Canada

A country too wide and large to be explored in a short time even if some may argue with “you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all”. Main cities: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa and Quebec City.

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There are many beautiful spots in Canada, many tourist attractions and even more small towns off the beaten path, pretty and shy. And not only Niagara Falls, Lake Louise in the Rocky Mountains and old city of Quebec. Canada was officially born in the town of Charlottetown, on the east coast and the building where “the founding of Canada” documents were signed is still there.

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Canada has provinces and territories. The difference between these two categories is the amount of people living there. Most of the Canadians live along the border with USA and every province has something unique. The good news is that unlike other countries Canadian English is fairly the same from East to West with the exception of Newfoundland and of course that of French Canadians. No dialects.

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Born in 1867, moved out from our parents (the British) home in 1982 (Constitution Act), Canada is the land of green (forests) and white (snow) that’s why our flag is mostly red.

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Visiting Canada requires patience and open-mindness. Yeah, and some English language skills. But we’re international so using your hands to communicate would do just fine.

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OVERRATED (Be warned!):
-Canada is way, way bigger than anyone thinks. Distances are counted in hours of driving not kilometers!
-Driving in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver is a nightmare at rush hour.
-With the exception of Vancouver most towns are very hot and humid in the summer and very cold and windy in the winter.
-More expensive than United States in several areas.
-Days are very short in the winter and very long in the summer.
-Roads in the cities are poorly maintained and potholes are quite common
-There are two seasons in Canada: Road repair season (with lots of restrictions) and winter.

UNDERRATED (Cool unknown facts):
-Canadians are friendly and helpful.
-The major cities are very multicultural and that shows in the amount and diversity of restaurants.
-There are beaches!
-Canada is a safe country.
-Marijuana is legal and available at specific stores.
-Canadian national parks are magnificent and not only in the Rocky mountains.
-The native Canadian culture. The large pow-wows specific gatherings of Native Canadians (also called First Nations) are something worth experiencing.
-The English spoken across Canada is fairly standard with small variations.

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What is it about Canada that surprised you when you first got there? Is there a reason to be skeptical about the reputation Canada gets as a tourist destination? Leave a comment below and help out with suggestions and impressions of your visit!

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