Mary and Adam in Canada: April in Canada

April in Canada

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WEATHER:

Second month of Spring.... it rose above plus 10 twice. Mother Nature wasn't happy so the 19 degrees came with wind and rain and followed up with an ice storm and minus 5... thanks. At least the best days came with Easter.

Day after my birthday - April 15th!!!!

SCHOOL NEWS:

It was lovely to celebrate my birthday at school. I got some lovely gifts, including plants for the condo, a gift voucher, flowers, some chocolate and some lovely cards. Best of all, the kids all came with great smiles and were at their best all day. They all got an "Aussie treat" [pens, pencils, magnets, stickers etc] from the lucky dip bag. It was also Easter, which meant a long weekend... yay.

CONDO LIVING:

The gym was finally finished... yay. We make an attempt :-). The lifts now have walls on them and our building was finally accredited as finished. Their is action in the empty shops at the ground level - one has a sign saying "dentist coming soon". Not quite what we had in mind. We'd love a cafe please! The building across from us [the next stage in the Royal Gardens condo complex we live in] has more being done each day and many people are moving in. We are self-confessed voyeurs and watch them all as our evening entertainment.

ROAD TRIPS:

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE

A highlight of April. This is not the kitschy area of Niagara Falls, rather it is the quaint, grand, quiet town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. We loved it. The weather had warmed... it even got to plus teen temperatures and we sat out on the balcony of the BnB and ate cheese and biscuits and indulged in a much deserved bevvie. Exploring the area and we discovered the best winery - "Small Talk" aka stonechurch wines.

USA one side, Canada the other!!!!!!!!!

The smallest chapel in the world!!!

The best winery so far!!!!!!!!!!

Ottawa:

Whilst in Canada, it's a must to see a Maple Leafs hockey game. Trouble is, a season ticket is around $60,000 and to see a game here in Toronto is anything from $200 a ticket up to $1,000 for ordinary seats. The teachers' board organised a bus trip to Ottawa to see the Maple Leafs play the Ottawa Senators for cheap as chips. We were in! It was a great weekend - we even won the raffle and tix to the Blue Jays baseball game in May. Checked out the Rideau Canal, Byward Market, met up with Bianca. Seeing a hockey game live is unbelievable... the hype, the commercialism, the noise, it's all happening.

Buffalo:

USA is only over the border and about a 2 and a half hour drive away, so we got up one Saturday and decided to go shopping in Buffalo, New York, where there are huge outlet malls and the USA side of Niagara Falls. We booked our hotel and when we got there, wondered what we were in for. The outlet and larger shopping malls are in very seedy areas. However, shopping done [after all, we can't bring it back to Australia and didn't need much], we set off to explore. In true Mary and Adam style, we found Elmwood and Williamsville. Driving around the homes that looked grander than Toorak mansions, we were glad we bothered. The USA side of Niagara was great and we drove back to the Canadian side for our Spring look and photos.

Crossing back into Canada. Below are the Canadian Falls

Elmvale:

Another weekend away, although fairly close to home. We went to the Elmvale Maple Syrup Festival - a bit like the Bright weekend without the mountains - and then went to an Aussie BBQ put on by some past exchangees. Stayed over with current exchangees at Barrie and had a good old natter.

DAY TRIPS

No time for day trips as every weekend was AWAY....:-) :-)

HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS: