Farewell to Toronto

Currently sitting in YYZ waiting to head down to Boston. It was great to be back in Canada and to catch up with old friends. It's been three-and-a-half years. Hopefully the gap between this trip and the next won't be as long.

I've been back in Toronto and surrounds since getting back from a great couple of days up north at Three-Legged Lake, where my old exchange partner has a cottage. It was a great spot and I could have chilled out there for a few weeks and enjoyed it just as much.

Since the return I've mainly spent time catching up with people, though did have a couple of trips downtown, including a visit to Toronto Islands which was well worth it considering how good the weather was (a rarity in Toronto!)

There are photos on facebook if you're keen to have a look!

Jazz in Montreal

Blog has been a bit slow, but doubt there are too many readers...

I got back from Montreal yesterday, having spent the weekend there for a second visit. My first trip in 2004 was a bit ho-hum because the weather was ordinary and I had a cold. This trip was much better, particularly since I was travelling with a semi-local. The jazz festival was on and it certainly added a buzz to the city, with a lot of people enjoying the free acts and soaking up the atmosphere on a great summer's day - unfortunately the rain put a dampener on one of the days, so a wander around Old Montreal was a bit shortlived. But I won't complain too much about the weather, lest you think I'm turning into a Canadian.

On a related matter, I have only heard the term 'humidex' once since I've been here - must be a record!

Facebook is a hundred times better for uploading photos that Blogger, so feel free to check out the album. Here's the link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=129415&l=ff136&id=641760192

Famous Places from Aeroplanes

There are times when you get a window seat and are treated to fabulous views of the wing, or of clouds from the top. But occasionally you get a chance to see a few famous places from the sky.

And since I have seen them with my own eyes I think it's fair for me to say that I've visited them, and can tick them off the list. Hell, I didn't even leave Heathrow Airport and I can say that I've seen Windsor Castle...

Windsor Castle...




Niagara Falls...

O Canada

Welcome back to the land of the humidex and Tim Hortons and inferiority complexes about the United States (okay, the third one is a stereotype...)

It is very good to be back. I managed to get back to the old school for the last day of classes, and it was good to catch up with some old colleagues. Stacks of new faces, though. I went along to the staff show, which was pretty good fun and we had the guitars out strumming away a few songs.

There's probably not too much exciting to report at the moment - maingly catching up with people and reaffirming some friendships, which has been great for me but boring for others to read about. I'm in Montreal as a bit of a tourist this weekend, so will post an update shortly.

Hope all is good wherever you are!

Transit

Hello from Boston, where I have a three hour layover. After a 5 am start, a three-hour flight from Helsinki to London, a two-hour layover, then a 7 hour flight, it has been great to have access to the American Airlines lounge just to have a shower. But there's bugger all food here, which sucks. Cheapskate Americans. Flights today have been fine so far.

I will post more info on the final few days in Finland when I have a bit more time.

In the meantime, feel free to look through some photos at Facebook:



(Facebook is being temperamental - you can see the other albums if you follow the links...)

Midsummer in Tampere

The sun finally came out in Turku, and it was good wandering along the river, drinking coffee at cafes and doing a bit of people watching. I stopped in at one of the museums along the riverfront which was called Aboa Vetus, which I think is latin for Old Turku. It was a fantastic museum. In the mid 1990s they were doing some excavations and came across the ruins of old medieval buildings, which weren't on any maps and therefore came as a complete surprise. The ruins were excavated, and they built a roof over the top and turned it into an underground archaeological museum. Very interesting.

Yesterday I jumped on the train to Tampere, which is an old industrial city which has been gentrified into a pretty cool city. All of the factories along the river have been converted and it is a pretty good place to wander around. It must be a university town, because there's a stack of alternative types around the place, which meant I didn't want to drag out my camera and appear un-hip...

This weekend is Juhannus - or Midsummer - one of the biggest holidays in the Finnish calendar. It commemorates the longest day of the year and is the start of the holiday season. Most Finns apparently head out to their cottages, and certainly this morning the busiest place was the railway station, and even more people loaded up with bags were wandering in that general vicinity. Unfortunately, Juhannus isn't intended for tourists, and pretty much everything is closed, including all of the museums, tourist sites, a lot of restaurants, cafes, shops and fast food places. It will definitely impact on my trip to Tampere, as most of the places that I was interested in seeing will be closed.

Nevermind, will go for a few walks and catch up on some reading and chilling out. Hopefully there will be enough places open to get some food - even the hotel restaurant is closed...

The King of Sweden's throne

Finland's history saw it torn between Swedish and Russian rule until it became independent in 1917. Swedish royalty occasionally enjoyed the comforts of Turku Castle (or Åbo Slott, as it's known in Swedish, which is a far more entertaining name).

Anyway, here's the throne of the Swedish king. I myself have sat upon this regal seat (though I did not use it.)

Just goes to show the greatest of us have to go poopy, including our own monarch, HRH Queen Elizabeth II.