On my final day of work in the UK, I spent a long car journey picking the brains of my Canadian colleague as we drove to a meeting. She talked with passion about the GTA (that’s Greater Toronto Area to you non locals) and it got me even more excited to visit. At that point I thought we would only be in Toronto for a handful of days so … Continue reading Visiting Cheltenham Badlands
Exploring a lesser known abandoned building in the Toronto area Last weekend we were meant to go on a 3 hour snowmobiling experience to celebrate my birthday. Unfortunately, we got a call in the morning to say that one of the two key ingredients was missing. Whilst the snowmobiles were ready to go, sadly there wasn’t enough snow for them to do their thing. With a Zipcar … Continue reading The Cathedral of the Transfiguration
Our guide to getting an Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) card So you’ve arrived in Canada, and are living in Ontario on your IEC working holiday visa. Hopefully you’ve come with some travel insurance that’ll cover you in case of any immediate medical emergencies (you shouldn’t have got handed your visa at the border without the insurance!). But what about those non-emergency medical things, which … Continue reading Accessing health care in Ontario
Let’s face it, Canada can get pretty cold in the winter. As tempting as it may be to escape to warmer climes, you can enjoy and embrace the Canadian winter by finding a fun event and wrapping up warm! When it comes to us, anyone who knows us well will know that are not huge fans of wine. However, they will also know that we … Continue reading Celebrating winter in the Niagara Region
Activating our second IEC work permits at Rainbow Bridge, Niagara Falls An IEC working holiday visa can only be activated at a Port of Entry to Canada. This means that if you’re already in Canada you have to leave the country and come back in again. In 2014 we chose to do this by taking a trip to Seattle. This time we decided to go for the … Continue reading Our experience flagpoling at Niagara Falls
Over this past year we’ve flown with Porter more than any other airline. They’ve taken us to Boston, Chicago and Washington DC (blog posts on those later trips to come). On all of those trips we have enjoyed flying Porter, despite an overnight delay for Stewart. In an age when airlines charge for every little thing it’s been nice to experience one that has a … Continue reading 6 reasons to fly Porter
Stratford, Ontario is famous for 2 reasons – hosting North America’s most prestigious Shakespeare festival and being the home town of Justin Bieber. But we didn’t visit for either of those reasons, much to the confusion of my colleagues. What we did experience was good food, yummy chocolate and a relaxing break. The town itself is pretty small but well equipped for tourists, as you would expect for a destination that … Continue reading Visiting Stratford in November
The Santa Claus Parade is a Toronto tradition that’s been going 111 years. It’s broadcast on national television and over half a million people line the parade route ever year. Therefore it’s fair to say it’s a pretty big deal. So on November 15th we stopped what we were doing (looking for parkas in Hudson’s Bay) and headed over to University Avenue to catch a glimpse … Continue reading 5 things we did wrong during the Toronto Santa Claus Parade
When Stewart hinted at needing a spa break I didn’t hesitate to book it! The spa of choice was the Scandinave Spa, which I first discovered when we were looking for somewhere to go for my birthday last year. There are four Scandinave Spas across the country with the closest one to us about a 2 hour drive from Toronto at Blue Mountain. Nestled in the Niagara … Continue reading Taking some time out at Scandinave Spa
Exploring Muskoka – Algonquin’s neighbour to the west. Last time out we blogged about our hunt for our first moose. On the same trip, north of Toronto with Emma’s parents in early spring, we extended our exploration outside of Algonquin Provincial Park. First up were the Ragged Falls on the Oxtongue River. A quick stroll from the car park soon reveals the waterfalls. They certainly were … Continue reading Stepping out of Algonquin
Brown Bear Travels 