White Christmas in Canada

My fantastic luck has resulted in my wonderful Christmas break in Montreal ending with 5 coaches to New York cancelled.. leaving us with a 9 hour night in the bus station, and everyone at home with another riveting update from me!  Canada has finally decided to show us some traditional winter weather and show over half a metre in 12 hours, which was suitably magical but extremely inconvenient when you're supposed to be heading to NYC that evening.  NEVER MIND.

View from the apartment..

Bye car :'(

Fuckin Canada snow ey

Driving up to Montreal I honestly thought we'd never make it, I've never seen as much snow as we did on the way up, at one point the driver got stuck in a car park where the snow was so thick you couldn't even see any paths or roads and I thought we'd die on a coach load of French people.  But we MADE IT despite missing connecting coaches, and all turned up initially extremely shocked at how French Montreal is.  It's basically France, just a lot more snowy and there's Tim Horton's as per.  I'd got it into my head that Lauren speaks fluent French so we were all fine, but she basically just took it at A Level so with some awkward hand gestures and crappy GCSE French we made it on the Metro and to the apartment.  We'd been 'upgraded' to the 19th floor, which just meant literally the same apartment 10 floors higher, which did have a much better view of Mont-Royal, to be fair.  It was cosy to say the least but once we were all unpacked it was perfect for the 7 of us, all I have to say is it's a good job we all get on!

Food was the main priority since we're all fatties and it was Christmas just a few days after, so we went out and did a huuuuuuge food shop for the week and for Christmas day, shopping mainly at a local French store just round the corner which was cute and felt very much like we were on holiday, not still in Canada.  $26 was the grand total for everything which was amaze, and we cooked risotto, ravioli and fagitas, plus more Christmas food than is even imaginable, so for once life was not scrimping and saving like students!

Montreal is beautiful and definitely feels much more European than the rest of Canada I've seen so far, the streets are narrow and lined with lots of little pretty houses and buildings, and it doesn't feel quite so vast and spread out.  Everybody speaks French, more so than I expected, but it just added to the holiday feel and I actually quite enjoyed it.

On the first proper day we ventured out into the snow, which was perfect powdery little snowflakes which just brushed off your clothes but didn't soak you, out to the Biodome and Olympic stadium.  It was pretty cool looking round the Stadium and seeing how they've changed it all, as the Biodome used to be the Velodrome but has been renovated into a sort of zoo with five different habitat zones with animals from all over the world!  Since I didn't get a chance to make it to London 2012 it was amazing to be able to walk right down by the track and see how huge it is, it makes you feel like an actual ant, it must be so intimidating to be an athlete!  In the evening we watched a firework display at the port in Old Montreal which made me feel so festive, and got us all hyped up for a night out!  We ended up in a pretty studenty club and it was amazing to be in a proper club out of London playing decent music!  And beers were $3 so can't complain.

Family portrait

Biodome

Shnowy

Yay

Majestic

Birds copulating (flirting and sexing)

Kool penguin

Becky's meal

Old Port fireworks

Obviously a pre night out

Hungover Sunday was spent eating shitloads of naughty food at local markets and exploring the 'trendy' (lol) shopping district on St Lauren Street, watching Christmas films being generally cute, and testing out the swimming pool and sauna living the high liiiiife.  Except the pool was awkwardly freezing despite our best efforts flailing around to keep warm but stilll WE HAD A POOL.

Christmas Eve was a stunning clear sunny day which was SO cold.. -17 degrees but the sun really did make up for it, as the temperature was so cold that the snow which had fallen stayed all glittery and powdery covering everything and hadn't iced over and gone all slushy a la England.  This day we went to properly look round Old Montreal, and this was when we really discovered that we were one of the few tourists, which suited us perfectly as we had the freedom to explore and take photos without getting in anyone's way. Old Montreal is absolutely beauuuutiful, we went to the port and watched all the locals ice skating but were all too terrified to try as the Canadians are soooo good at it, even the actual children were whizzing around it was crazy.  The edge of the river, clock tower and a big indoor market to escape from the cold filled our morning when we went on the hunt for a creperie and stumbled across a maple cafe which was incredible.  If you bought something from the little food and drink counter you got free access to the museum downstairs where you could sample all the different types of maple syrup.  I shared the maple brownie and muffin, both of which were so good that I actually can't stop thinking about them and regret not buying 7 of.  I also learnt some excellent fun facts about maple syrup which make me feel very Canadian and no doubt will aid me in a pub quiz in the future.  I also saw a legit snowy owl in the street which felt very Harry Potter-ish.

Notre-Dame

Christmas day family portrait

The Notre-Dame Basilica was one of the more cultural sights I decided I wanted to see before I came here so went in to look around - it is absolutely stunning inside.  How anybody could be arsed to paint the inside so intricately I'll never know, but it looked so so good.  I also came over all holy and emotional seeing as we usually go to church on Christmas Eve at home so lit a candle and shortly afterwards gave a tramp 2 dollars, festive spirit and all that.  We then took the metro up to another part of town we wanted to explore, particularly to find a bagel place which is supposed to be the best in Montreal.  We found it and demolished it, a solid 10 out of 10 from me, which kind of ruined our plans to treat ourselves to a Christmas eve meal out.  However with all of us being used to going for a drink with friends on Christmas eve at home, we found a highly recommended little Irish pub which was absolutely perfect, so we got drinks and ate nachos and sweet potato fries, came home and watched Christmas films with our presents under the tree ready for the morning.

Christmas was AMAZING!  And I was so apprehensive about it, but with some brief skyping and overexcited present opening we were all very merry and happy and somehow managed to cook a dinner to rival the one I have at home, despite the oven and hobs breaking and us having to make gravy in the coffee machine.  We got a lil bit drunk and played games and stayed giddy for most of the day, and I actually really loved it.  We have awkward jokes about having family portraits every day before we go out but we have become like a lil fam and I don't want us to split up in NYC :( wah.

Boxing day felt very much like a traditional one at home with a walk up Mont-Royal, basically a huge hill at the back of McGill's campus with a view right across the city.  The snow had stuck and the temperature was the coldest it had been but we made it to the top fairly fast, passing by cross country skiers and kids sledging down the hill which was bizzare.  The walk was gorgeous and the woodland made it so picturesque, literally straight off a Christmas card, it's hard to believe when you were walking through that you were actually in a huge city, but I've found that in lots of cities in Canada so far actually.  Montreal has a massive jazz and blues following so we found a tiny jazz bar called Upstairs, there must have been about 30 of us in the place watching a couple of live jazz bands with some cocktails, so cool.  It feels like Montreal has so many little areas to explore it'd take you much longer than a week, I'd love to go back in the summer when festivals are on which is one of the main things it's known for.  We only discovered Underground City today once the snowstorm hit, which is a mahoooosive shopping and entertainment district covering almost half the city, but underground to avoid the weather.

Les Mis and an Italian were the treats for our final day, half the girls cried at the film it was hilariously embarrassing but it was an excellent film.  We're now more than a little bit delirious on the coach station floor like tramps re-enacting some of the scenes.  Well Steph is mainly.  And we've got a whole 5 hours yet to go and try and fight our way onto a coach to the Big Apple which is still REALLY EXCITING ahhhhhhhh.  I more can't believe half my time at Western has flown by so fast, and with some spontaneous booking of trips to Washington DC, a full term of skiing and Spring Break to already look forward to, I'm worried my second semester will be gone in the blink of an eye, I'll be back home and having to start thinking about being a grown up. Boooo.  Travelling > everything.

Procrastination for the nation

So I haven't bothered updating this since I went to Chicago as I actually haven't left London for an entire MONTH.  Longest time since I've been here!  However I have been nagged by some losers to update people on my life, so here is my life update.  Quick warning; it's not been particularly exciting, therefore this post won't be particularly exciting..

Right after we got back from Chicago Jenny had a friend from back in Newcastle come to stay, so showed her the sights of London.. in about an afternoon.  I do like London as a place to go to uni but there really isn't as much going on here for daytime fun as in the huge cities.. still, the weather was beautiful that week and London is very pretty just to wander around, especially as there are too many parks to even know the names.  After caving in to a night at Frogs which was rammed half full of models, half full of Chinese people gangnaming, Ryan arrived for the weekend to celebrate my 21st!  We now just refer to Ryan as omnipresent as it seems like he's always over to visit, it's got to the point where we don't meet him at the coach station anymore, he just turns up at the door.

We spent the evening at a bonfire then got caught in a fucking BLIZZARD walking home.  The weather has been surprisingly non-stereotypical of Canada so far, literally about three rainy days, lots of sun and maybe two mornings of snow that have melted by midday.. yet we manage to get caught out at 1am in some freak snowstorm.  Then obviously my shit house (more about that later) wouldn't open with my shit key, and with all my housemates being away we were on the verge of throwing Ryan on the roof to batter through a window, but managed to batter the door open instead.  Great success.

Tash arrived the next day and we all got ready for my celebrations!  I'd completely forgotten how to get ready for a big night out, back in Leeds we all fake tan, wear a fair amount of make-up, use hair extensions and whack out a little dress and pair of big heels.  Yet since being here, all of these things have remained untouched in the back of my closet, purely because I just haven't found the need to do anything like that when we go on nights out, everything just seems much more casual which I actually like, much less hassle.  Feeling suitably Essex'd up, I basically just got hammered drunk and went to one of the only clubs with music I like in London called Cobra.  I'd been warned to get guestlist and get down early, and since people predrink over here at 7, 10.30 would have been late, but something about being almost 21 and having had too many shots made me cocky..

So I stroll up verging on midnight, demanding that I'm on guestlist with 20 people.  "Hello my name is Cait and it's my birthday and I'm on guestlist" "Name?" "C....A....I...T" "You're not on the list." I actually gave her the filthiest look. "Yes I am, and I'm 21." (I wasn't) "Did you submit guestlist online or did you speak to somebody?" "....I spoke to somebody." "You did?" "Yes, I spoke to Paul." "Paul?! Oh I'm sorry, go right in the queue".  First of all, what the FUCK.  Second of all, who the FUCK do I think I am?  It gets worse.  I decided I wasn't going to pay entry either.  Stroll up to the ticket lady, look at her, then walk away.  "Excuse me you didn't pay" "I did, look in my purse" so I hold open my purse, empty because I'm holding my $20 in my hand, quite blatantly. "So where's your ticket then?" "You tell me" Big black bodyguard looks at me like I'm going to get killed. "Sure you paid?" "Yeees" "Alrighty then".  I am the luckiest most idiotic creature alive.  Aaaannyway it was a suitably wonderful and drunken and shameful night to celebrate joining the OAP club, topped off with breakfast out the next day and opening early birthday presents of English Galaxy, Heinz Soup and Robinson's squash from Ryan - nobody except study abroad friends will understand how exciting this was.

My actual 21st was strange.. I'd been feeling apprehensive all week not knowing how it was going to feel or be.  I'd been getting loads of parcels and cards in the post over the few weeks leading up to it, but since my family's birthdays are all around mine, it was a time I'd usually spend at home for the weekend, and it was the first time since I've been here I started to feel a little homesick.  Despite having class at 9.30 I actually had the best day!  The gifts and cards from home, the weather being the most gorgeous it's been on my birthday since I can ever remember and having all my friends together in the evening made it a lot less weird than I'd expected.  Different, but then again I am in a different continent!

The worst part about this month has hands down been the worst goodbye to my favourite foul-mouthed Aussie.  Unfortunately most of the exchanges only come for a semester, and since we know a lot of them it's going to be so strange not seeing as many familiar faces around campus and going on nights out.. in particular Lucy!  We spent an emotional little goodbye night drinking milkshakes before having drinks in an Irish bar to say the real goodbyes with everyone :( she's off travelling as we're all studying and I am beyond jealous, and am determined to make it over to Australia to see her.  Being here has given me a horrific case of the travelling bug and now all I want to do is see everywhere!

But only a few more nights out, nights spent watching Rick McGhie and Christmassy evenings spent at the light switch on were allowed before finals began.  I worked out this term is 16 whole weeks long.  That is INSANE.  At home we're only there for 11, one of which is Freshers so absolutely does not count, and we have no exams in those 11 weeks.  And then an entire month off for Christmas.  When I finish in a week, I'll have done 8 exams and two assignments, and I have the smallest workload out of anyone I know, only having taken three classes this semester - how the Canadians do this for four years I'll never know.  And then we get just over two weeks off before starting back again!  However.. I have just worked out that because I put effort into my other tests, I've already passed two of my classes without even sitting my final two exams.. and for the one last Saturday I only needed 10%.  Study abroad is a joke and I urge anybody ever to do it because I literally just get to play 90% of the time yet for some reason it looks amazing to employers.

So since my tiny brain finally worked that pass/fail literally means I just have to pass.. to not fail.. I have become ridiculously distracted with planning my Christmas travels!  I'm feeling more Christmassy than ever, with my shopping all done, a real tree in the living room and Christmas songs and Christmas Tim Hortons cups everywhere you go.

Steph arrives on Sunday after almost 7 months without not seeing each other and I cannot wait to see her.. aaaand luckily for me she's staying for 5 weeks!  We leave with everyone else for Toronto next Thursday, before spending a week in Montreal over Christmas, 6 days in NYC for New Years and a final 2 days in Toronto before finally coming home, then I get the treat of having a snuggle partner in my room for another two more weeks.  I have already been disgustingly nerdy writing packing lists, making documents with all the amazing events going on in the cities and trying to figure out how I'm going to cope with Times Square on NYE.. 8 hours in a crowd of a million people, faaaack I'm EXCITED.  But possibly my favourite part about this whole trip.. I get to see Al in New York as a little bit of home!  It's looking like I'm going to be the only one over here who won't be going home or seeing their family at all during the year abroad, which is a little daunting, but I think seeing a friend who is as sarcastic and hideous as I am will make me realise nothing's changed back home.

England, miss ya loads, hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas time and feeling festive and great and happy and blahhh, and hopefully when my life becomes less boring, so will my blogs!

Oh and about my shit house - it's falling apart and we have new pet mice and I can't lock/open the doors.. that's about it.  And someone stole chocolate from me in the library and I still haven't got over it.  AND my Mum sent us advent calendars and the fat motherfuckers at the border have definitely eaten them, the bastards.  OH and the new Twilight film is shit, what the fuck happened there?  If you want to see a really good film, go see Flight, I almost cried it was so embarrassing.  Don't watch it if you're scared of flying though because you WILL cry.  Now I'm just talking shit.