I’ve been in a long term relationship and I love my partner, but sometimes I just need some alone time to recoup. I’m not cheating, but I never believed in monogamy in the first place.

I came to Ottawa with the expectation of three buildings: one being Parliament Hill the others the two universities in the city. Obviously, I’d been on Narcity Toronto for too long.

Toronto has offered everything I could ever want, which is why I’ve always been very skeptical of traveling to other Canadian cities.

Ottawa, at this time of the year, feels like drinking a well-stirred tea with equal parts English and French by a foggy window in fluffy socks or shaking a snow globe knowing you can count on the clean architecture to still be crisp when you put it back down- reliable maybe a lack of a better word. An unnatural urge to settle down and start a family takes over my always keep moving city mindset. It’s dangerous how much your surroundings can toy with your ideals.

As soon as I got to my sister’s UO dorm, I was greeted with her roommate’s letter whom I’ve never met. There are only a few things I love more than writing, reading handwritten letters is definitely up there. Its gist was an open invitation to enjoy her vacant bed and books while she was away. The kindness of strangers always seems to shadow me wherever I go.

I can count the number of times I’ve been to Mississauga in the ten years I’ve lived in Canada on one hand, and that’s the furthest I’ve been from the city. I go to the corners of the planet and neglect my own backyard. But with that said, I’d like to officially work on changing that and announce my trip to Vancouver in December. I’ll be spending 11 days hopping around BC so stay tuned for 50 shades of blues.

As beautiful Ottawa is, I’ll forever be accustomed to my toxic relationship with Toronto – pollution, noise, traffic, cursing, and all.

*Shoutout to my high school sweetheart Tulsi for being my tour guide. You’re a whirl 😉