July 1st is our 153rd birthday. Awfully new by European standards but our history goes so much further than that. The Vikings showed up in Newfoundland in the 11th century and stayed for a bit in L'Anse aux Meadows-one of my many Canadian bucket list items. Then in the 16th century the French and English came and the fur trade industry exploded. I was in the Fashion Museum in Bath a couple of years ago looking at a Beaver Pelt Top Hat and it occurred to me that animal pelts for fashion was one of the reason the exploration of Canada started. You could say that Canada was founded thanks to the fashion industry. In any case, I had my first
European adventure in 2014 and it's thanks to these trips that I've begun to appreciate Canadian history more than ever. While I don't want to stop exploring Europe, I've also been putting together a bucket list of places in Canada to visit with significant moments in Canadian history. Has anyone else come to appreciate their own country's history thanks to what they've seen in Europe?
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33818 posts
Happy Canada Day all you Canucks
Posted by
Columbus, OH, USA
2081 posts
Happy Canada Day! I vaguely remembered sleeping in the car on the floor when I was around 4 or5 years old and later Mom explained she, dad, grandma and us three boys headed off for a lake in Canada and could find no motels anywhere and a restaurant let us sleep in the parking lot as it was the holiday of which we were clueless. Rather National Lampoonish in retrospect. Be safe and healthy Canada.
Posted by
Chicago
142 posts
Happy Canada Day!! 🇨🇦
I’m originally from Mexico so, visiting Porfirio Diaz tomb at the Montparnasse Cemetery was on my list, but couldn’t. He was a dictator that was exiled.
I never been to Spain, but I would like to know where my family is originally from, and visit that place.
Posted by
Calgary, AB
48 posts
Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians! If we can take a pause to celebrate a little today, here is a ditty that checks off a lot of things that make Canada special. Full of the requisite Canuck stereotypes? Check! Funny and irreverent? Check! Proud but in a modest way? I'll let you be the judge...
Enjoy.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37nGeXn2K9c
Posted by
Paris
10188 posts
Indeed, Happy Canada Day to our Canadian members !! 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
Posted by
Qualicum Beach, Canada
204 posts
As I celebrate Canada Day today eating strawberry shortcake (red and white, a tradition my Mother started many years ago), I am wearing my Rick Steves "Keep on Travelin'" t-shirt as an nod to our American neighbours to the south and to all other travellers on this site. Happy 🇨🇦 Canada Day fellow countrymen and women!
Posted by
Niagara, Ontario
1677 posts
In about two hours, grilled Ontario lamb chops, Ontario asparagus and Greek salad (non-Ontario ingredients). Peninsula Ridge wine. Already had a few Boneshaker IPA"s. Hippy Calava Day.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
AND you're the only North Americans who can travel to Europe!
Posted by
Florida
1450 posts
Today is Bobby Bonilla Day.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
4656 posts
I missed our Snowbird display at 1 this afternoon. Instead there was one fighter jet doing 2 loops around the city. Sigh. I did pause for the loss the Snowbirds experienced the other month, but they mark the Day for us here. Coming from out West, there is nothing like Canada Day in the Nation's Capital. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else but Canada.
But to answer your question, Allan, I certainly appreciate our history and the global links. Jogging in a graveyard in Halifax I learned about the Halifax Explosion and found the resting place of so many souls from the Titanic. Sometimes our lessons happen in the least expected places.
Posted by
Ottawa, ON, Canada
172 posts
Happy Canada Day!
I'm with you, Maria. I consider myself very lucky to live here. My parents were refugees after WWII and if they hadn't come to Canada I don't think I would be writing this.
Every Canadian should experience Canada Day on the Hill at least once in their life. I saw the jet also. From where we live, we can hear the fireworks from Parliament Hill, though we can't see them because of the tall trees in our neighbourhood. But not this year.
Like Allan, I would love to visit L'Anse-aux-Meadows and also revisit Vancouver, Victoria etc. It's been a very long time since I was there. Also would love to visit Nunavut - my godson is a teacher there. And a trip through the Rockies by train....
I think there have been a lot more flags on houses this year than in the past.
Posted by
Peterborough, ON, Canada
1631 posts
Happy Canada Day! We are now home after a very Canadian day of boating through four (or was it five?) Locks from Lake Katchewanooka (my sister's place in Lakefield) to Buckhorn, where we dropped anchor for lunch and a swim, then back. Beautiful weather, great day. Forgot for awhile all the world's troubles.
To Allan's point, I didn't really need to appreciate history abroad to understand Canada's own. My undergraduate degree is in Native Studies (now termed Indigenous Studies).
Posted by
Sapulpa, OK, USA
6525 posts
Happy Canada Day!
Posted by
Sapulpa, OK, USA
6525 posts
Mexico is technically part of North America. Can they go to Europe?
Posted by
Chicago
2042 posts
Had a lovely day in Vancouver back before it became trendy in the late 90s. Went to Gastown, shopped underground at the mall and even took pictures of the pines in Stanley Park and the Canadian Rockies. The Canadian Border patrol were quite friendly as well.
Oh Canada. But you guys always seem to celebrate our holidays early(first your birthday and then Thanksgiving! Canada will always be synonymous with SCTV and all the comedians the gave the US.
Posted by
Almost Heaven
3114 posts
Way to go, Canada! Woo-hoo! Celebrating right now!
Posted by
Truro, NS, Canada
3941 posts
khrystia - we did the Ottawa Canada Day trip back in 2007. We were right up close to the Parliament buildings to see the fireworks - until they started going off and we realized there were 2 huge trees right in our line of vision w/the show...oh my. We managed to squeeze over a little but the sheer press of the crowd made it almost impossible. I was impressed by the garbage clean up - so much garbage everywhere on the way back to our room, but the next morning poof it was gone!
Posted by
Chicago
142 posts
@Jane, no we can’t. Mexico has handle the pandemic terribly.
Posted by
1529 posts
@ Danny that reminds me of a misadventure in May when we drove from Boston to Canada and got hung up on the Queen's birthday Bank holiday, this triggered a financial crisis, it was so long ago its possible we were trying to find a place to cash out some travelers checks. 🤢