Burlington Sound of Music 2011

What I love the most about this festival is the always great selection of bands. Not sure what goes on, but for some reason, Canada has a lot of good bands!

The festival began on Thursday, June 16 and the first band I saw was Yukon Blonde from Vancouver.
They are super talented and really nice. I bought their CD (amazing) and got their autograph at the merch table.

I think it's ultra cool that you get to meet some of the bands after they play. AND get their t-shirts and CDs :)

Toronto's Bedouin Soundclash played right after and it was CROWDED!!!!

Friday I watched one of the best concerts ever by The Reason. They are another great band from Hamilton, Ontario. I don't know how to describe with words, but I'll try.  Have you ever been to a concert that was absolutely round with no rough edges. These guys work so well together that when they play, they create an amazing sense of musical depth. You get lost within their sound. It's not usual to see this kind of unison live. And they achieve this effortlessly. Check their Sloan cover and tell me if they're not awesome!

Crash Karma was next. It's a pretty high profile band since their members come from I Mother Earth, Our Lady Peace, The Tea Party and Zygote. So they were obviously very good.

I arrived early at the park around lunch time on Saturday and went straight to this great vegan cafe on John Street (yes, the street was closed for the festival - so cool). It was my first time at Kind Food and I liked it so much that I went back for dinner. It's a very cute place, really hip and nicely decorated and what's most important: the food is awesome. I totally recommend this restaurant, so if you're from Burlington, you should check their hours and go. Best cupcakes EVER!

 Back at the festival, I watched Toronto's The Wooden Sky. Another talented group of musicians. One thing I've been enjoying seeing is that a lot of these guys play more than one instrument. It's like finding lost siblings, so there are many of my kind haha.

Funny thing about this video. If you look on the right side, you can see me right at the front with my mom and dad. Cool.

Edmonton's Stereos was another really packed concert. It was hard to get close, so I didn't really try ;)

P.E.I.'s Paper Lions  were great! I enjoyed seeing them and bought their CD.

Hollerado was everything I expected and probably a little bit more. If you don't know them, you don't know what you're missing. Seriously. Click on the link and go. Yes do it! Go! I'll wait.

See, I told you so. They are good, aren't they?
It was hard to get their autograph, but I did it.

Tokyo Police Club closed the day. And it was packed!

It was a great day, but I was so tired I don't even remember falling asleep...

I had to miss Sunday at the festival. My friend got us some VIP tickets for the Hamilton Air Show and unfortunately I couldn't be at 2 places at the same time.
But here are some highlights:

The Salads:

Devo:

Meanwhile that's what I was doing...

Happy Summer to you all!!!!

About my trip to Ottawa

There's nothing I enjoy more than spending quality time at a museum. Just ask anyone that knows me. So, when my dad announced that we were going to Ottawa, I got really excited and started planning my time there.
We got up early on Wednesday morning and hit the road. My mom prepared some snacks, so we didn't stop for food.

This is what a vegan sandwich looks like :)

On the way, we read Alicia Silverstone's book "The Kind Diet" that I totally recommend. It has lots of food ideas and tips for a healthy and yummy diet.

Super easy read and very inspiring too!

Almost there...

Ottawa is a beautiful city. What caught my attention was how easy it is to get around by bike. The moment we arrived I knew I HAD to go for a ride in the Rideau Canal! If you live in Ottawa, you are so LUCKY!!!

The following day, I got my morning fix and headed to the Art Gallery.

Soy mocha frappuccino.So.Good.

very cool inside the gallery

I couldn't take pictures of the art, but I did see some amazing paintings. Lawren Harris is a favorite of mine so I was totally over the top excited when I saw his art. So much depth and talent. I think I could have spent another week inside the gallery...

I had the Asian salad.

Mom had a curry.

Lunch at Peace Garden before going to the Aviation and Space Museum.

I really wanted to visit this museum and was glad I did. There are lots of cool airplanes and flight simulators that are awesome!

 

 The Canadian Museum of Civilization was another amazing experience. I visited it twice and watched the cutest movie at their Imax theatre.

 

 

By the time we finished seeing everything, it was dinner time and we went to a Thai restaurant right across the street from the museum.

The food was good too!

The bridge between Ottawa and Gatineau (where the Museum of Civilization is located) is pretty amazing and has a huge deck. It's windy, so when you cross make sure to take off your hat!

view of the museum of civilization

The ByWard Market is another great Ottawa attraction. There are tons of places to eat (okay not so many if you're vegetarian or vegan...) but you can just sit outside the Hard Rock Cafe and have a drink and watch people go by.

More pictures:

Parliament of Canada

How cute is that?

Now to the exciting stuff...
We were on our way back to the hotel when we realized  we were almost in the middle of a political protest. Our Prime Minister was at the Convention Centre that is right beside where we were staying, so there was a huge commotion.
When we got back to our room, we spotted a couple of snipers on the building across from us. Exciting!

Later on we decided to go on a ghost walk. Some of the stories were cool, but I still think Burlington has more ghosts :)

haunted house?