Oh Canada...

On the 5th of May, we returned to the camp and rebuilt everything after the stormy night. We had breakfast and went to the city of Toronto. Tim, Teresa, and I decided to take the ferry directly to Toronto Island. It was like being in a different world there. From a big city to an idyllic place. Small houses and streets right by the water, and an amazing view of the Toronto skyline. We spent almost the whole day there, walking, eating, drinking, and relaxing. In the afternoon, we went back and headed to a café. In the evening, we met up with the rest of the travel group at a huge restaurant and had dinner. Ice hockey was on TV, and it really made us feel like we were in Canada :D

On the 6th of May, we headed towards Ottawa. We arrived in the afternoon, so we didn't have much time in the city. We grabbed a coffee to go and walked past the Parliament building and into the Basilica. It was nice to walk along there, although Ottawa was my least favorite of the three cities we visited in Canada. There's not much else to tell about it. The next day was more exciting.

On Monday the 7th of May, we had the morning in Ottawa. We walked to a waterfall and then found a huge bakery with lots of delicious treats. So we each got our usual drinks - Tim had a Tim-Mocha, Teresa had a Cappuccino, and I had a Latte Macchiato please :D I also had a tasty croissant. After that, we went to the Byward Market and had a slice of pizza. Then it was time to leave. We still had a drive to Montreal ahead of us. When we arrived, we checked into the hostel, freshened up a bit, and it was already 7:30 pm. So it was time for dinner :D We found an Italian restaurant nearby. To put it politely, you could tell that the very small waiter had a certain sexual orientation. He was totally cute and a lot of fun. It was really enjoyable to order from him. I ordered a Gin and Tonic and got a HUGE Gin and Tonic. And it was delicious. I ordered salmon and it was delicious, and Teresa and I couldn't resist having tiramisu for dessert, which was also delicious. Everything was amazing, and we had a great time chatting and laughing, and the waiter enjoyed our company. It was worth every penny we spent!!

On Tuesday the 8th of May, we had a free day in Montreal. We had a leisurely breakfast at the hostel and then went into the city. At first, we wanted to rent bikes and ride around the city. But the machine wanted a deposit of 100€ per bike from us, which was too much for us, so we decided to explore the city on foot with a map. We walked for about 30 minutes through the city until the hill started, from where we had a beautiful view. It was warm and the sun was shining between the tall buildings. We walked through a park and climbed stairs until we reached the top. There were a lot of crazy athletes around :D They were jogging or actually running up the hill. I found the leisurely walk already exhausting enough, so exhausting that I had to treat myself to an iced coffee at the top :D We actually spent 3 hours, until 3:00 pm, lying in the grass, enjoying the view, and drinking coffee. It was wonderfully relaxing. Montreal was at our feet. What else could happen there. We started to get really hungry. So we went on the hunt for something to eat along the shopping street. We went into some really cool second-hand shops. Somehow the restaurants didn't appeal to us, so we all quickly agreed to go back to our great Italian restaurant with the cute waiter :D He was actually there again and very happy to see us. This time, Tim ordered marinated olives with baguette as an appetizer, and Teresa and I shared mozzarella with warm ciabatta and balsamic vinegar. I think the waiter was so happy that we came back, so he brought us huge portions. Then Tim had poutine again like yesterday, Teresa had a delicious pizza, and I had rigatoni. Teresa diligently ordered everything in French, while Tim and I stuck to English. Of course, a last huge and delicious tiramisu had to be enjoyed. It was strange to be in a country where 80% of people spoke French and the rest spoke English, even though English was the official language. After playing a round of Skip Bo at the hostel, we fell asleep exhausted and stuffed.

On the 9th of May, we left Montreal in the morning. We drove all day to Boston. At the border crossing, the officer asked me a thousand questions. For example, if I had more than $10,000 in cash with me. I smiled at the officer and we both knew that was just a dream :D

After we all crossed the border, we stopped at the holy Ben and Jerry's Factory in Vermont :O We had a short tour of the factory and I saw how they simply throw away ice cream if it's not packaged correctly - such a shame!!!! I eat it! :D At the end, we also got a sample of ice cream, and I couldn't resist buying myself 2 scoops of Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip and Cookie Dough. Delicious!! When we arrived in Boston in the evening, we went to Chinatown for dinner and walked around the surrounding streets. It was already very beautiful at night, and as we discovered the next day, it would be even more beautiful in daylight!