By: Lina Maria Phee

Hello again! It’s Maria here and I’m halfway through my exchange semester at the University of Ottawa. Since arriving in Canada in mid-August, I’ve travelled to Vancouver, Montreal (twice), Niagara Falls, and Toronto (twice). Here are my stories!

I flew from Auckland to Vancouver and spent half a week visiting places like Gastown, Granville Island, and Waterfront. I found it challenging yet very liberating as this was my first time being so far away from home all by myself. Apparently it rains a lot in Vancouver, so much so that they nicknamed the city “Raincouver.” I was lucky enough to have experienced little to no rain while I was there which allowed me to comfortably explore the city on foot. 

My next stop was Montreal. To get there, I had to catch a flight first to Toronto then to Montreal. I spent my hour layover doing some French duolingo which I do recommend if you’re planning on visiting Montreal. I spent the rest of the week here, where I visited the stunning Notre-Dame Basilica, ate the best bagels in the world at Fairmount Bagels, did souvenir shopping on rue Saint-Catherine, and ate poutine at a 24-hour poutine restaurant. 

I visited Niagara Falls with my flatmates and it was beautiful! We were blessed with amazing weather which made the view even more magnificent. We spent one night in Niagara Falls and one night in Toronto, so our visit to Toronto was pretty rushed and we ended up spending a few hours at a protest (immersing ourselves in local life, of course)! But we still got to see the CN tower, which I discovered is taller than the Sky Tower.

I was able to re-visit Toronto this time for three nights with my boyfriend (who I met on orientation day (this is your sign to go to your orientations)! We went to Ripley’s Aquarium which is situated right under the CN tower, visited Toronto Islands, and walked around the city at night. It was a very easygoing, relaxed trip which is simply my ideal. The weather was amazing, too! On our first day we stumbled upon this market that was filled with vendors selling flowers and pottery. It was beautiful and we were so stoked to have found it on a whim. 

Just last weekend we took a group trip to Montreal. Once again the weather blessed us (unsure how I’ve gotten so lucky with weather on all of my trips). We explored Vieux-Montreal, hiked up Mont-Royal, and visited the Basilica. It was so nice to be in a city I recognized and knew my way around (for the most part). The feeling of exiting the train station and remembering landmarks from two months ago was just bliss. Montreal is everyone’s favourite city, you’ll learn that quite quickly. I think I’ll go back once more before heading back to Aotearoa simply because I just love it there! I was lucky enough to be able to spend my 20th birthday there surrounded not only by the city itself but also the most amazing people.

If you’re solo travelling I think that staying in a hostel is a must. During my stay in Montreal I met a friend from New York City and we had so much fun eating poutine and talking about life. My second tip is to understand how public transport works in the city you’re visiting. For me, I prefer the metro/subway/train over the bus or uber. It’s cheap, reliable, and safe. This is a Canada-specific tip but you should get Poparide! It is a rideshare app and it saves you so much time and money, truly. It cost $60 CAD for a ride from downtown Ottawa to Toronto, or a $30 CAD trip from downtown Ottawa to downtown Montreal. I’m also very lucky because I don’t have class on Fridays meaning I can take long weekend trips whenever I please, really. My classes aren’t super demanding and if I need to study while travelling I can just bring my laptop. Ottawa is such a great place to spend your exchange at because it’s so close to Quebec and other destinations such as Toronto, Niagara Falls, or even places in the USA like New York City or Chicago. My next stop is Quebec City!

Until next time,

Maria

P.S My travel blog on Instagram has switched handles and is now called @mariaonmyown ! I have many posts from my aforementioned travels and time spent in Ottawa 😀