DIFFERENT CITY, DIFFERENT DAY… EVERY DAY

It feels as though it is almost an everyday occurrence to find myself sat in a yet another city in yet another country wondering what my next move will be. I make myself sound somewhat glamorous there which is definitely not the case. I am not a member of the privileged classes; I am a somewhat bored, dazed, confused and delusional 24 year old girl who dreams of being whisked off by her Prince on a white horse despite my jaded outlook on life love and all that lies between the murky waters of growing up. Ah yes, growing up. Something I have managed to put off quite well despite familial attempts otherwise. In saying that I find it is more my friends that are determined to push me towards something I do not want; on occasion I do feel like a project, or a spinster aunt. Luckily I am no longer the last single girl on the block; relationships at 24 surprisingly come and go. It has been an interesting transition from the one in the second longest relationship to the one furthest away from marriage and babies, although I fully admit to me I was never that close. I never wanted all those things – marriage is a no-go area in my mind. I do not believe in signing my life onto a piece of paper nor will I ever trust anyone enough to allow them to be in every part of my life, I find it a ludicrous idea that you are not to have secrets from someone and that this person is to share in every aspect of your life. I do not like to share and there are few people I tell all aspects of my life to, I share bits and pieces but only I hold all the pages and I like it that way.

But to return to my current location, which happens to be Los Cabos (specifically San Jose del Cabo) in Mexico. I decided enough was enough and it was time to do something productive with myself and left New York in a cloud of anxiety and frustration. I was sick of the U.S; it gets to you after a while all that false bravado, inexplicable pride and bullshit. Don’t get me wrong I think every country has the right to be patriotic; I love my country but at the same time can see its flaws. Apparently the same cannot be said for those who reside in the good old USA… plus I would like to know exactly what it is this ‘great nation’ has done to invoke such passion and reverence in its people. A country that is a mere 232 years old should not be able to boast about its ‘history’. History. Please my school is older than the United States. Now I am not saying I don’t like the states or that I wouldn’t go there again. Alaska is the most incredible place I have ever been and has totally changed me. I have never felt more in love with a place and a place has never gotten more into my blood than Alaska. Not necessarily a specific town but the state itself; it is a world unto its own and somewhere I will never forget and fully intend to return to many times in the future. In fact I do believe to find myself a born and bred, bearded Alaskan would in fact be living the dream! I do think the people I met in Alaska have a lot to do with my enamoured feelings; spending three weeks in a tent with someone either builds bonds or drives you insane. Fortunately I feel I built bonds; a fantastic group of people who I easily made my family for the time we were together. Even the bad times have good memories and I have stories I will never forget; medical evacuation and search and rescue being the two that spring to mind. Alaska is also the only place that has its own playlist that every time I listen a smile breaks out across my face and I look like a crazy person sat in Starbucks smiling, dancing and singing to myself but in that moment I do not care; I have my memories and everything else falls to the wayside. I don’t think even I comprehend how much this 49^th State has changed me and it’s anybody’s guess what the end results will be.

There are places I wanted to go in the States that I never got to for lack of transportation; that’s right I’m 24 and do not hold a drivers licence. I just never needed to drive… until now which of course is par the course really! Montana, Wyoming, Colorado – they are my ‘dream states’; places I feel the world is just not the same. Having met a lot of people from Colorado and some from Montana I feel I would experience the same rush as I did from Alaska. There are of course the southern states that really are so full of the most incredible stories and history that continues today. With the southern states I thought the middle of August might not be the best time visit – so instead headed to Mexico where the heat nearly kills me every night as I toss and turn in a vain attempt to find some cool air and sleep. But I also wanted to leave something to go back; I feel as though had I seen and done everything maybe I would never go back. I have to cross the border back into the U.S pretty much every 30 days to make sure I can keep my Visa and return for a visit in October and November.

I've got a pocket full of sunshine...

I have had a somewhat busy week and have been terrible and writing this up; which always leads me to forgetting the crucial things I have done, people I've met and places I've seen. As I write this I am the coach from Montreal to Quebec City so this seems the perfect time to sit and write about my time in Montreal. Now we all know I wasn't really that big a fan of this big sprawling, culturally confused and architecturally clashing city but it has definitely grown on me. I'm not saying I wish I had stayed there, 8 days is more than enough, I was discussing with another girl (who I am now traveling with) that by day 8 we had seemed to run out of things to do, we had visited most museums (some good, some, well, bad) art galleries, churches and other tourist spots in the city. By far my best experience of this city would be the gorgeous Vieux Montreal; worth every word that is written about it. Now it's mostly just a little square with restaurants, cafes and shops looking out onto to the water to the East and onto Nelson's column to the West (which pre-dates Trafalgar I am told) It is this quaint, unassuming square with its little Church tucked around the corner that I fell in love with. The cobbled streets and cafes on the pavement - so typically European. I think I may have spent too much time in Europe and am far too used to and expectant of these kind of surroundings.
Another place I have to mention is the Marche Jean Talon in Little Italy, a ride on the metro takes you into the most glorious explosions of colours, tastes and sounds. It reminded me of all those times I used to go to the market in Ecuador; everyone hustling and bustling about - the best fruits, vegetables and flowers all artfully arranged and samples always at the ready. We walked around for an hour or so just taking it all in, munching on fresh pineapple and watching everyone go about their business. We sat on the sidewalk and enjoyed a kebab while attempting to tan and failing to take sly photos of interesting passers by.
Montreal is also home to a Biodome which reminds me of Edinburgh Botanical Gardens (going through all the climates etc) but with animals, I have to say that the Biodome was one of my favourite attractions in Montreal. I feel this is mainly due to the penguins that occupied my time and attention for a good half hour.
The sun really does show another side of a city, it hides all the blemishes and highlights the beauty; you can never dislike a place in the sunshine. Having wondered around Montreal in the pouring rain and in the warm sunshine I can see how people can go for a visit and stay for awhile. And yet I am glad to be leaving; new city, new people and many more things to see!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

It was a non-stop rain day yesterday; luckily my jeans have dried out and are now ready for round two as yes, it is still raining. I'm actually starting to resent this rain, it makes everything so dreary and depressing. Walking around the city everything is grey, damp and the clouds add this sense of foreboding especially when you find yourself in a strange part of the city where the only sounds are sirens!
Fortunately I chose yesterday to go and have a little wander around the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts which not only had a China exhibition (with items from the famous Terracotta Army) but a Napoleon one as well. Now anyone who knows me knows by strange love of Napoleon, not of his campaigns but of him personally, so I found myself in my element as the exhibition was primarily his personal effects including, a rather creepy, death mask. Unfortunately it was not quite as large as any French collection but big enough to keep me occupied. It was then onto the Terracotta Army which I have always wanted to see, it was in the UK for a bit but I refused to pay the high price they were charging (12CAN$ seemed a good price) and so was quite delighted when I saw it had come to Montreal. It didn't take too long to get around and despite being somewhat busy was easy to take my time and study pieces and have a little watch of the videos etc It was impressive but I can imagine not nearly as impressive as seeing the whole thing laid before you as it was meant to be in China. There was something lacking about seeing the individual statues instead of the whole formation and made me want to go out and see the whole thing even more!
The Museum also holds a permanent collection of contemporary art - Monet, Degas, Renoir which I love and then the Picasso's and the Joan Miro's which I still do not understand! To me a painting has to evoke something and Picasso and Miro merely evoke irritation in that I fail to see skill or recognise talent - don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I could do better and I know that i sound like someone from the Stone Age with opinions on art but I am an impressionist fan, not a surrealist one. As for the statement "the world is blue like an orange" really? Really, we're going to go down that road? I feel some artists just do things to see how far the boundaries of art can be pushed; it is not for the love of the art but for the attention, the controversy and that to me is a waste of time, and with some people, talent. In the end though, it is all in the eye of the beholder and I am no more qualified to pass judgment than the next Joe on the street!
After my half day in the gallery I went for a little wander about the city, just to have to discover what is around where I am staying and quite a bit actually, few shops, cafe's, restaurants, bars so enough to keep me fairly occupied really. When I came back to the hostel a few new people were moving in so we got chatting and then decided to take another exploratory walk around, this time all the way down to the East of the city, almost to the sea but not quite. It was good to see other parts, to get a little bit lost and discover new places.