This is one of a series of posts about my trip to Canada. Most posts about this trip can be found here.

This was it then, the end of the holiday. But what a place to end it.

I didn’t have a huge amount planned for Toronto. A friend of a friend whom I’d met a couple of times in Manchester lived there, and I thought she might have some recommendations—but she ended up being a wonderful guide. On my first night, she met me outside the hotel and took me to a great restaurant around the corner. It was lovely to catch up, and then she mentioned her friend was having a party the next night and that I’d be very welcome. What better way to feel like a Torontonian?

Before the party, I had a great time visiting the Royal Ontario Museum. A superb museum, full to the brim...

This one of a series of posts about my trip to Canada. Most posts about this trip can be found here.

After the Pulp gig I had a coach to catch the next day, which took three and a half hours. Clearly, five days looking out of a window on a train wasn’t enough.

I was headed to Kingston, one of the oldest cities in (modern) Canada and its first capital. It sits further up Lake Ontario and marks the furthest east I have ever been in Canada. Next time I come, I’d like to visit Quebec and the Maritimes.

I arrived and immediately went to find a place to eat, then headed to the waterfront for an evening stroll before night fell. After that I visited a few local bars, most of which were quiet midweek.

The next day was the main reason for visiting. I had booked a cruise on...

This one of a series of posts about my trip to Canada. Most posts about this trip can be found here.

Lakes. So many lakes. You think you’ve seen lakes? I’ve seen lakes. There are 250,000 lakes in the state of Ontario which is 1/5 of all the freshwater on the planet. A stat I couldn’t quite believe until I’d seen all the lakes.

By the final day I was extremely ready to not be on a train, especially at night where I was managing a half decent sleep but my back and bones were aching and my skin was crying out for a proper shower.

But despite this, nature continues to amazing. The scenery continued to whip by. An older lady I had befriended was getting off at Sioux Lookout, she had a house right on the lake. An American family got on for a short stop on their way to...

This one of a series of posts about my trip to Canada. Most posts about this trip can be found here.

The mountains lost their angles and the gradient started to even off and all that was left was flat. Now, in the UK you might think you know what a flat landscape is. But now. This is Flat. This is flatter than Flat Eric, and flat pack furniture. The horizon stretches out way way out and the vast horizon line totally circles you.

It’s not just the land that goes on and on, with the horizon so far out the sky becomes massive as well, and something I wasn’t expecting was the sky felt lower. Like the heavens are able to sink closer to us, whilst still being out of reach.

This is farm country. Crops have just been harvested and bales of hay scatter the fields. It’s also very quiet...

This one of a series of posts about my trip to Canada. Most posts about this trip can be found here.

The train station had a queue already when I arrived. I had pre checked my bag and stood in line with the rest of my economy travellers. Looking around it was clear I was on the young side of those boarding. I would begin to loathe some of these people.

The first two days we would go through the Rocky Mountains, past Mount Robson (highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies with a peak of 12,972ft/3,954m) and it’s snow capped peaks and lakes shining green from the minerals washed down in the sun. The views were breathtaking and I your eyes are glued to the window to see what next piece of beauty you’ll happen across next. I saw birds and even a black bear ambling into a forest on the...

This one of a series of posts about my trip to Canada. Most posts about this trip can be found here.

I can’t think of another city as surrounded by beauty as Vancouver. The Pacific, the parks, the mountains, it’s all here. All massive and stunning. Nature feels inescapable. It wraps around anything man-made and treats it like Lego left behind by a child.

On my first day I explored Stanley Park. I started early to dodge the midday heat, but even by 11 it was heating up. The park is vast, with views across the Pacific where whales play and ancient stories of the First Nations cut into the present. Joggers and cyclists looped around, but I was content to take it slow. I’d done the same walk ten years ago with my brother, and sometimes I’d get flashes of memory as if he were beside me again (he’s not...

This one of a series of posts about my trip to Canada. Most posts about this trip can be found here.

I’m writing this on the plane on the wayo Vancouver after spending a wonderful 4 days in Edmonton spending time with family, some of whom I haven’t seen in 10 years.

The flight from Manchester was long. 18 hours travelling and back through various time zones does take it out of you so I pretty much went straight to bed when I arrived at my aunts. I did watch some good films on the plane and my new iPad mini is a fantastic travelling companion.

Edmonton is a city in the state of Alberta. I didn’t see much of the city itself other than through a car window, as I was ferried about trying to make sure I saw all my cousins who are spread across if.

I’ve got 2 aunts and...

This the first in a series of posts about my trip to Canada. Most posts about this trip can be found here.

I’m going on holiday this week, to Canada 🇨🇦. I’m hoping that I will make use of this digital space to record my trip properly, and actually blog something other than sharing what I’m listening to or my inane thoughts. To begin, let’s chat about why I’m going, how I’m travelling, and what my overall plan is.

The Why

It will be 10 years since I last visited Canada. I have family over there and, as my nan has been nearing the end of her life (she’s 95 this year!), my aunts have been making the trip over here each year. My last trip was in 2015 alongside my brother. It was a fantastic trip, and we visited Vancouver and Toronto as well as my family in...

To paraphrase the song Hurt (the Johnny Cash version)

What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know runs 5km
In the end

One of my goals this year was to run a 5km, something I don’t think I’ve done since I was a teenager. This morning I did my third! I can’t believe doing a parkrun at the time I used to get in from a Friday night session is who I’ve become. But park runs are… good? A few hundred people having a collective jog in the morning sun is… nice? Communal exercise, on public land, feels… right?

I’m not fast, as you can see below.

• 24/05: 34:27
• 26/07: 32:29 PB
• 09/08: 33:00

Average: 33:19

But since I’ve already achieved my goal of running just one 5k, I can set the next goal of finishing one under 30mins.

There’s around 3 minutes to shave off, and 5 months of the year remaining....

A run down of everything I’ve consumed this month, and I have certainly had my fill this month. July… just… disappeared? What happened? Where did it go? What did I do? I guess we’ll find out.