As Canada is so large (second largest country in the world!) it would mean we would need to stay for quite a while, if wanting to be able to see more than just a tiny part of the country.

Obviously we can’t stay for too long though. While I love the thought of staying in Canada, I do not want to take up residency there. Plus, since I am already no good with tax administration, learning to use their TurboTax Online software, which is easy in principle, will prove to be a daunting task for me. However, I think an extended visit there is definitely in order.

I always love to go by car – or maybe greyhound bus in this case – but since it’s so large, we might be forced to go by air instead….

Or a dream would be to go by train Vancouver-Toronto, just read this description of Rail Canada:

“The majestic Rocky Mountains slowly emerging from a veil of clouds….. Take in boreal forests reflecting on the surface of the Great Lakes. Prairie sunsets painting vast skies in shades of fire. Mountain peaks towering above as the train winds through the Rockies.”

Now I’m even more curious since our blogger friend Tor has been there recently and I must take time to read all about it.

There are a few places and attractions I know already I would want to prioritize – from what I know right now: you might be able to give me tips of more things, I’m sure!

1. Cape Breton, Novia Scotia

Cape Breton is an island at the tip of Nova Scotia in Eastern Canada, which has an interesting Celtic heritage, but Cape Breton also has what they claim to be the world’s most beautiful drives: the Cabot Trail.

Photo by Dani

2. British Columbia

British Columbia is Canada’s most western province and a top tourist destination for adventure trips with the islands, long beautiful coastline and mountains to explore. We’re always drawn to mountains, heights and the Sea for some reasons.

I also want to take a ride at the False Creek on an Aquabus ferry for the whole circuit, which takes about half an hour, so I can see Vancouver – the heart of BC – from the water side.

Photo by Squeky Marmot

3. Toronto

I know at least two attractions I want to see in Toronto and number one is the Casa Loma, which seem to be such a fantastic building with a fascination and inspiring history.

Photo by Carsten Kessler

The other attraction is the well known CN Tower. Yes, it’s the view from up there I want to see, even though both of us are afraid of heights, these kind of tourist attractions are a must for us anyway.

Photo by Paulo Barcello

I also have two cousins in Toronto and it would be nice to meet them once more, the last time was about 35 years ago!!!

The only thing I remember about my aunt from Toronto, was that she loved pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast – plus she always did drink coffee together with the meal, not afterward as we do.
Oh, and yes, even if she was way over 60, she loved to listen to Bruce Springsteen – very loud!

We would want to visit Niagara Falls one more time, this time doing a proper sightseeing for several days around the area and seeing the falls from the Canadian side.

Of course there are a lot of other places too, but if I listed them all this post would be a mile long… We also have one of our best friends in Michigan, US, which we could plan to visit in the same trip if we’re going there.

There are several online friends to contact for a meetup if going to those places, that would be such an awesome experience!

If you have any tips: please feel free to leave us them in the comments.

So, the only thing missing now is some more money in the wallet (will take us some time!) and then to find cheap flights!!!

Lifecruiser ♥ To Travel To Canada

Traveling from one country to another is hard enough when it’s matters of simple short-term business and pleasure. The amount of rigmarole required to get through airport customs, let alone the invasive security checkpoints, is almost enough to turn most people off to the idea of gallivanting around the globe.

Then there’s the matter of familiarizing yourself with a new culture, attempting to grasp a language, and comprehending the local laws. But the hard work is more than worth it, because there’s perhaps no easier nor more exciting way to enlighten yourself than by simply flying across the ocean to wherever you wish to go. All in all no matter how arduous the journey, we’re talking about a two week-to-four week long experience which no matter how exotic ends the minute you board your flight back home.

It’s a little different when you’re adapting to a foreign culture with the intent of staying put for an extended period of time. The paperwork is tripled if you’re lucky. Unless you’re a diplomat or other government sanctioned intermediary, then count on no-nonsense processing experiences that are no doubt meant to intimidate anyone trying to enter the country illegally. These measures should be expected in every industrialized nation, especially in Western Europe and North America.

Whether business related or personal, in between the culture shock and environmental adjustments you’ll likely be establishing living arrangements. This can sometimes present problems before you even leave your home country. You’ll likely be forfeiting your living situation at home if you’re planning on being in another country for months or years, especially if you rent and to some extent if you own a home. Either way you’ll be dealing with the logistics of what to do with your furniture and belongings taken out of a rental or taken out of a home to make way for a rental.

If you’re staying overseas for a year or longer your first instinct might be to go ahead and ship everything you can feasibly afford to ship – for the seemingly common sense reason that then that way you’ll have an easy way to get to your personal items that you’ll no doubt be wanting at some point throughout the year. You could conceivably ship the items you anticipate wanting in less than a dozen boxes with bare bones shipping urgency for less than $200.00 total. Many people see this as a good way to bring some of home over with them without massive cargo costs on their flight.

But I would caution against this tactic. Unless you are in a familiar nation and have a way to make sure the local storage facilities are safe and kept away from potential thieves and causes of damage, I’d avoid going through the ordeal of transporting boxes of items that have debatable necessity. You’ll have to safe guard against the risks of international parcel services, plan the logistics of moving these boxes from the post office to the storage center, and make sure your stored items are safe and secure, on top of everything else you have to worry about during your transition.

If you have trustworthy storage facilities back at home I suggest putting your items there and having a friend or relative occasionally send over a shipment once you email them the inventory. I would do this especially if you’re traveling to a country with deficiencies in law enforcement and social order.

For example if you’re a teacher from Toronto about to go do a two-year stint in Uganda you should simply find your nearest Toronto self storage facility and leave it at that. There’s in all likelihood plenty of places in Uganda where you could safely stow your items long term, but why bank on your assumed ability to go about it wisely, especially if you’ve never been there.

Oftentimes we have a hard enough time deciding what toiletries to bring with us on trips and which to leave behind. Attempting to orchestrate a piece-by-piece transit of your creature comforts especially when journeying into an unfamiliar place is just likely to add more headache to your adjustment.

Leaving your items back home not only makes your life easier, it makes appreciating what you have that much easier to do. When homesickness can’t be cured and the only relief will come from certain items, be okay with it taking seven to ten business days to get to you, please. It’s probably for the best.

Blog owners comment: We really wish we had these kind of re-location issues, at least over the next winter – anyone that has a job or home for us in Spain or similar…?