Banff National Park

Thursday May 26th
Time to explore the Banff National Park. Banff is an 1,5 hour drive from our AirBnb in Calgary, so we'll be doing quite some driving the next couple of days. When we arrived in the town Banff we just drove around a little and then decided to drive to Lake Louise which is famous for it's beautiful blue water. When we drove out of the town we saw our first Canadian deer! We took the touristic route called the Bow Valley Parkway which leads you though the mountains and beautiful nature. It was about an hour drive from Banff to Lake Louise but we enjoyed the scenery a lot. We parked next to Lake Louise and the first thing we saw was people canoeing on the lake so we wanted to do that too! We rented a canoe for an hour and enjoyed the water and nature around us. The water was really nice and blue and of course we had to take a lot of pictures.

After canoeing we drove to the little town of Lake Louise and had dinner with a nice view of the mountains. After dinner we headed home which was a 2,5 hour drive back.

Friday May 27th
Today's weather wasn't very good, it rained a lot and was very misty. So we decided to relax in the hot springs in Banff.  It was just like a pool setting though, not much natural that meets the eye. The water was very nice and warm though, and it wasn't too busy. We headed home early because Berwout wanted to join the Friday Night Magic event again in Calgary. I stayed home to sort some pictures and do some blogging.

Saturday May 28th
In the morning we started with a tour through a wolfdog sanctuary. A wolfdog is a dog that was once bred with a dog and a wolf. You can have different degrees of wolf in a wolfdog and we learned a lot about this during the tour. We were allowed to go into two enclosures of wolfdogs, the first was high-content wolfdogs. You could really see the wolf in them by looking at their body structure. We fed them some treats and got to pet some of them if they let you. Most of them were pretty fearful and didn't want to get too close. This is typically a wolf trait.

The second enclosure was low-content wolfdogs. These wolfdogs resemble normal dogs way more by their body structure and behavioral traits. These wolfdogs were very people friendly and loved to be pet if they got to know you a bit better. We also got to feed these dogs treats and pet them if they let you. They were so cute and looked a lot like huskies.

After the tour we headed back to Calgary and did some shopping in the mall. In the evening we had a wildlife safari scheduled in Banff. The safari started at 7:30 pm and it just drove us along some mountain trails hoping to find some wildlife. Sadly we didn't see much wildlife except for some bighorn sheep and a few elk that were pretty far away. The safari ended at 9:30 pm, and we both thought it was not worth the money. Especially because the roads we drove on are accessible to the public so we could've driven it ourselves to spot wildlife. Which we actually did after the safari, we headed back a few roads we passed and were able to find way more elk. I even convinced myself we caught a glimpse of a bear, but it was too far away to be sure. When it got dark we headed home and saw even more elk that were just next to the road. Which was pretty scary because you couldn't see them very well until you're too close. I can understand how it's easy to hit an elk or deer at night. We got home around 12 pm and went straight to bed.

Sunday May 29th
A relax day where we sorted our financials and I blogged a bunch. Also the day when all the pictures we had up till now were put on facebook!

New Brunswick & Nova Scotia

Friday May 20th
This was our big roadtrip day, we had to drive 6 hours to get to our next destination, Fredricton. When we finally arrived we quickly got some food and I dropped Berwout off at a nearby game store so he could join the Friday Night Magic event. I went back to our AirBnb and did some research about things to do in the area. At 11 pm I picked Berwout up again and we went to bed.

Saturday May 21st

In the morning we drove to the Reversing Falls in Saint John. The Reversing Falls is a place in the river where the direction of the water changes during high and low tides. This creates whirlpools and rapid tides. After walking around for a bit we headed to Irving National Park where we hiked through the park for about 3 hours. This national park is a sort of island and we hiked along the entire coast of the island, so we saw some nice beaches and rock formations.

Around 5 pm we headed back to Fredricton because we scheduled horseback riding there at 6 pm. We arrived on time and got saddles in our horses. The ride was only for an hour and sadly it was the same trail we rode on the first and last half hour, we just turned around on the half way mark. The guide also wasn't very talk-active, so I thought it was a very disappointing ride. After the ride we drove to Moncton to be closer to our next attractions!

Sunday May 22nd

Early in the morning we headed to Hopewell Rocks which are beautiful rock formations you can see when it's low-tide. The low-tide also allows you to walk on the bottom on the ocean and walk through the rock formations. We walked around for about an hour until the high-tide came in. 

After that we went to get some lunch in a little fisher town called Alma. They had fresh fish and I had a yummy lobster sandwich. After lunch we went back to the Hopewell Rocks to see the rocks when it's completely high-tide. The bottom of the ocean was completely underwater and the rocks as well.  

In the evening we headed to our AirBnb in Southampton which was a hobby farm with alpacas and chickens. After getting dinner we had some nice conversations with our host Art and talked until midnight. It was a very cozy home and a comfy bed.

Monday May 23rd
Joggins Fossil Centre, 4,5 hour drive, dinner with host, watch GoT

In the morning Art made us frittata for breakfast, which was very good! After breakfast we got to see his alpacas and other animals. They just go a baby alpaca 5 days before we arrived so we were lucky to see the baby as well! 

At noon we left for the Joggins Fossil Center, this is a historic site where many fossils have been found. We got a private tour along the beach and he pointed out some fossils in the rocks and told us what they were. 

After the fossil search we headed to our next AirBnb which was 4,5 hours away up north in Quebec. We arrived around 6 and the host was kind enough to invite us for dinner. We had a lovely dinner and decided to watch Game of Thrones together with the host. It was a nice evening and we headed to bed early.

Tuesday May 24th
Another day for a long drive. We started the day with a drive up the Saint-Joseph mountain where we had a pretty view of quebec and the area. 

After that detour we headed for Quebec City which was a 6 hour drive. 

Wednesday May 25th

Getting up early to return our rental car and catch the plane to Calgary! It was about 6 hours of travel and we arrived at our AirBnb around 10 pm. This is with the two hour time difference. The rental car we got this time is a Toyota Camry. 

Quebec Ctiy

Wednesday May 18th
The next city to explore is Quebec City. After checking out of our AirBnb we drove two hours to Quebec City. Our AirBnb room was in a little town next to Quebec City called Levis. After dropping off our stuff in the AirBnb, we walked around the little town to find a place to have a drink. Sadly most of the little bars were closed at that time, so we headed to Quebec City. We went to a park called the Battlefields Park which was next to a Citadel that originally was built as a military base. While walking around we stumbled into Old Quebec City which had a beautiful city wall and old buildings. We decided to look for a restaurant here but all of them were very expensive, so we decided to go the Three Brewers, which was a little outside of Old Quebec City. We knew the Three Brewers had good food because they’re also settled in Toronto. They brew their own beer and use beer in all of their dishes. 

Thursday May 19th
The plan for today was to go horse riding in the morning and doing via ferrata in the afternoon. But when we arrived at the horse riding place they said they’re not doing rides yet because there’s still snow in the mountains which can be dangerous for us and the horses. Bummed out but understanding we headed to the Chute-Montmorency Falls to try via ferrata. Sadly the season for that hasn’t started yet either because of snow and bad weather. We were stuck in between seasons, because the winter activities stopped and the summer activities start the first of June. We did however enjoy the park and the waterfall.

When we were done at this park we headed to the Canyon Saint-Anne Park which had another waterfall. This park was made that you can hike all around the waterfall and see it from every angle. The total hike was about 1 km. This waterfall is apparently taller than the Niagara Falls but way slimmer. The park closed at 5 and that’s when we headed home. We got some groceries for dinner and had another relaxing night.

Montreal

Monday May 16th
Our time has come to leave Chicoutimi and head back to Montreal to drop of Marion. It was a 4,5 hour drive and we arrived in Montreal around 3:30 pm. After dropping off Marion at her place we headed to our AirBnb to drop off our stuff. After we settled in we headed out to the “Underground City” of Montreal. The Underground City consists of roads underground that connect the things on the surface, it wasn’t a literal city underground. It did have a huge mall which was partially underground and this is where Berwout bought a carry-on bag for in the plane.


Tuesday May 17th
Today we had time to explore Montreal. We went to Old Montreal and the Old Port. Next to it was China Town where we had some lunch and looked at all the cute stores. We walked around in this area for a few hours. After this we went to Mont Royal, a hill in the city with a nice park around it. We hiked up the hill and enjoyed the view. When we headed home we picked up some groceries to make some dinner. We stayed home to relax and watch Game Of Thrones.

Chicoutimi Weekend

Saturday May 14th
In the morning we picked up Berwout's cousin Marion in Montreal and drove to Chicoutimi, where Berwout's other cousin Magali lives. It was a 4,5 hour drive, and the last two hours we had a beautiful few of mountains and lakes. We arrived around 3 pm and picked up Magali to get something to eat. After some food we headed to our AirBnb, which was a house we had all to ourselves. It was very comfortable and we were able to do some laundry as well. Around 6 pm we headed to bar restaurant/bar to have dinner and see a local rock band play live. Some of Magali's friends joined us and the band and the food was very good. Around 10 pm we left the bar and headed to Magali's friend's house where we started a bonfire and drank some beer. It was a lovely night but pretty cold. We headed home around 12 pm and had a good night sleep.

Sunday May 15th
In the morning we drove to a nearby town which lies next to a beautiful lake. We had some breakfast at the local cafe and hiked a little in the hill next to the cafe. It was a rainy day so we didn't hike very long, just to get some nice pictures. When it started to rain harder we headed back home to relax and do our laundry. Marion and Magali had some errands to run so we stayed in our Airbnb for a while. When they were done they headed over to us and we did some groceries together so we could make some dinner. We made vegetable wraps with avocado and many vegetables. After dinner we joined Magali to a LARP (Live Action Role Play) event. Berwout and Marion joined Magali and I watched from the side. It was very entertaining to see, but it's not my thing. Marion and I left early because we were tired and had to pack our bags for the next morning.

Ottawa Day 2

Friday May 13th
Today we went to a bunker that was made during the Cold War. It's a government bunker that was made just in case Canada would be attacked during the Cold War. It had 4 floors with many rooms ranging from decontamination rooms to radio communication rooms and a gold reserve safe. It was very interesting to see and learn what each room was built for. What surprised me was that the bunker only had a food supply for 30 days, for 500 people.

After visiting the bunker we went to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral in Ottawa. It was in he middle of the city but pretty to see. It was a pretty big church and it is still in use every day. After visiting the Notre Dame we drove 2 hours to reach Montreal, where we will meet Berwout's cousin Marion.

Ottawa Day 1

Thursday May 12th
And so our roadtrip begins. We left Toronto around 10:30 and had to drive for 4,5 hours to reach Ottawa, the nations capital. We arrived around 4 and we headed to the Canadian War Museum. We got lucky because the museum was free to enter from 4 to 8 pm. The museum was about the Canadian perspective of many wars, starting with the native people and the British explorers. What I noticed the most was that the weapons used kept getting bigger every war they fought.
Overall it was a good museum with lots of information and many interactive things to learn about the wars.

After the museum we headed to our AirBnb place which was just a room in a house of a very nice couple. They welcomed us and showed us our room, and we met their two cats Dr. Mew and Clara. After settling in our room we headed out to Parliament hill where the government buildings are and where you're supposed to be able to see the whole city from the hillside. But sadly the hillside was closed due to construction. After walking around and taking pictures we got some food in a nice bar/restaurant. We headed home around 10:30 and we hung out with our hosts until we went to bed at 12. They are very nice people who like meeting new people through AirBnb.

Clara

Dr. Mew

One more day in Toronto

Wednesday May 11th
After arriving back in Toronto we headed over to the rental car places to ask about the car rental prices for two weeks. We weren't happy with the answers we got because they all said that it would cost around 1700 - 2300 dollars to rent a car for two weeks and return it in another city. With this information we headed to our hotel to sleep it over.
The next morning we called a car rental company to ask the same questions again, how much would it cost to rent a car for two weeks and bring it back in another city. Her answer was 1700 dollars... This was very odd for us because if we went to the same company's site and booked a rental car, it would only cost us 700 dollars. So we decided to book a car online and see if we could actually get it for this price. After booking a car we went to the car rental place to pick up the car and this is where the drama begins.

Our reservation was valid and they tried giving us a car, but they need to reserve the rental cost on your creditcard at the start even though you pay when you bring the car back. But Berwout's creditcard was at its limit and we couldn't use mine because it had to match the name on the reservation. Berwout did however pay off his creditcard that morning but it would take two days before the limit was actually back to normal. Then we asked if we could rent the car for two days and then get the car for the complete two weeks, just to wait off that two day wait for the creditcard.
This is where the teammanager came in and helped us a bunch! He kept the same reservation and changed it so we could have the car for two days, and then he would extend it himself when the creditcard has its limit again. He gave us a huge Dodge SUV instead of a Ford Fiesta because that car needed to be dropped off in Quebec City, where we are headed. He even said we didn't have to pay the young driver fee because we are Europeans and they are trusted drivers. Normally people younger that 25 need to pay a young driver fee of 35 dollars per day! This saved us 500 dollars and well. So after a lot of trouble we got a huge car for a great price!

So when we finally got the car we headed to a mall in Missisauga to meet Paul, Berwout's cousin. We walked around in the mall and went to see the movie Civil War. After that we got some dinner and headed back to the hotel. In the evening we went to Karan to pick up our luggage that we left with him before Florida. Back in the hotel we rearranged all our clothes so we could just take one bag into our upcoming airbnb nights.

Last days in Florida

Monday May 9th
Time to find some alligators! We drove 1,5 hours to Everglades City and took an airboat tour through a part of the Everglades. This part of the Everglades is salt water and gators don't like salt water so the tour guide told us we had a very slim chance to see any gators. Sadly this was the case, but it was still a very good tour through the Everglades. Our tour guide was very enthusiastic and informed us about the nature all around. He even made friends with some wild raccoons who came up to him when we arrived at a specific place in the swamp. They were very cute and seemed friendly. He also took us a little further than the tour was supposed to go because he knew of a passage way from the salt water to sweet water so that would be the place to maybe see an alligator. A nice try, but still nothing to see. Near the end the guide asked us a question and who ever got closest to the answer was allowed to steer the airboat and make an awesome stop where you go very fast, and then turn 180 degrees very fast to get to a stop. The one who answered the closest was a girl sitting next to us but she was too afraid to do it so Berwout was allowed to go because he was the most excited about it.

After the airboat tour we went to an animal sanctuary that was included with the airboat tour. They did a gator show where a guy told us a lot of information about the gators and let us take nice pictures with the gate open. The sanctuary had a lot of alligators and crocodiles. Apparently alligators are way more friendlier than crocodiles mainly because they are very lazy and just eat for food. Crocodiles are pretty aggressive and would attack without any reasons. Our tour guide even said he would be able to teach us to swim 4 meters from an alligator but you'd have no chance with a crocodile.
The other animals they had were big cats like panthers, white tigers and lions. They all looked very big and masculine.

After driving back home for 1,5 hours we went to an Italian restaurant with Jackie where we got a huge amount of good food which left us with a lot of leftovers. When we got back home we watched the movie Kung Fu Panda 3 together which was a very good movie!

Tuesday May 10th
Our last day in Florida and we spent it at the beach and getting ready for our flight. I was very sad to leave because the good weather makes me way too happy, and of course Jackie is there!
We had a lot of fun and have to return again soon!

Weekend with Jackie

Saturday May 7th

Jackie had a volunteering activity at noon with her work and we decided to come along. Her work threw a pizza party for an organisation that helps foster children and under aged moms-to-be. It was nice weather and there were many kids playing outside and people preparing the food and drinks. We got to meet Jackie's colleagues and play with some kids. 

Berwout joined some guys playing basketball and because he didn't want to play on his slippers he took these off and played on the boiling tar. This caused him to burn his feet pretty bad and stop playing. Not very smart. 

After having food we played some games with the kids and they threw water balloons at each other. It was a fun experience and nice to meet everyone.

Around 2 pm we headed back to Jackie's house and prepared to go to the beach. She only lives 10 minutes from the beach so we thought it would be nice to spend the rest of the day there. But what we didn't know was that there was a big event at the beach this weekend and there were many people going to the beach. So instead of 10 minutes it took us at least 40 minutes to get a parking spot and head to the beach. We took a swim in the ocean and tanned for a while until we got hungry and headed back home around 6. Jackie's other cousin Collette also joined us for dinner and we had a great time with good food and drinks. 

Sunday May 8th

Today was the best day so far. We went to the Zoological Wildlife Foundation for a tour of their sanctuary and we got to pet wild cat cubs like a cougar and a lynx! 

It started with a tour of their animals that ranged from all kinds of monkeys to big cats. They had almost every big cat you can think of including ligers and white tigers. Near the end of the tour we were allowed to interact with some other animals like owls, turtles, monkeys and even a baby alligator! It was nice to pet all these different animals and see them up close. After the tour we got called for our extra encounters with wild cat cubs. First we went to the Lynx because with was the cat Berwout wanted to get closer to. He got to pet the Lynx and hold her for about 15 minutes which was very cute! The Lynx was very gentle and soft and enjoyed the attention.

After he was done with the Lynx Jackie and I got to pet a cougar cub! It was pretty big already so we weren't allowed to pick her up or have her on our lap. We did get to pet her as much as we wanted and she was adorable! It was a great experience and I wish we could've stayed longer to pet them all.

  

Orlando days

Thursday May 5th
Today it was theme park time. We only had to drive 10 minutes since our AirBnb room was very close to all the attractions. We went to Universal Islands of Adventure, which had a lot of nice movie related rides like Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and Spiderman. We spent the whole day in the rides and ended with rides where you get soaked. Which wasn't a very smart idea since we had to drive back in the car. Luckily it was very nice weather and we dried up pretty fast. At 7 pm the park closed and we headed to the supermarket to get some dinner and breakfast for the next day.

Friday May 6th
Today we had a relaxing day at the waterpark Wet 'N Wild. There were many slides and pools and it was nice weather but it was windy so we took our towels everywhere to dry off and go to the next slide. It was a lot of fun but we didn't take our phones or anything important so we don't have any pictures. Around 5 pm we left the park and drove back to Jackie in Fort Lauderdale, this took us 3 hours. When we arrived we grabbed some dinner with Jackie and relaxed at her house.

Travel Time, First Stop: Florida

Tuesday May 3rd
After cleaning our apartment and packing our bags, it was time for us to leave the Seneca Residence. We checked out at 11 am and headed to the airport. Luckily we could store our huge suitcases and extra luggage with a classmate who also lives in the residence so we didn't have to take everything to Florida.

We arrived at the airport at 12.30 and checked in immediately so we'd have enough time to relax after we got through all the security checks. The flight only took 3 hours and when we arrived we headed over to the car rental places to rent a car. When we drove away from the airport the navigation that we got with the car did not want to work with us. It did not recognize Jackie's (my cousin) address so we drove around a while until we finally got the navigation to work. It's search function is horrible.
When we finally arrived at Jackie's place we took our stuff inside and grabbed some dinner with her at a very good burger place named BurgerFri. We had some drinks when we got back and headed to bed at 11.

Wednesday May 4th
When we woke up we got ready to leave again because we were headed to Orlando. We grabbed some breakfast at a bakery and drove 3 hours to get to Kennedy Space Center. It was a very rainy and stormy day but most of the things were inside so we did stay dry most of the time. We saw the retired spaceshuttle Atlantis and went into a spaceshuttle launching simulator which was pretty cool to experience. When the Space Center closed we drove to our AirBnb place and relaxed in our room. The room is very close to the Universal Studios and is in a very nice place.
We also found a little friend when I opened the window of our room. There was a little lizard stuck between the window and the screens keeping out bugs. It jumped into our room and hopped around until Berwout caught him and set him free outside.

Atlantis Spaceshuttle

Little Lizard Friend