Things not going quite to plan

MP3 track of the day - It's hot in the city tonight - Billy Idol

Weather: Hot, hot and hotter ... beautiful day.

As blogged in my previous errrrr blog, I was thinking of going to some waterfalls, outside Quebec city, at a place called Mont Saint-Anne. However first I had to go to the post office to post home some books I had finished with. This shouldn't be too difficult as my guidebook had a map with the post office on (right next to the train station). However, when I arrived the building, it was being renovated and so I asked a lady in a food restaurant (who was quite fit ... might have to go back later for a meal) where the closest post office was; it happened to be about a 10 min walk into an area I hadn't been before.

Again this area was beautiful and I found the post office (which was located within a pharmacy) and posted my items ... $64.80! The guy behind the counter explained that that was the cost for super-super air travel delivery and did I want the items to go for a cheaper rate ... you bet I did. I explained to him that I was in Canada for two months and therefore this letter could go on the back of a donkey for all I cared. Finally he managed to get it down to $12.00 (+$2.50 for the envelope) which still seemed a little expensive, however I paid it as I didn't want to carry any excess weight.

After this I made it back to the rail / bus station to book my bus ticket to Mont Saint-Anne .... if only the bus actually went there. Apparently this area isn't served by buses and I would have to get a bus half way there and then a taxi ... errr think I can like without it. Well with my day itinerary stuffed I decided to head back to the hostel. I dumped any excess weight I wouldn't need (I was going to take my tri-pod to the falls so that could stay behind) and then I sat in the reception room, read by guidebook and formulated a new plan.

After about 20 mins (11:00 now!) I headed out to the plains of Abraham; this is the ground in which the British ANNIHILATED the French in 30 mins and changed Canadian history forever. Today it's still a history site, but it's been turned into a park. It's such a hot day that the park was alive with people cycling, running, sunbathing and rollerblading (in fact rollerblading is so popular here that they had their own lane). I could have spent the whole day here, watching people roller blade, playing football and running (does anyone have a job to go to?) but there were a few other areas to visit.

Next I decided to visit the lower part of the Quebec city. Again this was just as beautiful, with it's narrow streets and fantastic buildings it's easy to want to stay here forever. The great thing about this city is it even makes mundane and horrible things, like concrete columns holding a fly-over, beautiful by turning them into art (see my Flickr account, link on your right of this post).

Finally I decided to take the ferry across to Levy; there isn't much going on in Levy (and what is normally 'going on' was being renovated) but my guidebook said that the fare was worth the boat trip alone getting views of the Quebec city skyline, and it wasn't wrong. I only spent half an hour in Levy, had a quick look around, and then headed for home. Before I headed for my hostel I made my second best decision of the tour (first being to actually jack my job in and go travelling) ... I purchased an ice cream; I couldn't tell you what it was but it tasted so good.

So I've been on the road now two weeks so it's time for a little update; money wise, I'm now at £38.00 per week on average, thanks to Montreal, however this doesn't include my train tomorrow and the flight three days after (so that average is going to go sky high). I'm pretty good, tired and I have a headace, but I'm okay and eating well.

New things that I like about Canada, Quebec City. Everyone, once in their life should come here ... it is so beautiful it is difficult to put it into words (this is the best place I've visited so far). Things that annoy me about Canada are prices for things. When you look around town most prices don't include tax (including hostel and food prices) ... it's really, really annoying when trying to work out just how much something will cost. Why do they not include tax in the cost? I mean, most people purchasing the goods will have to pay tax ... does my nut.

Oh and within my dorm there is a French guy who is really nice; he's here trying to find a job and spends most of the day in the hostel filling out job application forms. His French and English are very good so I hope he does well.


There is also a guy from the UK (Ian) who is also very nice; he's got long braided hair, tattoos all over his arms with baggy shorts and a white vest. He started travelling on Friday and has hitch-hiked his way here in three days (which is pretty good going) and he has his guitar, which he uses for busking (not sure if he has a licence ... never mind). He's been telling me about his travels and that he stayed in a place in Monchton for free with free meals; however it was a religious place which also allowed in drunks, people just out of jail and weirdos ... he is a proper traveller. Could I see myself Hitch-Hiking or staying in a 'homeless home' .... Na, it's just not me. I suppose I could Hitch-Hike if there was at least two of us, but not on my own ... anyway, at £90 for a overnight train (therefore no hostel fees that night) is it really worth it?

So I thought I would end this post with a couple of questions (You can comment if you want by leaving a note below):

• Have you ever Hitch-Hiked? (if so where to)


• Have you ever given a lift to a Hitch-Hiker? (if so where to)


• Any funny stories?

Not sure what I am going to do tomorrow; my train isn't until 8:15pm and so I've got a whole day, but not really anywhere to go as:

a) I've finished most of the city

b) I don't fancy going out of Quebec just encase I can't get back in time

I think I might go to the park, with my book, and just watch the girls roller blade by.

Toodle Pip

Where's the annoying paper clip for a washing machine?

MP3 track of the day: O Fortuna -

Weather: Hot, really hot and beautiful; most certainly sun cream weather.

After my blog last night I went to my first proper restaurant of the tour. TOP TIP if you are within a tourist area, walk about 10mins /15mins out of town and you will find cheaper deals. This is what I did and I found an Italian restaurant where I had a pizza, chocolate cake and a drink for around £14 ... bargain! The menu's were superb ... one of the best bits of marketing I have seen (the photos of the food made it look soo good ... and it was actually).

Anyway, I woke up early and headed out; my first activity was to walk around all the ramparts of the old city. Quebec City is stunning, simply stunning and I would put it up there with Prague and Vienna. The buildings are beautiful and walking the walls allowed you to look right into the city (check out my Flickr account for photos).

I'd walked all the way to the top of the city to find the citadel; a star-shaped fortress built by the British to protect against French and American attack. The citadel is still an active Canadian military base and therefore you can only go around by guide; the price tag was $10.00 (£7.00) which seemed a little steep for what was there. I ummed about it and then a quote from my mum popped into my head "... Don't leave regretting you hadn't done something; you never know when / if you might return..." So I coughed up the doh and went in; actually it wasn't really worth it. You could see most of the stuff from outside of the citadel and the museums weren't that great either (After going to the Ottawa military museum they certainly weren't) but I did get some good views and the tour leader did take my photo (see the bottom of this blog ... bet you can't wait).

I continued my walk around the ramparts seeing some beautiful buildings, scenic views and the old town. There is however one problem with Quebec, and its down to those town planners. The Quebec town planners have allowed some shy scrapers to be built just out of town; these buildings are bigger than the old 1850's Quebec buildings and therefore the skyline is destroyed with high rising skyscrapers behind beautiful old buildings. What's worse is that there are a few newish skyscrapers within the old town it's self ... someone needs shooting.

Anyway, after I completed my walk around the battlements I was out of water, my shirt was soaked through from the baking hot sun and I'd been out for 4 hours. So I decided to return to my hostel (which is lovely; it's set in one of the old buildings right in the heart of the old city. It feels more like a hotel, apart from the dorms, but is a little expensive) for a shower, change of clothes and then out for lunch.

After lunch I wondered around the shops and purchased my first souvenir (a book of photos of Quebec City ... which I will post home tomorrow). After this I headed back to the hostel to do something, that needed doing but, I had been putting off ... the laundry. Now it's fair to say my time with a washing machine has been 'limited' in my life, and therefore I was quite terrified of turning my clothes into the new 'backpacker' action-man range (still they wouldn't be as hard to pack in my bag). I was going to go with one pair of pants as a 'tester' but looking at the price I shoved the lot in. Anyway it was okay, I had steps written down...

Step 1: Separate whites from colours - So far so good

Step 2: Check labels for temperatures - every label I read must have had a warning on it. WARNING do not wash over 43 degrees; WARNING do not wash in volcanic lava; WARNING wash individually as this t-shirt doesn't like other t-shirts. Anyway I decided to ignore all the warnings.

Step 3: Get to washing machine and put first load in - Well as it was $1.50 for washing, $1.00 for washing powder and $1.50 for the dryer (totaling nearly £5.00) I decided to mix the colours and whites together ... if my white t-shirt becomes pink ... so be it.

Step 4: Put washing powder in draw and set to 40 degrees - draw, draw ... what draw? Reading the instructions on the washing machine it said put the washing power into the actual machine before putting in the clothes. However 'Tide' (the washing powder) contradicted this and said to put the powder in after the machine had been on a little while ... I decided to side with 'Tide'. Next temperature, temperature ... okay no temperature setting. I looked at the chart and went with the bog standard ' warm wash for colours / and whites' and let it rip. After two minutes I opened the lid and put the powder in the machine and waited 26 minutes for it to be completed.

As I was sat there (reading my innocent smoothie book) I wondered what was happening to my clothes. I wondered if action man would like the new range I was creating; it would be a bit of a blow if all my clothes (and I mean all; I was sitting in my pyjama top because I had put all my t-shirts in) were destroyed ... being that I'm in a really expensive city. After about 15 minutes the machine stopped sounding like water was flowing in and instead, started to build momentum (like a steam train as it leaves a train station); so much momentum was building that the machine was shaking side-to-side. Now I'd seen this is films but wasn't sure if it was correct; I therefore read the warning message on the machine...

' Do not put in any metal objects' - nope I'm okay there

' Do not put in any explosives' - ummm think I'm okay there.

So I was safe; I waited for the cycle to end and peered into the washing machine ... huzzah everything was the right size and in one piece.

Step 5: Put stuff in dryer and let it do it's thing for 45mins - Well I put it all in and I had three options, 'white and colour normal dry'; 'delicate dry' and something I had no idea what it meant. I decided it wasn't a delicate wash ... I'm mean I wasn't washing a Ming Vase. I set it off on 'normal dry' and the timer counted down from 60 minutes!!! I looked all over the machine for a 'booster button' to dry the clothes in half the time but I couldn't find one.

As I sat back I finished my book and then thought; I can fix a PC, I can put PC's into bits and rebuild them. I'm pretty good with software problems too and you know why? Because the PC normally tells you whats wrong with it (and if it doesn't you can always Google it). Bill Gates puts that annoying paper clip on his products to help you out ... where was the paper clip for washing machines? All I had were some rubbish pictures that looked like a park bench. I mean, some machines have 6 draws, where does the washing power go; no paper clip turns up and says ' hey looks like you are doing a cycle would you like help on etc, etc'. No I had decided that the washing machine was a 'French' machine ... if you didn't speak it's language, it didn't want to know.

Anyway after my book and thoughts I moved onto music; and, just as my drying cycle was ending, 'o Fortuna' was playing on my MP3 player. Was this a sign? Had I created actions mans first 'backpacker' range of outfits?. No I hadn't, everything was clean and dry. I took it back to my room, pretty impressed with myself, and put it away.

It was 5pm and so I decided I had an hour more sightseeing before coming in; I put on one of my new, freshly clean t-shirts and headed out. I decided to do one of my favourite things; just walk around a city taking photos ... I went through all of the old city snapping away (see my Flickr account); this city is so beautiful.

Tomorrow, if the weather is good, I plan to take a bus to Mont Saint-Anne; apparently there are some beautiful waterfalls there.

Now, tea.

Toodle Pip

I hope this photo is proof that I am around the world and not in a basement, at home, looking on Google for images of where I have 'supposedly gone' ... and no it's not 'super imposed'.

Forward Planning

MP3 Track of the day: Common People - Pulp

Weather: Beautiful; really sunny and very hot ... a cool breeze though.

I decided to leave my hostel in Montreal as easy as possible; the hostel had been brilliant, but I have had enough of Montreal. When I got to the bus station (very hot and sweaty as it was a 20min walk and the weather was very hot) the queue for Quebec City was out the door. Luckily there were two buses so I got a seat. Well when I say a seat, I lost a 1/3 of it to this fat French-Canadian who decided to sit next to me (where was the hot French-Canadian chick from the first leg?) ... still he may had taken a lot of the space, but I reckon I could win the 'who's the smelliest' category.

When I arrived in Quebec city I couldn't believe how beautiful it was; looking at the map in my guidebook my hostel only looked 10mins away ... however the guidebook didn't include gradients and Quebec City is an old fortified city ... trust me, it was steep.

When I arrived at my hostel (hot and sweaty again) I put my stuff into my room and went out to look for a snack; it was around 4pm so too late for lunch. I therefore went to the local supermarket and purchased an Orange and a big slice of Watermelon (which, in this weather, was fantastic).

After this I could have gone site seeing, however I felt it was time to do a little forward planning. Anyone who knows me knows that I forward plan too much and on this trip I wanted to leave it totally open so I could change my mind in a second. However that thing called 'money' doesn't like indecision and when I looked at 'next day' flights to Halifax from Quebec city, they were in the region of $500 (£480.00). So I looked a few days in advance and the cost dropped to $200.00; however I still wasn't happy because airports are out of cities and the cost (according to my guidebook) could be another $60.00 for transport too and from ... oh and you have to add tax, insurance to those flight costs.

So I headed to the bus and train stations and asked about prices to Halifax. The bus was $146.00 for an 18hr journey; now 18hrs by train I can handle, coach no way. Therefore I asked about stopping off at Fredericton or Moncton for a couple of days before continuing to Halifax (an additional $10 fee).

Finally I went to the railway station and asked there; it would cost $135.00 to Halifax and take 18hrs ... hang on, the train is the cheapest! 18hrs on a train would be fine (I did 26hrs on my Europe tour) and the lady was so nice that I booked it. I reckon it was $5 cheaper than the bus and a staggering £215.00 cheaper than the plane (plus I would get to see allot of Canadian countryside ... this is one thing I enjoyed about my European tour). My train leaves at 9:55pm on Wednesday and arrives 5pm on Thursday ... this is great as a) it gives me another full day in Quebec city and b) I arrive a decent time in Halifax.

Now that I had got this far I thought I would book my trip from Halifax to Winnipeg; now I didn't even look at the train, or bus, as it probably would have taken 4/5 days; I therefore booked a flight with 'Westjet' for $199.00 (plus tax equalled $275.00) for a 4 hour plane flight.

Finally I've pre-booked accommodation in both places ready. The final really long distance trip will be Winnipeg to (probably) Calgary which I'll book once I'm in Winnipeg.

So even though I've spend $450.00 (£300.00) for a week on just travel and accommodation, I feel I've got the best out of the situation and got quite a good deal (plus I no will be going right across the country) ... I feel this netbook has paid for its self four times over .... (sorry Sukie for being so organised, I will try to stop).

Right I'm off for something to eat and then sightseeing tomorrow ... can't wait!

Toodle Pip

DID YOU KNOW?

- That each state in Canada has it's own drivers licence, and that to drive in other states you have to apply for a new licence within that state (met a guy in Ottawa doing just that). I don't think you need to be re-tested, just get the paperwork done. The same applies to education; there's a different sylabus in each state ... how mad is this?

- In the province of Quebec you do not need a number plate on the front of your car; I think it makes the cars look alot nicer.