Some of you would
know that I have family in Canada and after years of hearing how they live
their life, the people they share their lives with and of course the foods that
they ate, seeing these things was a big priority before ending my trip. I was meant to arrive to sunshine so I could
get some use out of my shorts and thongs before heading to another winter but
instead after Canada’s worst winter in living memory I turned up to inches of
snow, thanks guys! I had little on the tourist agenda with this trip but we
managed to fit in a few things here and there.
First up was a trip to visit the extended family farm and
lakehouse in a small town about 2 hours out of Regina. This time any other year the ice would be off
the lake and ready for me to relax and do some fishing, instead I couldn’t even
get in the cabin to check it out haha.
It was pretty awesome to see the lake covered with ice and the cabin
snowed in. We stayed at the farm where
my introduction to some much loved food begun. First was the local pub for wings night, by
gosh these people love their wings. I couldn’t bring myself to order some as
the thought of bones is a big turn off but I did try one! Tick it’s done, no
more wings haha. One other thing I was
sceptical about was a dill pickle but I told myself I have eaten snails so I can
eat a deep fried dill pickle, even though I didn’t really know what it was
haha. Turns out that not knowing that a
pickle is a cucumber is not acceptable in Canada. Honestly it just tasted like deep fried
something but I am not sure I will be jumping out of my skin to try another
one, it’s a bit weird. Next on the list
was beef jerkey, now this stuff is disgusting! I had to ask so nicely if I
could spit this out, trust me people snails taste much nicer than this stuff. Sometimes I realise I must sound like I am so
dumb, first not knowing what a pickle is and then finding out there are skunks
in Canada!! But seriously how many of you out there knew that there are skunks
in Canada?! The hunt was on to find a
skunk and it wasn’t that hard either, we found 5 in one night just scampering
along the side of the road.
Back to Regina we headed where I visited the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police (RCMP) and happened to arrive on a graduating day. The RCMP is
the national police service but is different to the ‘normal’ police. I am not really too sure of the difference
to be honest except they wear different uniforms haha, it was great to see none
the less. There was a couple of junk
food types things that I wanted to try so it was off to the supermarket we went
to get some dill pickle chips, some root beer and smores. The chips were not too bad, they didn’t taste
anything like the dill pickle I had had the week before but the real winner was
the smores. Get yourself some biscuits,
a marshmallow and some chocolate and you are ready to go. First was to melt the marshmallow on the fire
then squish it together between the chocolate and biscuits, heavenly. I need to
have these again!
My time in Canada was quickly coming to an end so last on
the tourist agenda was to visit a small quirky tourist town about an hour away
called Moose Jaw. Moose Jaw is home to
an elaborate underground tunnel network, now a major attraction for visiting
tourists. We opted for the more
theatrical experience becoming ‘bootleggers’ in the Chicago Connection tour
telling the story of the Al Capone era.
It was very interesting but a little awkward as we were the only two on
the tour! Being a tourist town I picked myself up some pure maple syrup as who
can go to Canada without trying maple syrup although a few weeks have passed
and I am yet to open it! It has made the
long journey home though so sooner or later I will get my pancake making skills
back on and report back. One thing I was keen to see in Canada was a moose,
unfortunately the wildlife wasn’t really playing the game so I managed to find
myself a larger more exciting moose that was willing to pose for a picture with
me, I’ll take what I can get!
Before I knew it, the snow had melted, the floods were
starting and I was back on a plane and on my way to LA. The end was so near that I wasn’t sure what
exactly I wanted to do. I had a few things
in mind but I was staying in Santa Monica so I spent a lot of time roaming
around the beach and trying to get a little sun. I checked out a few sights such as the Baywatch
beach, the Santa Monica pier where parts of Forrest Gump was filmed and managed
to fit in some shopping time. My first
night arrived and it felt like the moment my stomach saw water it needed to eat
seafood so off I went to a pub and had myself some fish and chips. I am not a big fan of cod I have come to find
but this was so fresh and cooked really well so it was certainly an enjoyable
meal for my first night. With another
wander down by the beach it was then off to bed for an early night and more
exploring in Santa Monica the following day including Venice Beach which was a
big letdown.
Who could come to LA without going to Hollywood? I had the intention of getting around myself
but I was seriously delusional when I realised how difficult it is with only a
bus network for public transport in such a busy town, you spend more time in
traffic than at the places you were visiting. I soon realised why the tourist
industry booms there with the high demand for tour guides. I succumbed to the pressure of being too lazy
to deal with it myself and booked a tour including the major sights such as
Hollywood Blvd, the end of route 66, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, the farmers
market and many more. We also did a lot
of driving by ‘famous’ peoples house which in my opinion was a waste of time as
all you see is a fence or a bunch of trees, some people loved it taking so many
pictures (I am sure they wouldn’t remember which picture belonged to which
celebrity) but it seems hard to get a tour that does not include this ‘must see’
part of town. Much to my disappointment I
did not see anything Kardashian, do not judge me on my disappointment, I think this
is the only house that may have interested me! I did however stumble across the cheesecake
factory beside the farmers market and for all of you Big Bang Theory fans out
there I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to eat there. One thing I have come to like about America
is their love for turkey, I was extremely pleased to demolish a turkey burger
but I was so full afterwards I couldn’t even fit in some cheesecake, but I did
purchase a slice for an afternoon snack.
A full 7 hour day and I was back at the hostel and starting to get
myself ready for the big journey home.
As most of you know I am now back in the land of Oz after a
long 27 hour flight. Very few people
knew when I was coming home and I managed to pull off a fairly good surprise on
Saturday night when I turned up to a dinner my friends were not expecting to
see me at! It was very rewarding to see their surprised faces, something I
would love to do again but I am not sure anything I say will be trusted for the next little while. Would you
believe it feels like I left 5 minutes ago yet while being away it felt like I
had been away for 5 years! I have
however already had a few little snacks I have been craving such as bakers
delight bread and pizza shapes but I am yet to get myself a caramello koala! Next
on the list is job hunting but over the next few weeks I am spending some time
with family and friends getting myself organised, unpacked and settled back
into my house. I have no doubt it wont be long before I am back to update you on the foods I just couldn't wait to devourer but until then, keep smiling
:)
