People
Pascal Boisvert-Leung
Pascal and I have known each other since we were 13 and grew up together in Hong Kong. We didn’t really connect all too often during our teenage years, it was a hello here and a goodbye there with an Read more
Cities
Brockville, ON
Brockville was renamed from Elizabethtown after Major General Sir Isaac Brock, who helped win the war of 1812 against the Americans. Fitting with the naming of the town, it was also one of the first Loyalist settlements in Upper Canada Read more
Cities
Merrickville, ON
Merrickville is one of the most charming villages in the Ottawa valley. Its locks on the Rideau River resemble the ones installed at the Rideau Canal in Ottawa by Carleton University’s campus. On one side of the river stands the Read more
Short Stories
Wrong side of Mount Royal
Pascal and I have known each other since we were 13 and in Hong Kong. When you know someone for a dozen years, you’re not really worried about embarrassing yourself in front of them anymore. He moved to Montreal a Read more
Cities
Coburg, ON
The British Sovereign is from the house of Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha, so there should be no surprise to the etymology of this town. Located on the north shore of Lake Ontario, Cobourg was an important location for trade in the 19th century. Read more
Cities
North Bay, ON
“The City of North Bay is a vibrant community in Northern Ontario,” says the city’s website. It could be a vibrant community in summer, but a cold autumn day makes the city’s street population consist almost entirely of homeless people. Read more
Iconic Places
Mount Royal
The city of Montreal was named after Mount Royal. If you say it fast enough and corrupt it with a semi-French accent you’ll eventually hear the resemblance. It’s location in the centre of Montreal Island makes it the Central Park Read more
Cities
Pembroke, ON
I’m travelling Ontario based on the Reader’s Digest Canadian Book of the Road. I should also make it clear that I got the 1991 edition for free from a garage giveaway so some of the information isn’t current. I arrived Read more
Experiences
Fête de l’Escalade
One of the most significant cultural events of the year in Geneva is the Fête de l’Escalade to commemorate the repulsion of Savoyard troops from the Republic of Geneva. In 1602, the Duke of Savoy launched a surprise attack on Read more
Cities
Renfrew, ON
I had a quick run through Renfrew. There, I said the pun. The downtown area of Renfrew is actually very pretty. The traffic is calm, people are kind, and local businesses stay local. There aren’t too many chain stores apart Read more