Helsinki In December 2015.

Getting to know my new home city vol3

Sintra vol 2! 

The perspective that wasn't mine yesterday

Somewhat continues from the post below..

But anyways news for those who haven't heard that I changed a job. Still in a video game industry but found  a better deal in a different company where I started  as a Linguistic tester a month ago. As much as I loved working at Babel, they couldn’t offer me anything else but functionality testing on call contract with evening shifts. Now with Enzyme Testing Labs I’ll actually get to do the linguistic stuff and have better pay, better working hours (no more evening shifts!) and the location is slightly closer to home too. 

This is actually the first time when my employer is making a contract of any fixed hours with me. I’ve always been on call and luckily the shifts, often more than I could actually do, have always come in. So I do feel like I’m being tied down a bit. Can’t do any big or (at least long term) travelling plans or anything cause the summer is high season for video game industry and naturally employees aren’t encouraged to take much time off then. And not that I would have money for travels anyway...But so far I’ve been more than happy to explore and discover the city of Mtl and that’s why haven’t traveled much in Québec/Canada so if this is the furthest I can go I’ll be fine with it. 

However, I did some travelling in April. 

Made a Easter voyage to the Québec’s capital, also named Québec which is over 200km from Montréal to north. It’s been one of my “must go” destinations for years and it was truly a fascinating and charming journey to see all those places where the history of not only Québec’s but also of Canada and North America took place. This is where it all began. The place where they established hospitals, schools, newspapers, museums and churches among others earlier than anywhere else in North America. The city was a battle ground for wars and battles that later came to define Canada and Québec.

Moi, en Québec finalement!

Today the city is known mostly for the most photographed hotel in the world Château Frontenac and for Vieux Québec, the old part of the city which is partly 400 years old and obviously a Unesco World Heritage Site. If my trip to Ottawa last fall was an eye opening experience in Canadian culture and history, this trip was exactly the same in la culture et l’histoire québécoise. I could seriously go on forever about history of this city... #historyfreak #quebecoise

I ain't wearing my winterboots in April anymore damnit!

But what we actually did in Québec: stroll around in the still empty streets of vieux Québec (no masses of tourists yet), did some shopping, ate well and visited the musée de la civilisation where the First Nations were represented respectively too. The more northern location was easily noticed in the chilly weather and the amounts of snow they had in the parks and the streets. The three days were seriously a good exercise too cause the city’s been built on hills and it seemed like there was nothing else but a staircase after another. Oh boy did my feet hurt on Monday after the trip! But it was vraiment québecois and there is no place where you could feel the political atmosphere (anglos against the francos) clearer than in Québec in my opinion. This is not a criticism just an observation. 

Moi sur les Plaines d'Abraham.

Weatherlike...Summer has finally kicked in! Had a few days of tropical +30 temperatures but otherwise it's been comfortably warm even thou spring was clearly late. In the beginning of May it was still quite grey and bald in naturelike but now everything has catched up. J'aime ça!

However, there is a one big down side in my life and year in Mtl. Room mates.. who I've had 15 in total by now and this doesn't include the new changes coming up at the flat within a few weeks. As much I love this appartment, the room and the location, it truly sucks that we don't have any saying about who's gonna move in. My landlord is great but he doesn't really care how we get along with each other as long as everybody pays their rents and don't seriously destroy anything...

Nothing major issues I guess but just stuff that truly bugs me. Having soirées late in the night during the week and not participating of the expences that we share together. Nobody cleans. It's also hard to have any kind of system with room mates that keep on changing this frequently. But oh well.. less than two months and these problems will be far away cause I'll be living with my mom again! And how much fun is that gonna be - NOT! 

Allrighty then, I think that was it for now.. thanks again for reading! :)

LA NUIT BLANCHE

The event of the year or at least of my MTL year is just around the corner and I've made a list of activities I'd like to do during the night between March 1st and 2nd. 

I can't believe I was able to narrow it down to this short, out of over 200 activities all over the city! And these are admission free kind of stuff!! 

RENDER & REACT: APPROACH TO A SUBCONSCIOUS SENSORY SYSTEM: is an immersive installation by Tryggvadottir in which a moving “forest” is created out of coloured liquids trickling from organic sculptures. Little by little, the space and its objects are transformed by drops and textures. 

TRAVEL BY TRAMWAY AT THE OLYMPIC PARK! Exploring the Olympic Park with horse-drawn characteristic San Francisco trolleys!

OLD MONTREAL | OF ICE AND LIGHTS: Performances by ice sculptors, creating impressive illuminated works of art in the great wintry outdoors of mighty Place Jacques-Cartier.

VINYL SCRATCHING NIGHT

Vinyl “scratching” workshop in the studio space where public is able to create etchings on vinyl records, while listening to the music of a live DJ. Participants will be treated to a demonstration of intaglio printmaking and can take their own creations home with them.  

+ Food trucks are back!! 

In the tradition of the streets of San Francisco, food trucks are thriving at the Olympic Park! They're there every first Saturday of the month from La Nuit Blanche on so not a necessary thing to do now but.. 

+ Play at the City Hall 

Montreal as a gaming capital, featuring board and video games as well as quizzes are presented at the City Hall. The Hall of Honour in City Hall will be divided into a number of game stations. 

More info here: http://www.montrealenlumiere.com/nuit-blanche-en/default.aspx

They say that Olaias is the most beautiful metro station in Lisbon and even one of the most outstanding ones in the world!

Home sweet home.. when it was still summer :) 

Tampere part 2.