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My last day in Montreal and two things left on Lucie’s List: Saint Joseph’s Oratory and the Botanical Gardens. I leave my luggage with one of the Via Rail porters (they will store it and put it on the train for me), say goodbye to Lucie and head…

It’s hot. A top of 33C is forecast for Thursday. That’s not my kind of weather. In an effort to avoid the sun, I spent the morning running errands: doing laundry, posting stuff at the post office and going for a run (only on the shady streets). Even…

As dusk falls over Montreal, the Kondiaronk Belvedere in front of the of Mont Royal Chalet begins to fill. Tourists prepare to capture the sunset, runners take a breather and stretch before their descent and a sly few enjoy a beer or three. Then there is me; setting my pretty…

My second day in Montreal and I still haven’t quite comprehended what I have dubbed “The French Thing”. Everything is in French. Even the newspaper.  My friend Lucie, who I am staying with, works near Old Montreal. Or as I like to call it, Paris 2.0. I spend…

Let me preface this by saying I am well aware of, and support, a person’s right to speak in any language they choose. But this is Canada. So why are you speaking in French?? This sentiment has been floating around in my head for two days now. I’m not frustrated…

Vancouver to Toronto on board The Canadian. The four-night journey is billed as one of the world’s greatest rail adventures. It travels through five Canadian provinces, four time zones, Alberta’s snow-capped mountains and the flat plains of Saskatchewan.

My little Secret Garden Tea Company teacup had been cooped up for a few days so I took it out for breakfast on board The Canadian. We were somewhere between Allanwater Bridge, Ontario, a station that exists only to serve a nearby wilderness lodge, and Collins, a First Nation community home to…

I love me a good farmers’ market, so I was a tad excited to check out the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. Fresh and local produce, home baking, and on May 19, lots of samples to try as part of Food Revolution. I got to Market Square at what I considered…

Rise and shine. The Saskatoon Farmers’ Market opened at 8 and I wanted to get there early. In my experience, the early bird gets the worm and the rest of the garden at such events. I shouldn’t have worried. My vision of trucks unloading stacks of vegetables still…