Home » Canada » 2000 Travel Diary (Part 2)

On Monday 8th May I flew to Vancouver in Canada, to be with my girlfriend, Paula. The beginning of a rather different kind of adventure! We lived in a nice apartment in the smart and trendy Kitsilano suburb of Vancouver. The beach was across the street with views of English Bay, downtown and the mountains in the distance. Being right next to Kitsilano Beach and only a ten minute bus ride in to downtown, we were in a perfect location. Kitsilano also had a good selection of cafes, restaurants and bars.<br/><br/>

2000 Travel Diary (Part 2)

Gjcmcclurg
2005-12-23 15:03:16

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to Quebec city for $15, instead of paying $40 for the bus - another example of the more laid back lifestyle. When I got in the car I found that the other 3 passengers couldn't really speak English, but surprisingly the girl next to me spoke perfect Spanish so we chatted in Spanish for the whole 3 hour journey to Quebec City.

The hostel in Quebec City was perfectly located in the heart of the old walled city which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Quebec City was a like a picturesque French town on the banks of the wide St. Lawrence river. The people here mostly spoke French, but I still managed to meet a group of guys from Venezuela to practice my Spanish with! I got in with a good group of guys in the hostel and we all explored the historic old city and checked out the local music scene. The weather was unseasonable cold and one morning we were treated to a snow flurry - I certainly wished I had packed a scarf and gloves.

From Quebec I caught the train to Halifax in Nova Scotia. The 20 hour journey took me up along the St. Lawrence river, through the province of New Brunswick and then across Nova Scotia to Halifax on the Atlantic. It was a pleasant change to travel by train and I spent a good few hours in the 'Dome Car' watching the scenery role by. The autumn colors added to the beauty of the countryside. From Halifax I caught a 3.5 hour bus journey down to Annapolis Royal on Fundy Bay.

In Annapolis Royal I met up with Paula who had flown directly out from Vancouver and we stayed in her father's house. Annapolis Royal is the oldest European settlement in Canada and Paula's father's home was a beautiful, brick built, heritage home dating from 1825! Paula's father and partner made us very welcome and spent the 4 days showing us around. The leaf color was about at its best and we were treated to spectacular colors where ever we went. We explored the French Shore on the Fundy Bay side, and Lunenberg on the Atlantic side. Lunenberg is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Over the 4 days we covered a good area and I got a great overview of Nova Scotia.

On 16th October we flew overnight, via Toronto, back to Vancouver. It was strange to think that Halifax in Nova Scotia was almost as near to London as Vancouver. Canada is certainly a very big place - in fact the largest country in the world!

After my 6 months in Canada with Paula I flew back to the UK and arrived in London on the afternoon of Thursday 26th October. Unfortunately, Paula and I decided that although we had had a great time together our relationship wasn't really going anywhere. It was painful at first, but I soon accepted that we had made the right decision. I spent the last couple of months of the year in London catching up with my family and friends. On Christmas Day my brother arrived from Australia and spent a week with us - it was the first time we had all spent Christmas together for more than ten years!
Just after Christmas we had the first real snow in London for five years. I saw the New Year in at a rather civilized dinner party with my best mates in Ewell, Surrey. As we toasted the New Year with Champagne, I couldn't help thinking about the previous New Year's Eve in Vilcabamba, southern Ecuador. A year had flown by, I had spent 6 months with Paula in Canada and now I was back in the UK planning my next trip! I wondered what 2001 had in store for me.