Robyn's Wanderings

Living near the CN Tower in Toronto

What do you know about your fellow traveler? Well for most of us we have been following our weekly blogger Nicola Arnold so we know a bit. But you others?

Well here you go. Her very own, “About Me” page. Where has she been? You just have to read and find out:

Last weekend, I met up with some university friends for dinner in downtown Toronto. That’s the great thing about being based in Toronto, now, – having attended a university one hour west of here, a lot of former school friends and housemates live in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area).

We work, study or live in/near the city, so it’s great to catch up on news & relive the good old days! One of the girls was my roommate from our first year of school. According to her, when I moved in to our dorm room I asked her which countries she had been to, to which she awkwardly replied, “Well, I haven’t travelled much… but I’ve been to Florida!”

Starting university, my travel experience was a little bit different (although I had been to Florida too!). I was fresh off a European travel whirlwind from my Rotary Youth Exchange year in France, where I had spent 10 months exploring not only northeastern France but also Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg which were all bordering the region of France where I was: Lorraine.

Say hello to Köln (Cologne), Germany

The “where have you travelled” question popped up again recently in my Toronto wanderings. I found myself talking to a representative at the Adventure Travel Company in downtown, where I was looking into several products they offer.

At his desk, the guy had an “About Me” page relating to his travels. It was a neat way to learn more about him, where he had travelled and where he hoped to go next!

So, I decided to mirror the “About Me” with my own travel experiences for this week’s post!

I’ve seen a lot so far, luckily… but there is so much more to conquer in the world.

Here it goes:

Title: Adventurer/Wanderer

Location: Toronto

Country count: 27 Countries visited: USA, Canada, Bermuda, England, Wales, Scotland, Sweden, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Vatican City, Monaco, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, South Africa, India, Japan

Favourite country: hmmm… France. 

Next trip in my dreams? The Maldives. Realistically? New York City

The Maldives.The Maldives in my dreams... one day!

I don’t travel without… a Swiss Army knife, a spork, a water bottle and toilet paper (hey, you never know).

I travel because… Bermuda is a rock in the ocean, there is so much more to explore in the world!

My favourite travel moments are… the spontaneous adventures with travel buddies, especially when the unexpected happens and you have much to laugh about.

Beware of dodgy people along your journeys (like her?! Nicola...for anyone who has not followed her posts!)

As an aside: If you find yourselves in the Canadian cities of Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver or Victoria… hunt down an Adventure Travel Company for more interesting travels, tours, and adventures!

The ATC offers many tours and excursions that are a great way to see the world. With slogans like “Epic Destinations. Epic Activities. Epic Hosts” and “It’s your life. It’s your adventure. What are you waiting for?” they seem to be experts in their field.]

In the words of Julius Caesar: Veni, Vidi, Vici!

Rolling around in the Thar desert

What do we have from our wanderer Nicola this week? Well last week we were taken around the world in sunsets and this week….. dogs!

Man’s best friend comes in all shapes and size, levels of domesticity, can be housesat or even beggars on the street and Nicola takes us from France to India and……..

Who let the dogs out? Does the dog in the desert in your little corner of India believe he will be fed if he hangs around on the camel safari? Can we be won over so easily by his cute tricks and the rolling around in the sand? Should we touch him or is there a risk of rabies, fleas or aggression? Should we call him Sandy or is that name too simplistic?

Amongst other animals at the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve was this wild canine

Who let the dogs out? When you are in South Africa, big cats are the main attraction – but do wild dogs also feature in your “must see” animals at a game reserve or on safari? Do you joke that your sweet & lovable domestic dog comes from an ancestry line of African wild dogs? Can you pretend you are in a special edition version of the Lion King movie and start singing Hakuna Matata in the your dusty jeep?

Jonah? Nice to meet you

Who let the dogs out? When your friends are away on holidays and ask you to house-sit, are you allowed to let the dog sneak into the living room? Can you resist those adorable puppy eyes, or should you be stern and leave him outside the sliding glass doors to watch you watching TV? Do you make references to Jonah and the Whale? Should you pronounce his name Joe-nah or John-ah? Does it even matter – isn’t it just your love and attention that he is after, after all?

Just another day at the French markets...

Who let the dogs out? How do you react when a child sitting next to you in a cafe exclaims, in great jubilation, “Maman, maman – c’est un SAINT BERNARD!!” [Mom, mom, it's a Saint Bernard!!]. Does your mind automatically think of Beethoven circa 1992? Do you then start to think about other dog movies, such as All Dogs Go to Heaven, or  Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey? Have you ever even seen a Saint Bernard before? Is it tonnes cooler knowing you will always say “Saint Bernard” in a French accent… San Bernar? Do you ever wonder if the dog has any relation to the real saint, Bernard? Does the scruffy man who you occasionally see in your French town know what an awesome pet he has?

The attack of the puppies

Who let the dogs out? Do you melt when you see a puppy, even if you are a cat person or not so fond of bigger dogs? Does it make you really wish you had your own dog, or give you great flashbacks of your own childhood four-legged friend? Why does the puppy that has his leash tied to a chair in a restaurant look like a fuzzy bear furball?

Before the big purple dinosaur, there was Barney the dog

Who let the dogs out? Do you look back at photos of your family trips to the US and see not just your outdated clothing and hairstyles, but also your lovable childhood pets? Do you laugh like crazy thinking about the time when your friend (who just moved to America with her family, including her curly-haired dog) sent you some dog fur in a zip-lock bag when she wrote you a letter? Do you remember when both you and your best friend had dogs and you used to pretend they were brothers/sisters, or cousins, or related by forces stronger than you knew (just like you and your friend)?

Feta cheese, olives and (hot) dogs.

Who let the dogs out? What crosses your mind when you think of hot dogs – would it bring up images of dogs in Greece, lying around in 35°C (95°F) heat? While you are exploring Athens (with Grease Lightning on repeat in your head), do you come across dogs sprawled all over the steps of the Acropolis or the front stoop of bank buildings? When you rest from the afternoon heat wave, sipping iced tea and eating baklava, does a scrappy dog sniff around for leftover food like a gold-digger? Do you witness one dog lobbing bricks off a cliff at another one in a dog fight? Do you wonder why there is a dog on the Athenian roof, when you were under the impression that it was roosters that adorned rooftop?

Your childhood best friend

Who let the dogs out? Do you proudly tell people that your dog’s name was unique – Chipo, a name of Zimbabwean origin, meaning “gift”? Can you remember when your dog ran right through the screen dog in your living room and left a huge hole behind? Do you laugh knowing that even though your dog was what you lovingly call a sidewalk specialty from the SPCA, he would tear the ligaments in both hind legs as an overexuberant puppy and have to wear plaster casts for a month? Did you take him for walks to the beaches in Bermuda and watch him run away from the waves like a scaredy-cat… I mean, dog?

Rome, Italy

The time has come that the days start waning early (well if you’re in the Northern hemisphere), TV’s turn-on early and mornings arrive even faster! Have no fear, our Wanderer Nicola, has some sets from around the world that can entertain you on these dark nights.

“Un bon croquis vaut mieux qu’un long discours“.

It was Napoleon Bonaparte who gave us these words of wisdom, meaning “A good sketch is better than a long speech”. I’m trying to avoid the adage “a picture is worth a thousand words”, which is a phrase we’ve all thrown into a conversation at one time or another. Nevertheless, I shall steal the premise.

Crikvenica, Croatia

This weekend’s theme? Sunsets. The sun is setting on the month of October, and Daylight Saving Time approaches. The sun will soon set on autumn as we head into winter coziness. In the Northern Hemisphere, at least.

Thar Desert, India

While on the camel safari above, in India, we spent the night under the starts in the desert. I remember clearly that our safari coincided with my mom’s birthday, who was celebrating all the way in Bermuda. My fellow travelers and I slept under the stars, and I remember thinking that the moon would eventually make it over Bermuda and we’d share the same moon! Wherever you are in the world, you will look up at the same moon as family & friends far, far away.

Notre Dame, Paris, France

One magical quotation captures the essence of a fabulous sunset:”The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire.” – Pamela Hansford Johnson

The picture below is a segue for next weekend’s blog theme:

A sandy sunset

At Robyn’s Wanderings, we are nothing if not inquisitive about any & every topic that has to do with travel.

Stay tuned for more… I am doggedly preparing you a treat, make no bones about it! 

Lists while teaching English abroad?

There are a number of ways to inspire your travels. Some people talk to friends, other watch TV and then our wanderer this week, Nicola, enjoys her travel websites.

This week? Nicola continues her wondering and wandering through travel websites:

Many hands make light work – correct? Why not lasso up all the things we are interested in and arrange them in coherent, readable lists? Websites, blogs, and articles are riddled with such options for you to save, favourite or bookmark things you like:

follow it. like it. tweet it.link it. youtube it. soundcloud it. vimeo it. flick it. stumble upon it. tumble it. blog it.

…do people still email it?
…or even, snail mail it?

So without further ado, I’ll share with you the websites I like, Travel and “travel” themed.

Here’s my list for “Top 10 Travel Websites of Interest“:

**Disclaimer: “travel” in the unconventional sense – adventures, memories, personal journeys, and the like**

1) http://abiglife.wordpress.com/
- Finding a blog whose tagline is “From Sydney to Germany via a Greek Island“, I knew I had hit the jackpot. As my tagline might read “From Canada to a Greek Island via France“, this blog makes me reminisce of all things European. Enjoy!

**Of course, with a weak spot for Greek Islands, I must also mention this blog: Oia Santorini. Sunset paradise.**

2) http://fiercewarrior.blogspot.com/
- My friend J. shares some special yet unconventional travels… her journey through eating disorders, mental health issues and things to cherish in life. With a stretch of the imagination, we can all be considered fierce warriors journeying through life.

3) http://travelintwo.com/
- What happens when 2 Bermudian sisters travel through South East Asia? They blog about it, of course! Meet Eloisa and Arantxa:

“We are two sisters, Eloisa and Arantxa, from the tiny island of Bermuda who are passionate about travelling. We plan to blog about our six month journey through South East Asia, getting off the beaten path, hiking mountains in Indonesia, cycling through Bali, exploring Beijing, and meditating at an ashram in Kerala, India. Join us on our fun-filled adventures!”

4) http://www.blogto.com/
- For anyone living in/visiting/exploring/deliberating about/enjoying Toronto… this is an excellent blog to follow on the exciting TO lifestyle & culture, especially the ‘best of’ lists… most importantly, for food discoveries!

5) http://1000awesomethings.com/
- Do you want a pick-me-up? Think about all things awesome. Some will resonate to your core, make you laugh and remember “that one time when…”. Travel back into the memories, friends, and enjoy. Bonus? Written by a Torontonian, Neil Pasricha, to boot. Check out his TEDxToronto video here.

For example? Finding fun ways to photograph the coastline in Durban, South Africa. AWESOME!

6) http://dearphotograph.com/
- Time travel, anyone? From another Canadian creator, hailing from Kitchener Ontario, comes Dear Photograph. Tagline: take a picture of a picture from the past in the present. Who doesn’t like old photos, paired with a modern twist?

7) http://www.drawastickman.com/
- Creativity. Whether creativity sneaks into your life as part of your studies, your job, your hobbies, or every fiber of your being… this exercise and the adventures that ensue challenge us to use our imaginations… they are not just for children and storytellers! Create your own story, and your own stickman.

8) http://dadsonvacation.tumblr.com/
- Because my own dad travels in a kilt these days. Because Hawaiian shirts are just a no-no. Because you always see that one tourist… that one guy… who is just in an awkward situation. These holiday dads make your vacation just thatmuch better.

9) http://thetravelpresse.com/
- Like attracts like, so when I met a fellow Bermudian frequent flyer/young professional living in Toronto, I knew I would be a fan of her travel blog. Throw a glance in this direction, too, and jump into the writings of a passionate traveller!

10) http://wonderopolis.org/
- Wanderers should also wonder… so here are some questions to get you wondering.

**Bonus** If you are into art history… you may also be into this website: http://www.smarthistory.org/

I will forever be wondering & wandering - Jageshwar, India

And in the words of Porky Pig, “Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-… That’s all, folks.”

Nothing like October leaves in Ontario

Tomorrow marks Canada’s Thanksgiving day and for Wanderer Nicola Arnold, it is also marks a new experience. As a Bermudian, Thanksgiving (at least the Canadian one) is not really celebrated. At least it’s not a public holiday!

So how is she going to celebrate? Here’s Nicola:

Whew, it’s here – the weekend. Here in Canada, we have extra reason to celebrate. It’s a long weekend: Thanksgiving!

Growing up in Bermuda, we tend to celebrate American Thanksgiving which falls on the fourth Thursday in November. As I attended a school on the American system, every November we’d whips out our crayons and colour in pictures of turkeys, pumpkins and pilgrims… high school was such great fun!! Ha ha, I mean grade 2, of course.

It was a quick switch coming to Canada. Thanksgiving in October? Before Halloween?! And if you are lucky… no early snow flurries. I’m very ucky to have had a true taste of autumn/fall/thanksgiving (affectionately referred to as T-gives, or Turkey Day) with different Canadian friends and their families.

Eight hour from Toronto to Northern Ontario: The drive to celebrate Thanksgiving with my friend's family 4yrs ago!

So far, friends have treated me to Thanksgiving activities such as:
- apple-picking in an orchard
- go-carting on a racetrack
- international student potluck dinner
- driving 8hrs north of Toronto to the boonies… I mean, northern Ontario (temp. only slightly above freezing)
- a long weekend in the Ottawa Valley (a hop, skip and jump from Quebec province)

When spending Thanksgiving in the Ottawa Valley... you can hop on over to Quebec to sit on a French-Canadian dock!

Here’s some trivia for you:

Trivia 1: While most Canadian provinces have a public holiday on the Monday of Thanksgiving, the provinces in Atlantic Canada including Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia do not regard Thanksgiving as having provincial holiday status.

Trivia 2: The Canadian Parliament proclaimed Thanksgiving as a holiday as of January 31, 1957, stating: “A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed – to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October.”

Who said pumpkin is just for pie?! Don't forget pumpkin spice ale and pumpkin ice cream... yum!

For now, I am off once again to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends. I’m going to throw Bermudian into the mix at my friend’s family gathering of Canadian/Scottish/Australian nationalities. Pumpkin pie, here I come!

Edward Monkton says it best every time

Our wanderer Nicola turns 25 today! What better way to celebrate her birthday then navigating the world of Nicola? Well she couldn’t think of one either so here is Robyn’s Wanderings wishing her a very special birthday and a quarter of a century of Nicola’s travels:

A quarter of a century has come & gone, my friends. For me, at least.

For the third year in a row, I celebrate my birthday in Toronto, Ontario. This weekend coincides with two other big events in Toronto and throughout Canada - Scotiabank’s Nuit Blanche all-night art festival, and CIBC’s Run for the Cure.

Everyone is celebrating for one reason or another! Therefore, I deemed it appropriate to write 25 Things About Me. Birthday and travel-related, more or less.

1. I took my first flight at 4 months old and we moved to Bermuda… I slept the whole way
2. As a child, I was little enough to sleep on blankets on the floor below my family’s airplane seats on overnight flights.
3. I celebrated my 18th birthday in France, enjoying champagne and strawberry shortcake with my host family.
4. Two plastic figurines join me on travels: a California Raisin & Simba from the Lion King [Looking at that link for California Raisins, I found out that "Ben Indasun" is my toy!]
5. The first Broadway show that I ever saw was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
6. Katie and I saw snow for the first time when we were visiting family in England one Christmas.
7. My first winter sport experiences include 2 middle school ski trips to Colorado, and ice skating in Rockerfeller Center in NYC.
8. I saw the movie Lion King at the cinema in Africa, while spending a summer with my grandparents in Zimbabwe.
9. …Speaking of Disney, I’ve been to Disneyland California, Walt Disney World Florida, and Tokyo Disney… I have yet to conquer  Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland & Shanghai Disney!
10. While visiting Japan for 3 weeks, I rode bicycles, developed a love for corn chowder, and dressed up as a meiko for a day [The meiko blog link is very similar to my own experience. I wish I had photos to post of Japan, but sadly they are in Bermuda, tucked away in an album... I took 6 rolls of film on that trip!]
11. Once, I fell asleep in my soup at a hotel restaurant and my parents & sister have never let me live it down.
12. While taking a home-video at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Katie and I danced around singing “We are space aliens, we are space aliens”. Oh, the good old days!

If you are reading this sentence, then congratulations – you are almost halfway through the list!

Your birthday: a day when you are allowed to wear the crown.

13. On my 10th birthday, I open a cereal box (nice gift-wrapping!), and dug through it to find 2 plane tickets to Oklahoma. My best friend’s family had recently relocated there, so it was my dream trip. We kept in touched, reunited in Europe & Bermuda, and are still best buddies today!
14. My week-long high school French trip to Paris served as a taster for the 3 times I would live in France as a student – in Lorraine, in Paris, and in Savoie.
15. Both sets of my grandparents moved to Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) post-WWII – one half from Croatia, the other from England.
16. Give me a window seat on an airplane any day.
17. The top 3 countries that I’ve been to that hold a piece of my heart are: France, India and Greece.
18. The longest flight I have been on so far is 13hr from New York to Tokyo.
19. After graduating university, I was treated to a First Class, overnight flight – champagne included! [A rather big step-up from sleeping on the floor of the airplane seats... re: #2]
20. My dream islands to visit are the Maldives… one day, I hope.
21. My 21st birthday turned out to be an awesome surprise party, although I had planned to do homework that evening…
22. When we visit my grandmother in Croatia, we go for 6am walks including a morning swim in crystal-clear sea – much chillier than Bermuda waters.
23. … Despite my affinity for Croatia, I must hark back to my adoration for Greece. Islandy. Laid-back. European. And f-e-t-a! [In fact, I'm celebrating this weekend by going out for a Greek feast... OPA!]
24. Hurricane Felix hit Bermuda in 1995, and we got our dog shortly afterwards from the SPCA. We changed his name from Felix to Chipo.
25. Lastly: Katie and I share this birthday month (October 17th and 2nd, respectively), and we are family friends with two sisters in Bermuda who have eerily similar birthdays (October 17th and 1st). We were meant to be friends!

Here's for a sweet treat... or 6.

Who knows, perhaps if I eat my vegetables and walk everyday I will make it to 100. If we still write blogs 75 years from now, perhaps I can write my “100 best travel experiences”. For now, though, back to the cupcakes!

Do these abbreviations mean anything to you: DH, CF, SS, E, RBI? That’s what our wanderer Nicola Arnold wants to know.

So do you? Well, if you’re going to travel to Toronto, the United States and….well anywhere that baseball is a passion then, as Nicola found-out, these terms are necessary reading:

If you never forget your first love (insomuch as it applies to sports), then my first love always was & always will be tennis. Although… it has to be said that “in tennis, love means nothing” [FYI: "love" indicates a score of zero]. Apart from being courted by tennis, squash and badminton for the better part of 10 years, my dreams came true in 2005 when my aunt took me to the Wimbledon tennis tournament. We sat on Henman Hill (or is it Murray Mount?) and came THISCLOSE to Serena Williams after her match. Score!

Tennis courts right in our backyard in Bermuda... also perfect for stargazing

But we digress. Friends, I never thought this day would come. I’m falling for baseball… and it came completely out of left field!

Baseball and I never had much of a relationship, but we did share a few common interests. Growing up in Bermuda, I knew little to nothing about baseball. What I did glean about this American pastime came from entertainment, pop culture & various holidays:

- children’s classic 90′s movies: The Sandlot, Rookie of the Year, Angels in the Outfield
- a family holiday in NYC when we saw the revival of the Broadway musical Damn Yankees
- knowing of Babe Ruth, or the great Bambino… but preferring to turn my attention to the Baby Ruth instead
- another family trip, when teenage Katie & Nicola were treated to their first baseball game in Oakland, California, home of the Oakland Athletics

Let's play ball at the Rogers Center... aka Toronto Skydome

Fast forward to August 2011. On an overnight stay in Toronto, my friend Cat invited me to a ball game, the Toronto Blue Jays vs. Boston Red Sox. During my recent visit to Boston I passed by the legendary home of the Sox, Fenway Park, but I must admit that I did not stop to admire it. However, going back to my baseball invite, I am of the opinion that you a) never turn down an invitation and b) don’t knock it til you try it. Depending on the situation, of course. The Jays lost that night… but it was an exciting atmosphere, I knew the basics, and my friend is a super-fan so she filled me in on the rest!

A weekend game in the afternoon sunshine

So where am I now in my relationship with baseball? After moving to Toronto last Wednesday, I attended a home game every night from Friday til Thursday (against both the New York Yankees & the L.A. Angels) I was in a bookstore on Friday and I spent 15 minutes scouring the baseball shelves of the Sports section… and no, I did not return home with Baseball for Dummies.

For the most skeptic people out there, my “Top 5 reasons to enjoy a baseball game” may convince them to give it a shot:

Which is better - the Frog & Onion Bermuda t-shirt, or the baseball yarmulke head cover? I cannot decide!

Atmosphere – You know those places where you walk in and you know the “atmosphere” is right? Well, the baseball stadium is one of those places. Even for a newbie! From the face paint to the catchers’ mitts, from the toddlers to the 91 year-old celebrating her birthday, baseball fans proudly flaunt their love of the game. The collective crowd cheer is also rather amusing… as the ball soars into the air, a collective “YAYYY!!” can quickly turn into an “Awww…” as the outcome is a foul ball [read: a dud].

Jumbotron – The big screen over the outfield, where all the magic happens – player stats, birthday shout-outs, and most importantly, crowd scanning! Cat has been on the jumbotron 6 times this summer, but last week she made her first sign on a bright pink poster board that helped us make a guest appearance on the ‘tron! It’s exciting to make it up there and it’s hilarious to see other people’s reactions on-screen. Only thing more entertaining would be a “kiss cam”… then again, a friend of mine had an awkward experience sitting next to her cousin when the kiss cam panned on them!

One way to successfully get yourselves on the Jumbotron...

Music – Tuesdays are “Twitter Tuesdays” when you can tweet in song requests during the game. Players on the home team walk up to the plate to their own theme song. Around the 7th inning, there are songs for the crowd to rock out to – stretch, dance, or some other ambiguous movements! Music engages the crowd to clap, cheer and root. Of course, everyone gets the chance to sing “Take me out to the ball game“…. replacing “home team” with the Blue Jays”!

Novelty – The Toronto games start at 1:07 and 7:07pm. Strange! Despite the overpriced food and drink,  we all still indulge in hot dogs, peanuts and beer. In fact, one of the coolest beers was from the “bottom-up” beer stall where the plastic cup has a hole on the bottom. The beer is filled upwards and a magnetic disc seals it in. Plus… you drink it out of a straw. What’s not to enjoy?! Also, on weekend games, they count the number of strikes against the visiting team, and 7 strikes gets everyone in the Roger’s Center a free slice of pizza. I can bear witness!

Swag – Free stuff. Everyone loves game swag: you can text-in for the chance to win a Blackberry phone, have free t-shirts thrown at you, or a foul ball may just end up being yours if you catch it before your neighbours! We were sitting in the 5th section (aka steerage) when a guy in the front row of our section caught a ball in his cap… you never know what’s going to happen!

Convinced? Hope so!

And so the sun sets on another summer of baseball!

Oh, and those abbreviations - DH, CF, SS, E, RBI – stand for designated hitter, center field, shortstop, errors and runs batted in.

Sticker-clad door in Amsterdam

“Reality is a sliding door” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Every traveler has it: those pictures you take everywhere you go. What am I talking about? Well, for me I like to take pictures of my food. It’s weird, perhaps, but I could do a food diary around the world!

Hmmm…maybe that’s tomorrow’s post! But for today it’s our wanderer Nicola who highlights her own photography obsession – doors! When one door closes another one……goes to read about Nicola’s adventures:

While browsing through my photos, I realized that I often take shots of one thing in particular: DOORS. Hmmm… why? I’m no budding photographer, but doorways captivate my amateur lens. While travelling, you are bound to come across doors that speak of history, culture, war, elegance, abandonment and traditions. Whether lavishly painted or shabbily chipped, wrought iron or wooden, doors speak volumes.

The gigantic door to my friend's apartment in Rome

On an everyday scale, doors are just a part of life. But think about all the possible situations you can get into…

- We may have had an awkward encounter at a revolving door, shuffling along in a small space with a stranger.
- We may have watched the film Sliding Doors and wondered about parallel storylines/situations in our lives.
- We may have ran right into a glass or screen door (or worse yet, watch this video… poor guy!).
- We may have been serenaded by Guns N Roses and/or Bob Dylan singing this smash hit.

A door inside the Forum in Rome

Children have a lot of interactions with doors: don’t open the door to strangers; sell cookies or raffle tickets door to door; play with the next-door neighbours; read The Chronicles of Narnia and imagine another world behind your own closet doors; slam the door when you’re angry… well, that doesn’t just apply to children!

And what would be the reason for this door in Athens??

This Other Side of the Door is a blog post with an interesting take on all that doors symbolize, including:
- opportunity
- exploration
- history
- barriers
- cultural differences

Well, that’s all for now, folks. It’s time to go “outdoors” and enjoy the last weekend baseball games of the season: Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees!

“Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings.” – Elie Wiesel

The Tribute in Light, the annual remembrance of the September 11 attacks

 

For my generation it was a day we will always remember: 9/11/2001. Me? I was in Rome, Italy teaching at a boarding school and was taking a nap; I wan’t feeling well.

The kids woke me up, yelling and screaming in the hallways. Downstairs we had one TV with satellite and everyone was gathered watching with disbelief, horror and fear.

Today, on this tenth anniversary, our wanderer Nicola remembers where she was on 9/11 and the hair cut that changed the way we should all help:
Even a decade later, the majority of us can probably still remember where we were on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.

On that Tuesday, I was in Bermuda, on the morning volunteer shift at the hospital. It was one of my last summer shifts before returning to school on Thursday. When I reached home nobody else was there, so I promptly turned on the TV. The footage and the breaking news was captivating, and I could not believe the shocking events unfolding before my eyes. Needless to say, my family and I were glued to the news for the next few weeks.

The events of 9/11, now in their 10th anniversary, seem like both a lifetime away and a moment ago. I am grateful that my family is a bunch of Broadway nuts, as we were lucky enough to visit New York City several times before 2001.

The NYC experience for us included musicals, shopping and sightseeing… and New York-style cheesecake! Having stayed in a Marriott hotel just blocks away from ground zero, and having walked through the lobbies of the majestic Twin Towers in person, visiting post-9/11 New York made the stories from TV very real. This weekend, the 10th anniversary will mark the unveiling of the 9/11 Memorial in lower Manhattan.

A family trip to NYC in 2005 included a visit to ground zero

Yet, just as Elie Wiesel said, hope can be given from one human being to another in an effort to combat the despair. From the ashes of 9/11 comes stories that are full of hope, wonder and awe. The Miracle of Stairway B is one such story – you can read or watch the incredible story of how these 16 people survived the collapse of the North Tower 10 years ago.

Fast forward to Saturday, September 11, 2010.

Hope was certainly alive among my family and friends exactly one year ago. We had a great reason to celebrate, and I know that the date of this special event that coincided with 9/11 was not a coincidence.

My older sister, Katie, had decided to cut her long, golden locks to donate to a British charity, Little Princess Trust, who provides real hair wigs to children suffering hair loss due to cancer treatment. Not to be left behind (as any younger sibling knows), I joined her not only in her fundraising efforts, but also in the haircut donation!

Katie and Nicola's hairstyles "before"

In Katie’s own words, she explains her grand haircut scheme and why she was eager to donate her ponytail:

“Haircuts – sometimes we get them to be stylish and other times we use them to achieve a drastic new look. Last summer, when I learned that a good family friend had a recurring bout of cancer, my mind was spinning with the question ‘”WHAT can I do that will make an impact on this situation?” . Once again, cancer would deprive her of not only of her health, energy and morale, but also physical things like her hair. An idea began to shape that, as I had extremely long hair, I would donate at least 12 inches of hair for a child’s wig. We think these children are so brave, they experience something no child ever should. As the idea grew, people pledged support and some even joined us on our haircut day in England. On September 11, 2010, I was amazed at Nicola’s extreme chop! My own was much less extreme, yet had a great impact on me. We were left holding blonde & brunette ponytail donations, our contribution in helping fight the effects of cancer.” 

From our fabulous haircut weekend in England in 2010, let me recap several of the highlights (no pun intended!):

As Katie was living in England, she had done her hair homework: she had scouted out the perfect salon, met with the lovely hairdresser, and organized for a local journalist to join us on September 11th (here is Katie in her local newspaper). My mom was home in Bermuda, sadly missing out on the haircut action… but at airport on September 10th, my dad surprised her with a plane ticket so she could join us for the weekend! What a delightful surprise for us all! To further celebrate at the salon, our aunt pulled out a picnic basket with none other than champagne for us and our groupies… a bubbly toast to celebrate the exciting new looks.

First Chop: Katie bravely took the first cut, with the photographer well-placed to snap some photos. As the hairdresser, Chris, chopped off a good 12 inches, the shocking “Wow!” moment was evident in her slight hyperventilation… tears of joy, indeed! All these months of long braids and now she had to learn to style a bob plus a fringe.

Katie's drastic yet beautiful 12-inch chop

Second Chop: My haircut was second, and as my hair was juuuust long enough for the required 10-inch donation, Chris cut my hair bit by bit, from one side to the other, collecting the strands for a ponytail. I was left  with a sideways mullet for a few moments. It was all I could do not to burst into a fit of giggles! I felt… very… light-headed. The pixie look agreed with my face shape… what a relief!

Nicola sports the "mullet" style - oh, the horror!

The after-party celebration for Katie and Nicola, the "Little Princesses" of September 11, 2010.

A year later, we have a dual reason to remember 9/11. While we honour the fallen and remember the miracle stories that came out of September 11th, or pledge monetary and hair donations to support children suffering from cancer, the common denominator is that hope rises like a phoenix from the ashes.

The sunshine came, it burnt, and now it's on its way out.

A Bermudian in Canada for the summer? Oh yes it is true. Our wanderer Nicola Arnold found herself not swizzling away her summer on a pink beach at home, but surviving Canada.

So how did she do it? Well here she is to tell her tale:

Labour Day Weekend? I guess that means it is time to tell you “How I Spent My Summer Vacation”… hmmm. Let’s spice it up a bit, shall we?!

Backtrack to summer for a minute – the warm, breezy months of laissez-faire attitude – what’s not to love? While we may no longer be walking around in itsy, bitsy, teenie weenie, yellow polka dot bikinis (or other such outfits that stave off the heatwave), the summer-lovin’ kids from Grease treated us to this back-to-school hit to remind us of our sweet summer nights. And speaking of that itsy, bitsy, teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini… voila!

Summer 2011 was particularly interesting for me. Why? It was my first Canadian summer! Despite two getaway trips (to Boston and a family reunion that took me to Bermuda, South Africa & Croatia), I spent a good 3 out of 4 months here. I learnt that I can, indeed, pass a summer in Canada and live to tell the tale. Here goes…

11 Ways That I Survived (I Mean Enjoyed!) My Canadian** Summer:

1. Getaway for a weekend on Porter Airlines: A hop, skip and a jump away from downtown Toronto, Porter Airlines flights take-off from Toronto Island. Very quick & easy, as I jetted off to Boston for a long weekend in May to visit friends (several school friends from Bermuda, in fact). From Chicao to Halifax, Porter’s “fly refined” motto was definitely true, as who doesn’t like a leather airplane seat and a complimentary glass of wine?

A trip to Boston is not complete without tasting as many Dunkin' Donuts as possible!

2. Chill out for a day on the Toronto Islands: Whether you wish to hit the beach, rent bicycles or a boat, pack a picnic, or visit the children’s amusement park or the farm, you just need to jump on the ferry from Toronto Harbour. TheToronto Islands are far enough away from the city to exude peacefulness… provided you beat the rush of summer camps & birthday parties! Alas, my friend and I found two things out the hard way – make sure you have enough cash (no ATM), and do NOT forget the sunscreen.

3. Seek thrills at Canada’s Wonderland: Until this summer, I had never been able to enjoy the rides at Canada’s Wonderland, as it’s usually only open from May-October. I was delighted to go not once but twice this summer with different pals – and bonus, we got good deals! As it has been awhile since my last roller-coaster experience, I was not sure what to expect from myself:  Screamer? Eyes wide closed? Nope. My “oh-my-gosh-I-cannot-breathe-I’m-laughing-so-much” coaster reaction was a hit among my friends.

The Behemoth, guaranteed to make you scream, cry, gasp... or laugh!

4. Explore the Elora Gorge: Elora, a small town so close to Guelph yet so far… without one’s own car. I was able to convince my friend (with a lovable dog) to join me in exploring the Elora Gorge. The Grand River proved to be a fantastic place to walk said lovable dog, eat a picnic and watch the brave kayakers battle the rapids.

5. Canada Day… in London (?): Celebrated on July 1st, I thought this would be my first authentic Canada Day. Lo and behold, my Canada Day 2011 was indeed Canadian… but took place in London, England! On the journey back to Canada from my family reunion, we passed through London. While killing time before watching Les Misérables, we strolled to Trafalgar Square for some people-watching. It turns out there were a lot of people to watch… both Canadians & Londoners! From Sleeman beer tents to Tim Horton’s coffee & donuts stalls, it felt like I was in my (adopted) home away home.

6. Fergus Scottish Festival & Highland Games: As I mentioned in my kilt blog, I had the joy of attending the Fergus Scottish Festival & Highland Games in August with some family friends of bona fide Scottish descent. It was a superb round-up of highland games, dancing, taste-testing, and all-round jolly festivities. If only I had been brave enough to try haggis…

Great Scott!

7. Canoeing/kayaking the Speed River: While the rapids at Elora Gorge may be a tad too rapid for me, I persuaded several different friends to go canoeing at our local Speed River. A few had never canoed before, which made for some very entertaining trips – it appears that some people cannot steer & talk simultaneously… but the fun stems from rocking the boat!

8. BBQ/dining al fesco: Barbecuing is synonymous with summer. If it’s warm enough to fire up the grill, you might as well enjoy the balmy evenings. But on top of the BBQ, one thing that was a real treat (coming from Bermuda, where the weather is either summery or rainy, but never snowy), was the late spring/early summer patio season. Canadians hop outside to enjoy some sunshine and, voila, al fresco dining hits the ground running. ‘Tis glorious when it’s at last permissible to sit outside with a burger & beer!

9. Ribs, Rhythm & Rotary: For a finger-lickin’ good time, it’s worth a taste of Ribfest. If you desired, you could wind your way across the province for a summer full of Ontario Ribfests. Besides choosing our flavour of ribs and taste-testing each others choices, my friends and I were able to enjoy the car show, the children’s amusement rides and wash down the ribs with a trip to the beer tent, the ice-cream truck, or the lemonade stand. Don’t forget the lasso training. Yee-haw!

Hmm... so many ribs, such little space to put them!

10. Check out a dazzling Air Show: The city of Waterloo may be known for RIM’s Blackberry, but did you also know there is a Waterloo International Airport? I was invited to go to the Air Show with some friends and I happily accepted, as I have fond memories of air shows in Bermuda. We were dazzled by the talented Canadian Forces Snowbirds, fighter jets, parachute teams, and even witnessed an acrobatic plane land on top of a moving RV – stunning!

11. Mosquitoes x100: I survived my summer of mosquitoes. Instead of battling Bermudian cockroaches that fly right at you, the combat this summer was against blood-sucking mosquitoes. After a few failed attempts at lazing in the Arboretum due to the revenge of the mosquito, I realized that sunscreen plus bug repellent are summer must-haves in Canada. Ah, the sense of adventure!

(** in my case, Canadian = Southern Ontario)

So… “Did you miss Bermuda?”

Swizzle, I missed you this summer

Yes, some days I wished for Bermuda-style beaching & boating adventures, or a happy hour at Hamilton Princess overlooking the harbour. Instead, I chose to bring Bermuda to Canada: As you can buy Gosling’s Black Seal in Ontario, I introduced friends to some “makeshift” Dark ‘n Stormies. And I mean makeshift, as I ever so irritatingly left my case of Barritt’s Ginger Beer at the airport baggage claim. Solution? I had to taste-test several other “Caribbean-style” ginger beers… what a hardship! While all were incomparable to Barritt’s, one was sufficient enough to weather the Storm.

These past few months have been a treat. Even if summer is drawing to a close… there is no need to fall apart. Little by little, we will switch up our iced coffees for spiced chai lattes and enjoy the coziness of the autumn.