Blessing or a curse?

Is English your first language? It’s certainly my first language – the only language I can speak. Which makes me wonder; is having English as my first language a blessing or a curse?

English is now the most widely used language in the world. There are more native Mandarin Chinese speakers and more native Spanish speakers, but English is the most commonly used second language and combined, more people can speak English than any other language in the world.

I’ve travelled to many different countries where English is not the first language and I didn’t speak any more than a handful of words of their language – but I’ve always done just fine. A blessing you might say, to be brought up speaking a language which is understood in more countries than any other, but like a rich kid who can never appreciate what he has I’ve always really struggled to learn another language.

Why would I want to?

I’m always impressed by people who know more than one language. Two is better than one right? Communicate to more people, have more tools of communication at your disposal, more of a citizen of this world! I would love to be fluent in a second language; I just think it would be awesome to be able to ‘rock up’ to a stranger in a foreign country and to be capable of a proper conversation in their language.

So why haven’t I learnt a second language?

Time. Money. Excuses. I’ve been living in Montreal, a bi-lingual French and English speaking city in Canada for almost ten months now and I’m embarrassed to say I barely know any more French than I did when I first came here. The problem with knowing English, is that in my life so far I’ve never really needed to know another language – the curse.

Tips on learning a second language

So if you want to learn a second language, here’s what to do (don’t worry; I’m not telling you what I’ve done – I’m telling you the opposite).

1. Give yourself time to learn  - immerse yourself in a foreign language
2. Don’t work from home
3. Don’t make excuses

English, most widely used yet still stupid as bat shit

I have enormous respect for people trying to learn English as their second language, it does have its oddities. Sometimes as a native English speaker I only realise how odd the use of various words are when a foreigner points them out to me. Why for instance does a hamburger not have ham in it, while a ham sandwich does?

There are so any instances of words which have the same spelling, same pronunciation and different meanings. What, same, same yet different?

• Content (noun: the content on this blog or adjective:  a person can be content with a life of travel)

Words with the same spelling, but different pronunciation to give different meaning.

• Wind (noun: the wind blew over the hills or adjective: to wind up your little brother)

Words with different spellings, yet same pronunciation and different meanings.

• No and know (I say no to the pirate because I know he is not to be trusted)
• There, their, they’re (They’re all going up their neighbours stairs to see who is there)

I’m not going to start on different words which have virtually the same meaning. The English language has over 250,000 official, distinct dictionary words!

English also offers some very versatile words, but for the life of me I can’t explain why they’re so versatile. Take the word ‘up’. If someone says “up” to you in no particular context you’ll probably, well, you’ll probably look up. But consider:

• Give up
• Turn up
• Get up
• Write up
• Wake up
• Eat up
• Live up to someone’s expectations

Pretty cool how a single word can be so versatile, but I can understand how learning this language could also be rather frustrating. For instance, I may write up a blog post, however in the process of writing up that post I will actually be writing down words. If you don’t find the word ‘up’ frustrating, consider the words ‘make’ and ‘do’. While I may make a sandwich it would be incorrect to say I make the cooking - I do the cooking. I may make a mistake, but I do a favour. Speaking of ‘favour’, how should this be spelt? Well, if you’re from the United States you’ll spell it ‘favor’, while most other English speaking countries will spell it ‘favour’. While the US spellings may have been created to simplify the English language, the different spellings certainly create their own level of complexity.

I’ve known English virtually my whole life, yet I still find keeping correct ‘tense’ difficult at times. To do something, doing something, did something, now it is done. Correct use of plural can be seemingly bizarre, take these examples:

• one goose, two geese
• one mouse, two mice
• one duck, two ducks
• one moose, two moose

Find a pattern in that!

Then you have slang, different accents, common sayings and different words for different things in different countries…

Son of a gun Jim, give me my thongs back and I ain’t going nowhere till you skull that vessel – mate, am I feeling tanked…

To anyone who’s read this when English isn’t your first language – respect!

How do people learn English as a second language?

Kaplan put together the following graphic on how people learn English as a second language. Comment – let me know what you think, sign up for my emails and head over to the Kaplan competition page to vote for my blog. Votes (comments) count from May 19th through June 1st.

Devil and angel graphics in featured (header) image by John Olsen aka johnny_automatic

Infographic: How to learn Englishvia Kaplan Blog

I know Montreal has a lot of summer festivals, people keep telling me how amazing Montreal is in the summer! Not wanting to miss out on anything I thought I’d sit down and book a few events into my calendar.

In fact the first festival I plan on attending isn’t actually in Montreal, we plan on taking a weekend trip to Ottawa for the Tulip Festival which I’ve already mentioned on my post on day trips from Montreal. The Ottawa tulip festival runs from the 4 – 21 May and I’m excited to see what it’s like. A flower festival I have to admit sounds kinda boring, but apparently its big and popular, and with my new interest in photography I’m looking forward to getting some great macro flower shots. Stay tuned for this, we’re heading to Ottawa on the 18th. tulipfestival.ca

Montreal Museum Day i.e. FREE museum day is next on my calendar. Sunday 27 May, 29 museums are free from 9am to 6pm and free busses circuit between museums. I plan on checking out the Biosphere, not to be confused with the Biodome – which I might also check out as both of these are listed as museums… museesmontreal.org

Starting that same Sunday and running one week is the Montreal Bike Festival (May 27 – June 03). I’ve mentioned that Montreal has a great bicycle culture, the city is heralded as the cycling capital of North America, festivals which encourage the use of bikes no doubt help cement that position. So I’ll be out on my bike with my camera hoping to catch lots of cycling action. veloquebec.info

From 04 – 27 June runs the Montreal Fringe Festival which I’m intrigued by. The core principles of the Fringe Festival are 1. No Artistic Direction (meaning any kind of art is welcome) 2. No censorship (because everyone knows censorship sucks) 3. Accessible to any artists (anyone can apply for the lottery) and lastly 4. Cheap ticket prices to keep it accessible to any audience – and the money goes to the artists. This is going to be fun, the hard part will be deciding which acts to attend. I’ve followed @FringeMtl on twitter and will keep an eye on the #FringeMtl tag to try determine the worthwhile acts from the worthless. montrealfringe.ca

Now I know what you were thinking. You were thinking, “WTF, Sam has already listed four festivals and none have any mention of beer, WTF!” I was thinking the exact same thing. Fortunately, running during the Fringe Festival is the Mondial de la bière – Montreal beer tasting festival! Sweet. So from 06 – 10 June I’m going to be beer tasting at Place Bonaventure, admission is free, tastings range from $1 – $5; no doubt all the beers I’ll want to taste will be expensive, grrr. festivalmondialbiere.qc.ca

This time is actually a busy weekend in Montreal because also running Friday through Sunday 08 – 10 June is the Montreal Grand Prix, when the karts will be screaming around Parc Jean Drapeau. I’m not normally a car racing kind of person but Grand Prix does somewhat intrigue me. So Friday the 8th I may well be attending my first ever Formula One race to see round seven of the 2012 season. circuitgillesvilleneuve.ca

From 28 June – 07 July runs the International Jazz Festival, one of Montreal’s largest summer festivals. While I don’t often listen to jazz music at home, I am hoping that this festival will create something of a cool atmosphere in town. I certainly plan on heading down to Place des Arts to check it out, even if I don’t end up buying any individual tickets – for that I’ll wait and see how things pan out. montrealjazzfest.com

Running from late July through to early August  the Just For Laughs festival is big and I’m really looking forward to some great outdoor acts and potentially some hilarious comedians in small seedy bars around town. There are three main weekends which feature free outdoor events, these include weekend one on 16 – 17 July which features The Pinkarnival, long weekend two on 21 – 24 July  featuring street arts, and lastly long weekend 28 – 31 July called Humour All Over the Place. Stay tuned for how that goes. hahaha.com

Running at the same time as Just for Laughs is the Montreal Festival of Circus Arts (05 – 15 July) which will also feature a lot of free outdoor entertainment which I’m hoping to be entertained by. Clowns, acrobats, gymnasts, fire breathers – I predict this is going to be good. montrealcompletementcirque.com

Music wise Osheaga 2012 on Fri 03 – Sun 05 August looks fun, three days of non-stop concerts with reasonably big acts. I’m looking forward to MGMT on the Friday. Whether I just get the day pass, or the three day pass is yet to be determined.

Lastly from 11 – 19 August runs the Montreal Hot Air Balloon festival which I’d really like to attend. There is something inherently tranquil about floating into the air only supported by a hot balloon and simply drifting wherever the wind takes you…

So that’s my planning for summer 2012 in Montreal. A lot of festivals, and that’s not close to being an exhaustive list of whats happening. While I’m really excited about the organised festivals I’m equally as excited about the idea of more sunny days, chilling in parks drinking beer and watching the world wander by. In particular I hope to spend many a Sunday afternoon in Mont Royal park witnessing the weird and wonderful happenings – from spontaneous drum circles to tight rope walking and enthusiastic jugglers, it’s an interesting place to hang out.

For a more complete list of festivals in Montreal check out montreal.com/tourism/festivals

It’s funny yeah? HD referring to High Definition in televisions – something the poor broken units pictured never possessed. Showing them just this once, in HDR – the photographic term for High Dynamic Range – the process of shooting multiple photos at different brightness levels (exposures) and then combining them into a single image using software. The technique seems to be either loved or hated, I’m on the fence, but thought it would be amusing in this situation.

I actually thought showing old discarded televisions in HDR would be funny…

You know when you’re watching TV on some old unit that’s been kicking around the house for ages, and then some ad comes on advertising the latest and greatest TV. I’m talking about those ads where they advertise the TV by showing it playing some fast action scene and tell you how amazing the definition is. Well I find this kind of thing funny too. I’m thinking “Wow, that TV looks great on my TV. Guess I don’t need to replace it after all if my TV can make that one look so high def.” Instead I think TV ads should come on all fuzzy and full of static; with a simple voice over, “Face it consumer, your TV sucks. Buy this fancy new one and your life will be so much better!”. 

So this is about travel right?

Well yes, because I’m in Montreal (Quebec, Canada) and it’s different to back home in Auckland (NZ). I can’t speak for all the neighbourhoods in Montreal but not so long ago I realised that there were a lot of broken TV’s kicking around on the side walks - literally five, within a five minute walk from my apartment. Occasionally I’ll see mattresses, tables, chairs and various electrical appliances just discarded on the side walk. Back home throwing your old furniture onto the street is illegal – there are a few times each year when you are allowed to put your ‘inorganic rubbish’ (that is too large for the normal collection) out on the street and the local council comes and picks it up and takes it to the dump – any other time of year and you need to take it to the dump yourself and pay to have it disposed. I have a theory that it could be illegal here too, but when it happens outside apartment buildings it is simply too hard to track down the culprit. But that’s just a theory…

Things happen differently in different countries, that is why we travel!

It’s different to back home here, but I’ve found this particular difference pretty useful at times. I’m currently working on a desk and chair I found outside an apartment building just down the street; in fact I’ve scored two chairs this way!

“One man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure“

Can’t see these TV’s being any use to anyone however…

Times, they are a changing.

These discarded TV’s got me thinking. How many years before LCD and plasma screens are littering the side walks? Replaced by high definition projectors which can operate in any lighting conditions. 10 years?

I love travelling, but I don’t always have a great time in every destination I visit. However I have noticed in hindsight that the quality of my experience from a destination does not necessarily correlate to the factors you may expect. For instance I’ve had pretty poor experiences in some major destinations (Pisa – home of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy) and some great experiences in lesser known places (Halifax). I’d normally be quick to say that the reason for the different experiences was the people I met/experienced said destination with. It did however get me thinking; surely there must be some simple tips to help us all get the most from a travel destination.

Tips to Getting the Most From a Travel Destination

• Keep an open mind.
• Remember that you only live once; make sure you don’t miss things you’ll later regret.
• Find the energy (somewhere) to do / to explore / to experience these things.

These tips are aimed toward avoiding regret; you don’t want to get home from a destination and have someone excitedly ask you if you visited ‘here‘, did you do ‘this‘, did you meet ‘so-and-so‘ when in reality you spent the whole time in the hostel on Facebook.

So back to Will’s situation when he finds himself in Kuta; trapped in “… the biggest, filthiest, container of human waste I’ve ever clapped eyes on.” (Only taking Will’s words marginally out of context). So was Will simply not keeping an open enough mind? Was he lacking in energy or had he forgotten that we only live once? Or could it be that some places simply are an absolute shit hole and really aren’t worth visiting? And if that is in fact the case, does it render this post on ‘how to get the most from a travel destination’ entirely worthless?

To figure all these questions out I did a little research on Kuta (Click here if you don’t know how to research < I just love this) and I found a number of people who also agree with Will – many people in fact actually believe Kuta, Bali is the worst destination ever! I have to admit I was slightly surprised. I’ve been to sleazy tourist oriented towns in Thailand – and I’ve been disappointed – but at the same time I’ve always enjoyed certain aspects of these destinations and while I probably wouldn’t return I’m glad I visited. You only live once! But because you only live once, you may want to seriously consider not wasting your time on Kuta…

“… may be the most vile place on earth” – Adventurous Kate

“… unlike other horrible destinations, there’s simply no escape.” – Will Peach

“… the most disappointing place I’ve ever been to.” – Seek New Travel

“appalling” – Wandering Earl

It is interesting to note as an aside that all the bloggers in their own way tended to agree that Kuta’s current status as the ‘worst’ place to visit is a result of the awful behaviour of the tourists; not the local people or the natural beauty of Kuta.

With this new development that Kuta is in fact the worst place ever, but not wanting to render this post on ‘how to get the most from a travel destination’ useless I decided I needed another tip – the crucial link to enjoying travel.

I came up with:

Understand What You Enjoy

From the blog posts I read on Kuta I gathered that there are a lot of serious sex craving, manic Australians who seem to have an amazing time in Kuta (and embarrass all self-respecting Aussie’s who give a hoot’s ass what the rest of the world thinks). At the end of the day travel is subjective and the key to enjoyable travel is picking destinations you will enjoy. Will, why on earth did you go to Kuta?

I decided I needed one further tip. I happen to hate this one because I love being spontaneous. I just love turning up at a new destination, absolutely clueless, and working through my basic steps – find somewhere to sleep, get something to eat, do something. But this strategy obviously comes with its draw backs, so here is my last tip to enjoyable travel.

Do a Little Research

Sometimes great experiences result from spontaneous travel. Sometimes you screw up. On a recent trip to the Ottawa Winterlude (a winter festival) my girlfriend and I wasted hours wandering along the canal. We went the wrong way at first, and by the time we found something of interest our time was up and we had to leave. Our experience would have been so much better if we’d properly researched the event and taken the free shuttle bus – I was so mad when after walking for hours we found out that there was a free shuttle bus running on the other side of the canal!.

So to conclude ‘how to get the most from a travel destination’ (plus some bonus tips for enjoyable travel):

• Understand what you enjoy.
• Research places before visiting.
• Keep an open mind.
• Remember that you only live once; make sure you don’t miss things you’ll later regret.
• Find the energy (somewhere) to do / to explore / to experience these things.

Do you have any tips on getting the most from a travel destination? Or general thoughts on what makes your travel more enjoyable?

As I’ve learnt more about taking photos I’ve learnt that there are some pretty basic aspects which can really improve your results; regardless of the technology you’re using. These are my basic tips to better travel photography; applicable  to all cameras from the iPhone to high end digital SLR’s.

1. Purpose/Goal

When you take a photo there is normally a reason you want to. You’ve seen an interesting person, you want to show that you were at the Eiffel Tower, a lion is emerging from the thicket… There are so many reasons to take photos, the trick to good photography is making sure the photo properly portrays your purpose/goal/vision.

Before you press that shutter give a moments thought to what you’re trying to capture; is the essence of your idea within the frame? When you understand your goal/purpose you can then use the following tips to better capture your ideas.

2. Composition

Almost all tips for better photography will talk about composition and for good reason; good composition can be as simple as adjusting where you point your camera and it can turn an average shot into an amazing one.

Composition is about including everything that adds value to your photo and not including stuff that detracts value. It is about emphasising your subject and capturing the purpose of the shot. It is about how your eye looks at a photo, how it takes in the detail and whether your brain perceives it as pleasing or not so pleasing. Composition is so important, fortunately there are some pretty simple ‘rules of composition’ which will take you a long way toward shooting better travel photography.

Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds is derived from research into how people look at photos; it has been found that the human eye does not instinctively look at the centre of a picture but tracks toward one third intersections. The rule of thirds states that you should place your subject of interest (where you want people to look) on an intersection of horizontal and vertical lines spaced in thirds.

The rule of thirds can be applied to many aspects in your image to improve your composition, not just the main subject. In the landscape photo below I’ve placed the horizon on the bottom third rather than in the centre as is so common. If taking a landscape shot of a sunset (sky is most interesting) you should generally aim to place the horizon on the bottom third, conversely if you’re shooting a river it would make sense to place your horizon on the top third.

Leading Lines
Good use of ‘leading lines’ composition is about drawing the viewers eye to your subject. A line of some sort, whether straight or twisted, from the edge of your composition to your subject can lead the eye to what is important. A common example is the use of roads to lead your eye into the picture to the point of interest. Lines that lead your eye to the subject (and stop) are called ‘leading lines’ and these are encouraged while lines that run to your subject and continue on past can carry attention away from your subject. Lines can also influence the mood of your image. Vertical lines convey power, horizontal lines convey peace and diagonal lines generally convey a sense of motion. This is all simplified and I wouldn’t worry about whether a handrail in your frame is powerful or peaceful but it can help to think of lines in your composition and how a viewers eye may follow them.

Foreground Interest
Sometimes scenery which appears amazing can seem kind of dull when photographed. This is often an issue caused by the scenery being large (all over the image) and your eye not having a particular point to focus on. An easy solution is to photograph something of interest in the foreground; a rock, a tree or even a person… An element of interest which is close to the camera (in the foreground) can give the viewers eye something to return to as it explores the expansive background and makes the viewing experience more pleasing.

Frames can also have a similar effect – framing your subject with a doorway, window, canopy of trees or anything else which creates a natural picture frame around your subject.

3. Exposure

If you are using a point and shoot camera, correct exposure and focus will be less of an immediate concern than if you are using a digital SLR (single lens reflex) camera. That said, it is always good to know what correct exposure looks like and from here you can learn how to best use your camera to achieve it. Correctly exposing your image is about showing proper detail – you can lose detail by over exposing (too bright) or under exposing (too dark) parts of your image. Sometimes it is impossible to correctly expose all of your image (without selectively enhancing part of your image in software, or taking multiple images and combining them with software – like Photoshop) in which case you should aim to correctly expose your main subject.

Be aware when composing your image of aspects which will over expose (when correct exposure is found on a darker subject) like white objects, light bulbs or sand/snow in bright sunlight. If possible avoid capturing these in your photo altogether, but particularly on the edges as the human eye will tend to track over to bright objects (distracting from your subject).

Check in your camera manual for ‘exposure compensation’ which will allow you to adjust (up or down) the exposure level determined by your camera’s sensor. Decreasing your exposure compensation for instance will bring out more detail in the sky on bright days.

Mouse over image for the original photo I took (Background badly over exposed)

4. Use of Colour

Colour is complicated – especially for someone such as myself without an artistic background. Psychologically colours can arouse different emotions (red is intense while blue is more tranquil) and together they can complement each other or contrast (in dramatic or displeasing ways). Be aware of colour in your photography and try and determine if the colours complement each other or contrast. Does it emphasise your subject and help portray your purpose or is it distracting and detrimental?

5. Understanding Light

Good photography is all about the light. The intensity, the angle, the tint/colour, the direction and the number of sources. Great outdoor photos are normally taken at dawn or dusk – when the sun is less intense and lower; shadows are softer, brightness of the sky and ground are more even allowing better overall exposure and it is less likely that the image will appear washed out. As a general guide try to take your most important outdoor photos in the morning or afternoon and avoid midday. If you do find yourself shooting outside in bright sunlight consider using your camera’s flash for foreground subjects – ‘fill flash’ to soften shadows and compensate for the very intense overhead light source (the sun).

Using pumpkins as boats and racing them – that’s bizarre but awesome! This festival got me thinking – what other wacky food festivals are out there?

We did a little research and found the following festivals; wacky but no doubt worth attending. They all involve food, but they’re not all about eating it.

View Wacky Food Festivals from Around the World in a larger map

If you’re planning a world tour – why not make it a ‘wacky world food festival tour’ instead…

Burlington Pumpkin Festival & Regatta (Vermont, US)

Early October

This is a fun, family oriented festival where participants dress up in wacky costumes, hop in their hallowed out pumpkin boats and race around a short course on the beautiful Lake Champlain.

These pumpkins are big enough to be used as boats; I never knew pumpkins could grow this big, let alone seen them up close. Be sure to mingle with the friendly locals and enjoy the festivities. I’d also recommend you try a flatbread pizza from the American Flatbread restaurant and a local pumpkin beer during your stay.

Consider yourself something of a gardener? Why not grow your own giant pumpkin and enter the regatta this year!

Tip: We found the best viewing of the race to be from the breakwater rocks, but you have to get your position a little before the race starts otherwise we found the crowd tends to block access.

Similar events seem to occur in various small towns across the US and Canada – been to something similar? Let me know.

Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling (England)

Held in May (Lately Spring Bank Holiday – last Monday in May)

Take an incredibly steep grassy slope, a handful of daring competitors and a 7-8lb round of Double Gloucestershire cheese and you essentially have the Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling Festival. The cheese is rolled down the slope and the daring competitors chase and tumble after it – first to grab the cheese is the winner! Various other countries including New Zealand and Canada have tried to copy this event, none however in my opinion have truly captured the essence of the Gloucestershire festival. Why is the Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling festival so awesome you might ask? Well it has a lot of history with reports of events dating back to the 1800′s, they have a seriously steep slope which makes it practically impossible to get down without falling and when you get to the bottom it appears like the local rugby team is waiting to tackle you – as if you hadn’t already sustained enough scrapes and bruises…

Unfortunately due to injury concerns (33 injuries in 1997) and logistical problems this event has not run officially since 2009, but unofficial events run by enthusiasts still happen…

Chinchilla Melon Festival

Late February

First held in 1994 the Chinchilla Melon Festival is a celebration of the town’s watermelon farming. Normal enough you think until you see ‘melon skiing’ and ‘pip spitting’ as key festive activities…

The town is  home to John Allwood, the Melon Head Smashing world record holder (47 melons smashed in one minute). I had to laugh in private at John’s last name, although no way would I be laughing in Mr Allwood’s face – the current melon smashing world record holder would easily ‘smash’ me.

Visit Chinchilla in late February and you’ll witness (or participate in) various wacky melon activities and competitions including Melon Skiing, Pip Spitting, Melon Bullseye, Melon Ironman and more…

La Tomatina

Wednesday towards the end of August

The famous tomato fight held annually in Buñol, Valencia, Spain really needs no introduction and is easily the biggest wacky food festival on my list attracting over 30,000 people. General advice is to wear goggles, earplugs and decent footwear but no other clothing that you’re not prepared to throw away afterwards – and be prepared for a serious tomato fight because this festival gets crazy!

Ivrea Carnival – the Orange Throwing Battle

Late February

If you’re trying to decide between spending February in Australia or Italy, I’d go with Italy because this orange throwing battle is the largest food fight in Italy and looks a little more exciting than Chinchilla’s melon festival.

The history of the throwing of the oranges is not known for sure but a popular theory is that it commemorates the cities uprising against a tyrannical duke. The duke attempted to exercise his “right” to spend the night with a newlywed  woman (the Miller’s daughter) who refused and ended up chopping his head off. City revolutionaries then stormed and burnt down the palace. The carriages with armoured throwers are supposed to represent the duke and his guard while the teams of orange throwers are the revolutionaries.

Since oranges are a little more dangerous than tomatoes you have to join a ‘team’ if you want to throw and if you want to remain a neutral spectator you just need to wear a red hat.

Best family friendly options are Burlington pumpkins and Chinchilla melons.

Messiest food related festival certainly goes to La Tomatina.

My favourite would have to go to Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling festival; I just love how entrants crash and tumble down the hill and then get tackled at the bottom, awesome.

Have you been to any of these? Which would be first on your list?

Header (feature) image by Flydime on Flickr

We attended the Quebec City Winter Carnival during the last weekend of January this year. Next year the carnival will run from the 1st to 17th of February – it pays to book your accommodation early during this busy time in Quebec City.

The carnival normally lasts at least three weekends with various main events happening on the weekends. Smaller events and qualifying competition rounds happen during the week.

While the carnival festivities can be enjoyed from all around the Old Town area of Quebec City there is a main area where you need to pay an admission fee (Around $12 CAD). The admission fee covers entry for the duration of the carnival. When we attended, our admission ticket was in the form of Bonhomme – the official ambassador for the festivities.

The carnival first ran in 1894 to bring excitement and celebration during the harsh winter period. It ran sporadically with the world wars and the Great Depression up till 1954 when the idea was again re-launched and Bonhomme was elected the carnivals representative.

Bonhomme de Neige (snowman) is his full name, he is Lord of the Ice Palace but in shadier circles he has also been voted 3rd most creepy mascot by The Magazine. We had to agree he does look a lot like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters.

The highlight of my Quebec City Winter Carnival experience was watching (and photographing) the dog sled race through Quebec Cities old town. Dogs, competition, sleds, snow, crowds, speed, exertion and endurance – dog sled races really seem to have it all. Unfortunately all those elements seemed to work against me in my quest to get a decent photograph and I really struggled.

While we saw a lot during our weekend at the Quebec City carnival we missed the parade and the canoe race across the Saint Lawrence river which no doubt would have been awesome. Apparently there is also a traditional bikini snow bath event which sounds cold but highly entertaining – if you’ve been and have photos that I could put up here do let me know!

Here is the ferry crossing the Saint Lawrence river, looking down from a distance you can see the arc the ferry needs to make into the current to ensure it doesn’t get swept down the river and miss its landing point on the other side. Imagine canoe racing across this semi frozen river!

We caught the belated opening ceremony for the festivities which included a fireworks display.

Snow sculpting competitions occur and are displayed throughout the carnival festivities with some really impressive and intricate pieces being made.

Walking around the old town we enjoyed exploring a new city with its different sights, sounds and smells.

At times it was quite cold (with wind chill), but overall the weather  for the 2012 Quebec City Winter Carnival was superb. It snowed the evening we arrived so we got to see the old town covered in beautiful fresh snow. It promptly stopped snowing and we had pleasant temperatures around zero or above for both days of our weekend stay. Be warned however Quebec can be freezing cold at this time of year, come prepared with warm clothing!

View of Quebec City skyline and Château Frontenac from the top of the sledding track.

Finish a day with a good meal and a decadent desert at one of the many great restaurants in the area. We dined at a place called La Hobbit which we both enjoyed.

Overall the Quebec City Winter Carnival is well worth a trip.

Losing Our Way in Amish Country

One of the motivations that propel first world citizens to travel to third world locales is the desire to see how people live who aren’t surrounded by attention kidnapping technology.  Unless you travel to the poorest parts of the globe, however, technology that insists on being checked (Facebook, text message inboxes) has penetrated just about every world culture. Many of these places will soon have people checking into Facebook wherever they are, just like here in the states. Sigh. Just when the smartphonification of the world seems inevitable, and no corner of the globe seems safe, remember that right in belly of the beast is a group that will never have any kind of phone, smart or not. Just two hours or so from the big apple, the media capital of the world, the last true rebels and Luddites keep producing fantastic jams, sturdy furniture, and vigilant beards.

I’m talking of course, about the Amish.

Living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Amish country is just an hour or so drive away. So recently we explored Amish country by gas-powered automobile. And yes, our cell phones worked the entire time.

View Larger Map or view Wikipedia’s list of eighteen states with significant Amish populations

We visited Amish country – as comprised of the small towns to the east of Lancaster, PA. Amish country is not like an Indian Reservation, there’s not a set area of the Amish (nor should there be). The Amish live among regular people like myself, a Flashpacker.  (I hate to use the term “regular people,” but what other word do you use for non-Amish people? Technologically endowed is tempting, but it makes me think of a giant robot… part.) Or maybe I should say regular people live among the Amish, since in some places the Amish are the clear majority.

Visiting Amish country made me realize three things:

1. I have no idea where the Amish/Mennonites draw the line on technology they are allowed to use.
2. I have no idea what the difference is between Mennonites and Amish (I asked, no one could give me a straight answer) and…
3. People will exploit anything for a dollar.

There are many goofy Amish “attractions” around Lancaster that are worth seeing, not for the attractions themselves, but to see the way in which Amish and non-Amish alike market such a unique lifestyle as a tourist attraction. The “Amish House” on the outskirts of Lancaster is a perfect example of something that is more interesting as a symbol than a tourist attraction. The “Amish Farm and House” is an example of a real working Amish house. There are tours, and out back there is a barn with small animals wandering around. All of this the brochure tells you, and the pictures all indicate that this is exactly the reality. And it is. But the context of where it’s located completely changes the meaning. It’s located, literally, on the edge of a huge shopping center parking lot and is flanked by a Target. A more apt metaphor for the Amish insistence on their way of life as the regular world continues to build around them, completely indifferent, could not be found. One only has to drive through the farmland a few miles further East of Lancaster to see this at work, as beautiful fields dotted with homesteads and barn silos are bifurcated and veined with huge power lines.

All this being said, Amish country is a good day trip. Just avoid all the touristy stuff, grab a bad map, and get sort of lost. You’ll see horses and buggies everywhere, and every now and again you’ll come across an Amish run pie shop, or a Candle making store/petting zoo. If you’re the kind of person who needs an itinerary, avoid Amish country. If you are willing to lazily drive around without much of a point, which, by the way, is antithetical to everything Amish, then turn your cell phone off and go find some Shoofly Pie, homemade root beer, and fresh soft pretzels. I could tell you where some good places are, or you could find them on your smartphone, but trust me, that would destroy the point.

[If you would like to learn more about the Amish, Wikipedia as usual is very informative or Lancaster Country's page offers good information on the Pennsylvania Amish; their beliefs, lifestyle and history.]

View Montreal Day Trips in a larger map

Burlington, Vermont

155km – about two hours drive one way (plus customs hassle)
A short drive down into the US and you’ll find some beautiful countryside as well as cheaper shopping (if you like shops). Burlington city is the state capital of Vermont and offers pleasant lakeside views, a slightly bizarre pumpkin festival in October and a yummy flat bread restaurant.

July
Vermont Brewers Festival (July 20-21st, 2012)
Artisan craft beer festival held on the Burlington harbour waterfront, tickets go on sale May 1st.
http://vtbrewfest.com/

August
Festivals of Fools (August 3-5th, 2012)
Street theatre festival which attracted over 10,000 visitors each day last year
http://www.burlingtoncityarts.org/festival_of_fools/

October
Pumpkin Regatta (October 7, 2012)
Held on Lake Champlain at the Burlington Waterfront Park this crazy pumpkin festival has people racing on the river in giant hollowed out pumpkins.

If you head to any of these festivals I recommend you try a flatbread pizza while you’re in town.
http://americanflatbread.com/restaurants/burlington-vt/

Mont Tremblant Resort & Village

143km – about two hours drive one way
Head north and you’ll reach the charming Mont Tremblant resort village nestled at the base of Mont Tremblant mountain and right beside Lake Tremblant. Find plenty of bars, restaurants, cafes and outdoor activities.

Primarily a winter skiing destination the resort has been recognised as offering some of the best skiing in eastern North America (not sure you can expect great skiing, but certainly nice). Tremblant is however great for a relaxing get-a-way any time of year.
http://www.tremblant.ca/index-e.htm

Ottawa

200km – about two and a half hours drive one way
To the west is Ottawa, Canada’s capital but otherwise not normally that interesting a destination. However hit up Ottawa during a festival and you’ll be sure to have a fantastic time.

May
Canadian Tulip Festival (May 4-21st, 2012)
If you like flowers head over to Ottawa in May for the tulip festival. Even if you’re not a big flower person the festival draws over 500,000 annually and is sure to be something to experience while you visit the rest of Ottawa.
http://www.tulipfestival.ca/

February
Ottawa Winterlude (Early February)
Skate along the ‘world’s largest skating rink’ and enjoy the winter festivities along the way including ice sculpting competitions.
http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/celebrate/winterlude

Quebec City

256km – about three hours drive one way
Follow the Saint Lawrence river north-east and you’ll reach Quebec City. One of the oldest cities in North America with a rich history and vibrant cultural personality.

July
Summer Festival (Festival d’été de Québec) (July 5-15th, 2012)
One of the largest events in Canada, the Summer Festival attracts top musical talent and is sure to be an amazing party.  Aerosmith are going to be there, so should you!
http://www.infofestival.com/

February
Winter Carnival (Carnaval de Québec) (February 1-17th, 2013)
Attending the Quebec Winter Carnival is a great way to enjoy winter! Catch dog sled races, parades, ice sculpting competitions and even a canoe race across the Saint Lawrence river (partially frozen).
Our experience at the winter carnival in 2012.
http://www.carnaval.qc.ca/en

There you have it; four great locations only a few hours drive from Montreal. Let me know what you think.

Saint Patrick is the best known patron saint of Ireland and the celebrations on 17 March celebrate Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. Today Saint Patrick’s Day is said to be the most widely celebrated Saint’s day in the world and its not so much a religious festival but an Irish cultural celebration – I’ll drink to that.

I recently read that in the mid 90′s the Republic of Ireland created a group called Saint Patrick’s Festival with a number of aims – mostly geared towards creating a festival of international greatness which would inspire the Irish as well as bring international awareness to Ireland as a sophisticated, creative and professional country. This group organised its first festival in 1996 – it was a one day event. The following year it had grown to three days and by 2006 it was a five day festival. I extrapolated this data in excel and predict that by 2041 the festival will be a fourteen day extravaganza with tens of millions of people attending and a stupendous quantity of Guinness consumed…

The Montreal Saint Patrick’s Day parade has run annually since 1824! That’s almost two hundred years of parades – one of the longest running Saint Patrick’s Day parades in North America.

I found the parade a great opportunity to practice my portrait photography, here are a few of the many photos I shot.

I'm not drunk I'm Irish

Black & White with Green all over

Beauty Queen

Portrait

Clown Portrait

Montreal Busker

Hurly

Portrait

Top Hat Portrait

From the Car

Irish Leprechaun

Parades are a lot of fun to photograph because everyone is there to have a good time, they’re dressed up and they expect to be photographed. That said it was  beautiful clear day which made the light really hard to photograph in.