I woke up early on my last Sunday in Canada. I couldn't sleep at all and having the girls coming back to the hostel around 2-3 am drunk was a little bit annoying. I didn't let them know I was awake but I was about to tell them off when they turned on the lights. But of course, when you're in a dorm, you can't really complain. It must have been Jill who turned the light on coz Crystal was trying to be quiet when she came in. At that point, I was so getting tired of hostels.
I heard 8am mass at St.Michaels CAthedral along Bond Street, My last one in Canada. I recall going to the same Church to attend a service, the day I arrived from Winnipeg and had to catch a flight later that afternoon to St.John's, Newfoundland.
I was scheduled to check out the hostel and stay with Ate Shellah's Family. She's the big sister of Gab, a good friend of mine back in Singapore days. I knew they were expecting me to stay with them but I was just too shy to. The last thing I wanted to do was to disrupt their itinerary and routine. So I decided to just call them earlier and tell them I'd just pass by for a visit. But then of course Ate still offered and I thought at least Sunday was family day so it would be okay to stay over for a night.
Kuya Yul, Ate Shellah's husband, picked me up around 10:30 on that Sunday morning. It was my first time to meet him although I've heard about him from Gab. He has been working at the Toronto Pearson International Airport for a few years, and just got off the night shift when he collected me. He asked me a lot about the trip and I told him about my travel adventures. The highway we drove through was massive and intimidating, and I think that it's worth mentioning the driving of some vehicles were crazy.
We got to the house around half past 11. I met Inay(Mom of Ate She), Inay lola(Grandma) and Uncle. They were all seated in the lounge watching TFC (Filipino channel). It was funny when Uncle said "Oh I thought JOWE was a guy". I laughed and said, "Yup i'm a girl, the last time I checked". They just laughed.
I finally got to meet Gelai, their eldest child and later on Googie, the youngest. I recall from singapore days when Gab would show me videos of Gelai singing and dancing. And I couldn't believe that she was taller and looking like a teenager already. Amazing how time flies. She was having a sleepover, and her cousin Megan was there for the weekend.
I felt like I was back in the philippines. The food on the table was filipino cooking which I terribly missed. And of course hearing the tv shows in tagalog made me tune in back to Manila days.
Ate She came down and I hugged her. We sat at the table while Googie so cute was looking at me.. a new face in the household. I updated Ate She about the latest happening with me and she was amazed at the adventured I've had on the road. I know there were a couple of risky stuff I've done that even my sister would tell me off, but yeah, I've survived. Although I know I shouldn't always under estimate security.
We packed up after some time and loaded the kids in the car. We were bound for the Niagara Falls. It was actually a perfect day for that. The sun decided to show itself after days of hiding behind the gray clouds. The drive was lovely and setting my eyes on the greenery just relaxed my mind. I've always loved to stare at nature...always.
We got there around 2:30 in the afternoon. There were heaps of tourists around. I didn't expect the place to be very commercialized with the different buildings and hotels surrounding the vantage points of the falls. Although I was warned by my fellow backpackers, still, seeing it with my very own eyes made me realize it actually was looking like an amusement park.
We found ourselves a spot in the park, just beneath a tree providing enough shade for Ate Shellah, Kuya Yul and Googie. Megan and Gelai accompanied me to check out the falls and wander around.
We crossed the street and checked out the left side of the falls, close to the rainbow bridge. It was an awesome site to see that just across where we were standing was part of Manhattan, USA. There were a few tourists on that side, but of course,the best view of Niagara has and always be from the Canada side.
The girls and I lingered for a while on that side. I found it cute to be walking with the kids. Maybe it's because I myself can be a little bit childish at times. It's also interesting to hear thoughts and ideas of kids, just to have an understanding on how they perceive the world.
We moved on and walked towards the bigger part of the falls, which has always been on the Niagara postcards. There we stayed for I think almost an hour. We allowed the falls to sprinkle water on our faces, and I took some photos, trying to get the perfect shot. It was lovely when later on we found a double srainbow colouring itself over the water whilst the Lady of the Mist boats passed by. I got the kids popcorn and a drink, and we sat there for a while just looking and watching people pass by.
on the way back to the park Gelai wanted to stop by the garden where summer flowers bloomed and added hues to the surrounding green. There we stopped for a while to take some photos as I taught her how to choose shots where contrast would be flattering in terms of light and plant colors. As we turned right, we found ourselves at the bottom of a staircase where trees loomed over with its shadow covering the steps. We decided to go up and discover what was beyond the trees. I noticed that they were already puffing as we went up the stairs so I taught them a technique that hopefully served as a good introduction to hiking. The girls did notice the difference with their breathing and also found it easier after adjusting their posture and pacing. After discovering that it was just a carpark on top, we decided to go back to the park and meetup with the rest of the gang. We found Kuya Yul taking photos of a friendly park squirrel running around. It wasn't afraid of people at all, and even stopped to nibble on a food that someone would offer him. We lingered for a while and fed it whilst taking photos. Googie was imagining that he was fishing while us "adults" scooted around chasing after the squirrel.
After some time we decided to head back to the car. Googie was so cute when he was struggling if it was a Tito or Tita to call me. Eventually he settled calling me Tita, as Ate Shellah tried to correct him everytime he would say "tito jowe". We were laughing along the way, and he at one point asked me to carry him. Ate Shellah was laughing and asked him to transfer to her arms.
We passed by a few bridges and stopped for a while at the garden where the big clock was formed. Took a few photos and went off to have dinner at Swiss Chatel. The meals were enormous but very yummy. The kids had chips with cheese pizza, I had a chicken meal with veggies as well as Kuya Yul and Ate She had the one with shrimps. It was a lovely dinner and I also liked that it was a meal shared with a family.
The kids were already tired when we headed back home. I settled in the room and sorted out the internet. Had a chat with Ate Shellah before going to sleep and hugged Googie goodnight. Megan went back to her parents as it was school the following day already.
No comments:
Post a Comment