Kingston, Ontario Part 1

So this past weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to visit my amazing friend, Stef. This visit was long overdue: Stef and I were both in Ottawa this summer and spent most of our time together, but she left this September to go to law school. I'm so proud of her and I was really excited to see where she was living and how she was liking Kingston. I have to say, she did a really good job leaving me with a good impression.


Kingston is such a gorgeous city, and you really get a sense of the history of the area by the architecture of the buildings and parks. Queen's University reminded me slightly of the University of Guelph, because the buildings on campus were very similar to some of Guelph's older buildings like Mills Hall and Johnston Hall.

Stef and I spent our time walking around much like we would do in Guelph and Ottawa. I seemed to have picked a great weekend to visit, because there were many things going on around the city. Here's some of the highlights:

   
Stef and I enjoyed some Tim Hortons while catching up in a park.


Stef posing by some of the buildings on campus. Guelphites - doesn't this look like our campus? There were even vines on some of the buildings! 


Stef kept telling me that I had to see the "Harry Potter Library Room." When we got in the elevator, she couldn't remember what floor it was. Coincidentally, the room was actually named the "Harry Potter" reading room so it was easy to find.  


One thing about Queen's that I liked was the abundance of student space. At Guelph we only have one library (if you exclude the OVC library), and in the past few years it's been really hard to find study space on campus. At Queen's there was a large library as you'd expect, but each program seemed to also have their own library for their students to study in. 



For supper, Stef and I found an adorable crepe and panini shop on Princess Street called the Geneva Crêpe BistroWe settled down there for some delicious food and maple lattes. It just so happened that the Santa Claus parade was taking place that night, so we got to watch the beginning of the parade from inside. 


After eating we went outside to watch the end of the parade. Kingston is hardcore when it comes to their parades! I couldn't believe how many companies had floats or cars. There were even some floats with bands playing, and a group of cheerleaders doing boosts!



I think the best part of the parade was the massive military tank that led the way for Santa himself. Nothing like a giant weapon wrapped in christmas lights to scream Christmas, right? What else can you expect from Kingston?  

The night was wonderful. Stef and I went back to her apartment after the parade ended, and we cuddled together to warm up and shared stories.

Part 2 and more pictures will be posted soon!

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