steel staircases in the front leading to the second floor of the houses. Maybe, a replica of French architecture!

After that, we had a quick tour to the Olympic Stadium of Montreal – the place where 1976 summer games took place. I was really excited to get in the stadium and grab some souvenirs, but we can not find a good parking area and besides side streets were covered with snow! From a distance, my first impression to this huge sports complex is like a space ship.

Later on, we had a quick shopping in Costco and proceeded to the hotel for a rest. After taking a short break, we decided to go out and had the last evening French mass at Notre-Dame Basilica. This church is stunning especially the altar area. We did buy some souvenirs in the nearby shops and again it is expensive for T-shirts!

Early in the evening, we had our dinner just near the hotel and again we tasted the "Smoked Tuna sandwich" which another food to taste while in Montreal. It was a lovely dinner and the owner and the waitress of the restaurant were kind to serve us at the last costumer.

That night, I had a bad condition – running nose and sneezing! Frankly, I don’t drink tablets to stop, but since I can not bear anymore of it and not to spoil my sleep and to contain it to myself (considering that there are two kids which are vulnerable for colds), I took a tablet of Claritin and took one after 12 hours.

The following day (19th day), we woke early, packed our things and had our breakfast. We checked out and using the GPS gadget, we left Quebec and after two hours, we arrived our next destination, Ottawa. The roads were ok and not much of traffic along the way.

By the way, everybody speaks French in Quebec, even traffic signs and posts are in French! Generally, the city centre is not busy because of the weather, and it seems that the streets are bumpy most of the time. Houses are painted in bright colours with winding steel staircases in the front leading to the second floor of the houses. Maybe, a replica of French architecture!

After that, we had a quick tour to the Olympic Stadium of Montreal – the place where 1976 summer games took place. I was really excited to get in the stadium and grab some souvenirs, but we can not find a good parking area and besides side streets were covered with snow! From a distance, my first impression to this huge sports complex is like a space ship.

Later on, we had a quick shopping in Costco and proceeded to the hotel for a rest. After taking a short break, we decided to go out and had the last evening French mass at Notre-Dame Basilica. This church is stunning especially the altar area. We did buy some souvenirs in the nearby shops and again it is expensive for T-shirts!

Early in the evening, we had our dinner just near the hotel and again we tasted the "Smoked Tuna sandwich" which another food to taste while in Montreal. It was a lovely dinner and the owner and the waitress of the restaurant were kind to serve us at the last costumer.

That night, I had a bad condition – running nose and sneezing! Frankly, I don’t drink tablets to stop, but since I can not bear anymore of it and not to spoil my sleep and to contain it to myself (considering that there are two kids which are vulnerable for colds), I took a tablet of Claritin and took one after 12 hours.

The following day (19th day), we woke early, packed our things and had our breakfast. We checked out and using the GPS gadget, we left Quebec and after two hours, we arrived our next destination, Ottawa. The roads were ok and not much of traffic along the way.

We did not stay long in Ottawa – the capital city of Canada. We immediately proceeded to the Parliament Hill and climbed to the chamber where the bells are housed. The main building's interior is impressive and well-maintained. Highly- recommended to visit the place in summer. Took some photographs and left the city centre back to Toronto. It took us another 4.5 hours to finally reach our destination, but this time to attend a b-day party. It was a foggy late afternoon and I met some of my hometown friends and exchanged stories about our lives. We did not stay long and we finally drove back to my cousin's house after long hours of driving from Ottawa.

Day 15, and 16: Snowy (negative degrees) in Mississuaga, Toronto

On Day 15, my cousin's sister and I woke up early and immediately drove to Sherway Garden – a shopping mall, 20-minutes away from the house. Fortunately, I was able to buy my favourite shirts in Abercrombie without any fuss. I had the chance to have a one-hour swim at the River grove Community Centre after weeks of not having a regular exercise. Frankly, I gained weight and I feel that my tummy is noticeable this time of the season.

After my swim, I joined my cousin's brother and sister-in-law to visit CN Tower in the downtown area of Toronto. It was a wonderful quick visit to the tallest tower in the world. It is a magnificent structure that provides a panoramic view of the metropolitan Toronto area. Viewing the area at night provides a different perspective of the city where you could only see different lights below the ground.

On Day 16, I joined again my cousin for a ride train going to the city centre. I did a quick tour of the subway area, instead of walking the main streets. When I had my first visit of the city, I noticed that only few people were walking and I thought that maybe because it was early in the morning. But on the second visit, I found out that everybody is walking below the ground – where basements of the buildings are interconnected to each other and where the sub train stations are also connected. All the major shops and restaurants are located few feet below the grounds and well-heated. The concourses are confusing but I managed to remember the colour codes: North – Blue; South – Red; East – Yellow and West – Orange. I was lost for several times but luckily I managed to find my way back where I have to meet again my cousin.

Half of the day, I spent much time at the Uni of Toronto main library in Robarts Building and did some revision of my university research which I successfully sent it by email to my supervisors two days after while in Montreal.

On the evening of Day 16, we celebrated two birthdays: my cousin's husband and her father (my grandfather). It was a simple celebration for family members only with a big cake, a big bowl of fruit salad, including fried chickens and native pasta.

Day 14: New Year's Day

It was snowing at 1 degree C! I helped shovelling the snow in front of the house. My cousin's husband used the snow blower for easy removal of the snow.

After that, I proceeded to the backyard to make my first ever snow man! With my excitement, I easily shaped the snow man, including his orange eyes, nose and mouth with matching blue hat!

Having a snowman outside the house is my dream came true. While growing up and brainwashed with American films, I always think that Xmas celebration is not complete without snow man. Anyway, at least I managed to have it and being enjoyed by my cousin's kids which later on the head of the snowman was cut-off!

I also met my former officemate and his family in the afternoon. I also met his four kids and the eldest is already a beautiful 19 year old lady. My friend and family left the Philippines when the eldest was only 7 years old.

Day 12 & 13: Shopping in Mississuaga

We just toured around the Mississuaga area and visited some shopping areas. We went to Sherway Garden and just to find out the people were queuing in front of Abercrombie store. So we decided to take our lunch and decided to come back after New Year's day. The mall is quite similar to shopping centres in the Philippines but it has only two floors. Well, it is expensive to shop in Canada compare to the US especially for signature items.

Our lunch meal was really good and we went home open-handed because too many people inside the mall and it was not really advisable to wait to queue for paying or even getting in the shops.

Mississuaga area is a thriving community which is now becoming a catchment area for people who don’t want to stay in the city centre of Toronto. I observed that most of the houses are big, at least 4-5 bedrooms, including a basement, quite similar to American houses.

Day 11: Back to Toronto

It was cold, windy day and snowing in the early afternoon. In the morning, I was busy uploading my photos from my 3 cameras to my websites. Later in the afternoon, my cousin's family and I attended a 5-year old boy b-day party in Bounce n Play. Again, kids were my models during the entire celebration.

After the party, I accompanied my cousin's husband to shop in Costco – a warehouse store, and I did just a window shopping of books, electronics and men's wares. Later in the night, I stayed home and chatted with my friends thru YM.

Nothing planned yet for the next day, except that my cousin's sister planned to accompany me to go shopping and visit Abercrombie store. My cousin was also planning to visit Montreal and Ottawa, after New Year.

Day 9 and 10: Departure for Niagara Falls

Day 9 was raining and supposedly we have to leave for Niagara, instead we left the following day. We went shopping again in Victoria secret and Macy's…I bought gifts for my friends and my supervisors in the university.

Day 10, we left 2:30pm from Durham. We had different route coming back to Buffalo using the new GPS gadget of my cousin's husband. It was a long way but the motorways were easier to follow without any deep curves in West Virginia area. We arrived Buffalo at two in the morning and stayed Summit Inn along Niagara Falls Blvd. We went shopping at Target and went to the Fatima Shrine.

We went to Niagara Falls and roamed around… After that, we exited the US border. Fortunately, we were not inspected of the items bought in the US. There is a maximum amount of products to be brought in to Canada and it is dependent to the number of days spent in the US. I was worried since I bought my Olympus camera and a complete set of Series 1 of Heroes which amounted to 350 dollars, excluding other items that I bought from Abercrombie. Niagara Falls at the side of Ontario was a busy area compare to the US side.

On the same day, we arrived Toronto and back to my cousin's house in Mississauga. It was a tiring day and unpacking of our gifts and some other belongings. I slept early after I uploaded some of my photos taken during my 5 nights stay in the US territory.

Day 8: Boxing Day

It was raining! We suppose to leave North Carolina for Toronto but my friend advised us to stay one more day due to the bad weather. As soon as I took my breakfast, my cousin's husband drove to the shopping centre where we went the other day and I finally bought the latest camera model of Olympus, the Stylus 790SW! I got this orange gadget from Best Buy for $349.99+tax. I tested it and frankly, it is worth having it as my back-up camera. The camera is designed for extreme temperature, and for underwater use up to 5 feet depth. When I checked my credit card billing, I found out that I only paid £180 pounds which is £20 more if I bought in the UK. From the Best Buy store, I also grabbed the Season 1 of Heroes which was also for 50% sale. I was desperate to buy it back in Belfast at £39.99, but I was optimistic that I can have it at a lower price. Well, I got it for only $24.99+tax, almost £13 only!

We went home and had our lunch. In the afternoon we visited the Museum of life and Science where kids enjoyed the exhibits – from spacecrafts to live insects!

Day 7: Christmas Day

It was a sunny but chilly day. After a late night celebration, we were not able to wake up early for the first mass in the church near my friend's house. Instead, we travel few miles away and went to St Tomas More church at Chapel Hill near Uni of North Carolina campus.

The homily revolved in the importance of Xmas and the priest emphasised the word, "kindness". Reflecting the priest's sermon, I am glad that my parents instilled in my mind the importance of being kind to others. Extending help not only to relatives but also to strangers is a virtue and always brings joy to our hearts. Pure kindness does not require something in return or a favour from others in exchange of whatever help being extended. It is something that purely coming from our hearts and it is not an "obligation" or an responsibility to offer for everyone. Sometimes, it is ironic that kindness is over-used and abused by others. To some extent we become "opportunists" and dependents from others' generosity. Well, being generous to others needs open mind and don’t expect much from the people who need help. And at the same way, with people who are fortunate to receive assistance, help or favour, have to be patient and be humble to acknowledge any generosity from others.

We went home after the mass and my friend prepared some food for the guests coming in the late afternoon. I stayed home and did some updates of my travel blog. It was quiet day and not much things to do since shopping malls and outlets were closed! Later part of the evening, the guests arrived with their families; all of them were Pinoys who have already migrated in the US. We did karaoke as well using the popular magic mic from the Philippines.

Days 5, 6 and 7: Shopping and Xmas Eve Celebration

We arrived Durham past 6am after we lost our way for almost an hour. We were really tired and we had a quick breakfast and went for a nap.

My friend is my former primary teacher's daughter and she is now married with 2 wonderful kids. She is a nurse and her husband as well. It was a reunion as well and meeting her and the family, including her youngest sister who also works as a nurse was a delight. We talked alot and shared stories about simple things that happened in our lives during the past years, even our high school days.

As usual, we went shopping in the Southpoint mall, 20 minutes away from my friend's house. I immediately proceeded to Abercrombie for sale times. I was lucky to get a polo shirt at $12.90+tax at boys section of the store! I also grabbed an X-large jogging pants at $34+tax which is less 50% from the adults pants. Sometimes it is cheaper to have a slimmer built to shop in boys/teens store. I cant find a XX-large in the boys section, I went to the older sizes and grabbed 3 shirts (£25+tax), including 2 pairs of discounted slippers at £13+tax. Abercrombie is always my fav store every time I visit the US.

Later on, we went to another outlet and we bought some toys for the kids at the Toys R Us store. The shop is really a joy for kids where you could different shapes, sizes, bright colours of toys! More shopping bags when we left the outlet!

On the 24th Dec, we attended the mass in the morning and we had short trip in some part of the town, including the popular Duke University. I joined my friend's sister to pick-up her husband from the airport in the early evening. Santa Claus was there to distribute the gifts for the kids! Unknowingly, after the kids were requested to stay inside their bedrooms, the parents were busy sorting out the gifts and placed it outside the main door of the house, pretending that Santa Claus dropped it for the kids... As usual, after the kids opened their presence, the older ones also exchanged gifts. Eventually, we had our group pictures and of course the Noche Buena - full of Pinoy delicacies on the table!

It was a busy day but full of fun and merry making...