TRAVEL DIARY: CANADA (PART ONE)

As you know, this summer I traded the hot Australian sun for the relentless Canadian winter. From Quebec to British Columbia, we traveled over 4500 kilometres from east to west, experiencing some of the best Canada has to offer. The photographs above are a chronicle of just a fraction of my experience in bitterly cold Quebec, where we spent time attempting to speak French in Montreal, Mont Tremblant and Quebec City. At a shivering minus-30 degrees Celsius one day (not including wind chill), and much to our disbelief the locals told us it was yet another warm winter. I commend them for existing in such an environment, for I truly believe I could not have worn any more layers (I resembled the Michelin Man for the majority of the trip).

Bracing the chilly weather was without a doubt worth every shiver with the scenery resembling a true winter wonderland: urban streets thickly coated with snow, giant sheets of ice crashing down a frozen St. Lawrence River and beautifully intricate French-influenced architecture. And I will never forget the New Year's Eve I spent in a lit up Quebec City, one of the most surreal yet wonderful experiences of my life.

Part Two of my Canadian adventure to come soon.