Where are all the moose?

This weekend Joep and I had planned on embracing the Canadian lifestyle and become those outdoorsy type people that we have always somewhat feared … no we did not buy Nordic walking sticks. Although I won’t say that we never will. 

Now on the note of integrating into Canada might I also note that there are a few things that we may not choose to embrace. (Nat I think you are the only Canadian who will read this and I hope you will not take offense …) Firstly, almost everyone in Ottawa has a tattoo. This may or may not be an exaggeration but I am pretty sure it is not. There are HEAPS of tattoo parlors in the city and so many people have tattoos it is crazy! Mother ship, do not freak out I will not be getting a tattoo. Promise.

Another thing that we will not be embracing is … wait for it coz this one will shock you … CHEWING TOBACCO! Yes. You read that correctly. I am not making this up. Let me explain. Last Thursday I was at an IFRS training seminar (don’t fall asleep! That is the last accounting term I will use!) … the seminar was outside of the city centre meaning that I could not walk there meaning I had to figure out public transport which is not my strong point because I have a short attention span and also because I attract freaks so every time I take public transport a random crazy person will sit next to me. Those of you who know me will attest to this. Realizing the predicament I was in, I asked a colleague for a lift to the seminar. He was very kind in giving me said lift. At the end of the day he had also very kindly arranged for another colleague to give me a lift home. Now I had heard various stories about this guy including one particularly disturbing story which involved him taking off his pants in the office … because he is overly sweaty. Yes. Random information to know about someone you don’t know. Anyway, he was very nice to drive me home and who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth!

Once settled in his car (which he had trouble locating in the parking lot … something I thought only my mother had troubles with **flash back to childhood grocery shopping expeditions with 4 Delany sisters and one frazzled mothership looking for her car on the wrong side of the shopping mall**) he opened a little metal container and very politely offered me some of its contents. I asked what it was. He answered very calmly that it was chewing tobacco. Oh. My. Lord. I politely refused and let him stuff his mouth. I was shocked into silence (a rarity). As we drove along it dawned on me that in all the western movies I have seen, the chewing tobacco requires the chewer to spit out some sort of residue. I asked my driver about this. He answered that yes he would have to spit it out. I stupidly questioned where he would spit it out. He lifted up a clear plastic bottle which I had not previously noticed. It was full of spit.

GROSS!!

In fairness he was very discrete about the whole spitting thing. And yes, I was overly dramatic about how disgusting it was. Oh and btw he says that the chicks dig it. He is married so I don’t argue that point too much.

That was a very long story with the moral being that Joep and I will not be getting tattoos or taking up chewing tobacco. Yet.

One thing we WILL be taking up however is exploring the great out doors!! This weekend westarted off by doing the Haunted Tour of Ottawa on Friday night. It is a very cool tour with lots of ghost stories about the city. Very scary if you believe in that stuff … like I do. If you don’t believe in it … Joepinator … then it is just a good excuse to make ghost noises in front of a large audience. We were both content =)

Saturday we were up early to head to Algonquin Provincial Park. It is 2 hrs from Ottawa, the biggest provincial park in Ontario, and when I told people that we were headed there they all told me to expect to see moose. We were excited!

On the way to Algonquin we stopped at a tiny little village for snacks and were treated to the best sandwiches we have ever eaten! Upon arrival in Algonquin we headed to Opeonga lake for a spot of canoeing. Yes, correct. We went canoeing! I was scared about capsizing, Joep was not. He was right. It was bucket loads of fun! We canoed out across the massive lake with a break in the middle to check out one of the small islands dotting the lake area. It was breathtakingly beautiful and so peaceful! That is, except for the moose mating calls that Joep was doing throughout the entire canoe ride.

He was as excited as I was to see moose and when there were none wandering out to greet us he tried to attract them using his version of a moose mating call. This sounds something like … ‘Yaaaaaaak! Yaaaaaaak!’ I am no nature expert and I could be completely wrong here but I think that is the mating call of the … yak. Needless to say, it was not effective in attracting any moose.

After finishing up our canoeing adventures we went of 2 short hikes. One to a lookout with a great view of the park and one which took us past 2 beaver dams. Both were fantastic! The colors in the park were unbelievable! Fall in Canada is a must see!

We finished the day exhausted and content! I think this new outdoors life will be very good for us … until it gets to -20 degrees. Then I think I’ll be hibernating … until then though we will continue our moose hunt!

A weekend reuinion in Toronto!

The infamous Mel Wolter and I have been separated for far too long now after many years of being partners in crime in Perth. The last time we were lucky enough to have some time together was in 2007 when Mel popped over to Amsterdam for a weekend to visit to we were long over due for a catch up! (Yes yes we spoke almost every week on the phone for a good hour … still its not the same as sharing life stories over a glass or 10 of wine!) 

Ottawa is a 4.5 hour drive from Toronto – A meer stones throw! After settling into Ottawa and surviving my first week at work it seemed the perfect time to head down (across??) to Toronto for some QT with Mel and her better half Geoff!

We set off at a reasonable hour on Saturday morning after having our first night in a real bed in 2 weeks. The road trip there was very uneventful and we found Mel’s place without any trouble. The reunion was as you would expect. We squealed, hugged, jumped around and squealed again. We’ll never grow out of it. You can all stop hoping.

After the initial squeals died down we headed up to have some quality time with the boys. This proved difficult given that Joep’s face lit up with glee upon seeing the playstation … Xbox doesn’t work here. He was supposed to check this before we left Holland. He didn’t. He now has a perfectly good Xbox and may games that he cannot use. Thankfully he got his money’s worth from the Xbox in the last few months but he is currently suffering from withdrawals from lack of computer game playing… so needless to say, the sight of a perfectly good playstation sitting unplayed drove the poor Joepinator to distraction so we put him out of his misery and let the boys play their games while we caught up … HA! That is such a lie. A big fat one … mother ship, there would be a black line down my tongue right now if you could see me. Mel and I encouraged the boys to play the playstation so we could gossip about life over the past months without any distractions =)

Gossiping out of the way, we managed to tear the boys away from their game to head out to check out the city and grab a bite for dinner. Mel had chosen a FAB spot for us! The food was delicious and the cocktails were the best I have had in a long time! In addition the wait staff were fantastic!! 

The only downside of the dining experience was the music. Normally this shouldn’t ruin an evening … it didn’t ruin ours but did provide us with hours of entertainment. Every single good song that was played by the dj was mixed with loud sirens. It was horrific. Joep encouraged me at one stage to request something other than what was playing. I accepted the challenge and asked the dj if he would play a request. He said maybe and asked what I wanted. I asked for a Michael Jackson number (Joep’s request). He abruptly said that no that would not be possible. I then asked him if that was because he would only be playing awful music all night. He answered yes … then hesitated … processed my question and gave me a filthy look. I laughed.

I then turned around to find Joep standing in the middle of the dance floor with his hands over his ears screaming ‘Make the sirens stop! Make the sirens stop!’ Mel was nearby laughing heartily and Geoff had taken it upon himself to have a good talking to bar manager to let him know that the music was really causing some problems with their dining experience.

Phew! Mel & I eventually rounded up the boys (are noticing a theme here?? How many of you Perth-ites would ever have imagined that Mel & I would be the responsible ones in any outing? How times have changed …) and we headed off to the next bar.

The next bar saw us hitting the dancefloor for a good groove shaking session. Whilst dancing around a large (large … massive …) security lady walked by me. Geoff then told me a story re her being the scariest security guard in the city which is impressive coz she’s a chick.

After hearing the story I turned to find Joep on the dancefloor … spinning the massive security guard around! Whilst doing this he was grinning like a monkey and shouting ‘360! 360!’ I don’t know what was going on. But she loved it and the 3 of us were provided with yet more entertainment!

The rest of the evening past by in a blur of drinks, dancing and laughs before we headed for the nearest pizza joint for a pre-bedtime snack.

Sunday morning rolled around far too quickly and after a bit of a sleep in and a looooong breakfast Joep and I hit the road back to Ottawa … never fear! We are only 4 hours away from another reunion! Plans are already being made …

The first few weeks ...

Here we are! Living the dream in Canada! Its been a few weeks now and things have been working out splendidly!

Arrival in Ottawa saw us arranging visa’s and setting ourselves up in our serviced apartment. The flight over had been uneventful and surprisingly relaxing but, having never seen our city of choice in the flesh, we grew more and more curious (?? Alright, alright … we were nervous!) as we got closer and closer to landing. There was no need to be.

Day one saw us up early to check out our new home and we were NOT disappointed! Those of you who have been here will already know that it is a beautiful city! Exceptionally pretty. The Rideau canal runs through the city (every single Ottawan **side note - Joep calls them Ottawanadians ... love the Dutchman** you meet will not hesitate to tell you how it freezes over in the winter and is the worlds largest natural ice skating rink … this is a very specific title because apparently those Damn Manitobans (the neighbouring province) decided to steal the Ottawan’s thunder and built a bigger ice skating rink but that is not as cool oz its not natural … hmmmm) … anyway I got side tracked for a second. The canal runs through the city, there are many beautiful buildings including the National Parliament and all in all the city is very well laid out. A brief wander around the city also indicates that it is not particularly large making it more than manageable by foot … Joep’s dreams of owning a large 4WD are slowly dwindling.

As planned we hit the ground running and from day 1 we were very busy setting up appointments to see houses. In the first 3 days we saw 20 apartments and townhouses. Sound excessive? Perhaps. But worth it to make sure we got the best place for our new home!

And find it we did!! A 2 bed/2 bath condo in the Byward Market. The Byward Market is the main going out district (don’t get excited! The nightlife here is very quiet … Perth, eat your heart out!) meaning that we are walking distance from many great restaurants and bars and a very nice shopping mall (Delany girls take note – this is something to entice you to come visit!). Oh and PS, a condo is just a fancy name for an apartment complex with amenities. The Canadians have random names for all kinds of stuff. I just learned Dutch and now I have to figure out Canadian?? Pffft.

SO apartment found, we were all set to get furniture and get out of our serviced apartment. Now, I’ll be honest with you. It hasn’t been all sunshine and roses. The getting furniture bit has proven more challenging that you could imagine. We have received many furniture deliveries

Most of them have been incomplete, incorrect or … just haven’t arrived. Now Joep and I both hate shopping with a passion. We have a good 10 minute window to find what we want and get out of a store before we get side tracked, cranky or both. Buying a whole apartment worth of furniture was always going to be a challenge. You have no idea.

We went to the Ikea every single day for a week in order to return things, ask where things were or return things or … ask where things were. It was unbearable. The Ikea in Ottawa now has a customer file on us with a record of all of our problems. It was so bad that they gave us free stuff. This may also have been to stop me from crying hysterically at the returns desk or to stop Joep from shouting at them … either way, we got free stuff. Good cop, bad cop act is very effective. Who would have guessed that I would be the good cop in this scenario??!!

The important thing is that we have finally managed to get furniture. We have also abandoned the Ikea.

So within weeks of our arrival we have found and furnished our new home! We have also both started working … I am yet to recover from the shock to the system after 6 weeks off. My feet hurt a lot from wearing closed toe shoes every day after being in thongs for so long. 

Never fear though! We have made sure we have had enough time to enjoy the local nightlife, restaurantlife and relax a bit ... we haven't changed a bit!

We have also spent much time lazing around local parks reading books and trying to cuddle the squirrels ... the squirrel cuddling is just me. Joep keeps trying to stop me in case they have diseases but locals tell me that the squirrels are safe. Its the racoons you have to be careful of. 

Oh yeah! I also meant to mention that the weather is gloooooorious! The sun has been shining almost every day and it has been wonderfully hot! There is talk of winter temperatures as low as -40 degrees but that is hard to imagine at the moment! I believe them though. So we are making the most of the good weather.

Let the adventures begin!!

Goodbyes!

The first blog! And what better way to start a new adventure with a bit of reminiscing on the past. Saturday 29 August rolled around faster than we could have imagined. The weather was as could be expected for a Dutch summer (torrential rain anyone?) however this did not deter the guests from arriving and drinking the bar dry.

The venue? Cafe Wester. A meer hop, skip & jump from our pad allowing Joep and I to wander happily down the Bloemgracht for one final hoorah in Amsterdam prior to leaving for our newest adventure.

I had planned on writing a great big description of the evenings events however this is unnecessary given that the majority of people reading this blog were there! Old friends, new friends, and a few blow ins arrived for an evening of drinking and a little bit of boogying. The grooving proved more difficult that anticipated given the huge turnout of guests AND the torrential rain outside forcing everyone to remain inside. This all contributed to the great atmosphere though! 

The only hiccup of the evening was the musical battle that continued throughout the evening. Thais had compiled a fantastic playlist for Joep & I to ensure sufficient dance opportunities were presented throughout the night and also to prevent my horrific music taste from ruining the evening. We were very appreciative of this however Joep's friend who was our bar tender for the evening was less appreciative and made an executive decision that his music taste was better therefore continually changing the music. The battle that ensued this was one to behold and provided us with a great deal of entertainment. I am sad to say that Joep's friend came out on top. He had sobriety & the ability to use the switchboard without pressing every button on his side. Lucky man! But Thais gave him a run for his money & we managed to get in a few great tunes as well!

The evening ended in the early hours of Sunday morning at Cafe Nol. Only the hardest core managed to go the distance. Joep & I were impressed! We were also very impressed with the fact that we were able to last that late given our recent reputations as the most likely to go home early. Sunday was a non event as most of us recovered on couches across Amsterdam.

The goodbyes were exactly as they should have been! Fun filled and tear free =) Monday was spent cleaning and packing and packing ... and packing. Tuesday we flew to Ottawa. And here was are. Apartment hunting, learning our way around the city & enjoying some downtime away from the hectic Amsterdam life. Being friendless is quite relaxing!! 

Needless to say we shall miss all the Amsterdam crowd dearly! We anticipate visitors in abundance here in Ottawa and are apartment hunting with this in mind. Until then we will continue to keep you posted on life here in Canada!

Thanks to EVERYONE who came to the partaaaaaay - We loved seeing you all one last time & look forward to similar evenings in the future at various locations around the globe =)