Population Sign - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Well, technically this picture wasn't taken in Burlington. You have to step outside the city to take a picture of the population sign right? (At least that's how I think it works, I really don't know where the city limits are). Anyway, I think this picture was taken in Milton, north of Burlington. Normally a sign like this would just be blue and white like the top part and wouldn't have the city name written a second time with a bunch of fancy swoopty things coming off it, but Burlington wanted to be special so I guess we've made that our logo. Anyway we have 151 thousand Burlingtonians (give or take a dozen), how many Glasgowians are there? You're it, Carol!

Movies - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Here's the list of all the movies currently playing at the SilverCity. As you can see, Rendition is playing. Ratatouille, however, is just coming out on DVD (good flick). I have no idea about the other ones, as I have a baby and am out of touch. The Nightmare Before Christmas wouldn't be playing here because we don't have an IMAX theatre. I totally forgot they were making a 3D version, it's one of my favourite movies! (hope I didn't miss it) Say, did you know IMAX movie technology is Canadian (you would know that if you saw an IMAX film here, because they are always preceded by a cheesey laser light presentation that tells fairly uninteresting facts while showing off the speakers).

Movies - Glasgow, Scotland

These boards are outside the Odeon cinema we walked past last night. The Nightmare Before Christmas, Rendition, Ratatouille, Eastern Promises, Stardust, and The Nanny Diaries are all showing here. So I have to ask... just how far behind you guys are we? *lol* You're it Jen!

Newspaper Seller - Glasgow, Scotland

Ok so we don't have newspaper boxes in Scotland - people would steal all the newspapers. *lol*

So instead we have poor little guys like this dude selling papers. He's sitting on thee most uncomfortable seat ever!

The Evening Times is Glasgow's main newspaper but seeing as you're all the way in Canada, you can read it online right here.

Newspaper Boxes - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

I don't know if you guys have these or not. Putting some change into the slot allows you to open the box and get a paper (high tech, I know). If you were an unscrupulous sort, you could put in the money for one paper but instead take all the papers and sell them for a tidy profit (and noone's the wiser). Anyway the Toronto Star and the Hamilton Spectator are the newspapers of choice around here. Burlington has its own paper, The Burlington Post, which is free, but it's got lots of ads and it's not unheard of for it to have a front page report on a craft show, or junior high school basketball tournament.

Highway - Ontario, Canada

Adam just happened to have this pic in his collection. We took it on the way home from one of our camping trips. This is the 401. According to my friend the internet, it is the longest 400-series highway (those are the big ones). It's also one of the widest and busiest highways in the world. We call them highways not motorways because the government has plans to finance the construction of flying vehicles that don't use motors. Okay I made that last part up. The important thing is: our road's bigger. :)

Motorway - Glasgow, Scotland

Scotland's main motorway - the M8 - which runs between Edinburgh and Glasgow. This is obviously a very quiet day 'cos in rush hour the traffic is crazy busy!

You're it Jen! I promise I'll be quicker from now on!

Fire Hydrant - Glasgow, Scotland

I'm saying nothing apart from......... FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!

This blog is such a learning curve!!! Now I know that there are fire hydrants in Scotland!! :oD

Fire Hydrant - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

It's a fire hydrant. Fire fighters attach their hoses to it and use it to put out fires (I assume everyone knows this, but what more is there to say about a fire hydrant?). This one says "1979" on it, which means it was built the same year I was born. This hydrant and I could be long lost twins! You're it, Carol.

Bus Terminal - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Okay so we don't have a bus station, but we have three train stations and a bus terminal. Here it is, the Burlington Transit Bus Terminal. I know, it's impressive. I mean, there's a sign and everything. The architecture around here can truly be breathtaking.

Bus Station - Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow only has one bus station but two train stations. This is the bus station... Buchanan Bus Station because it's on Buchanan Street. :) Obviously all the buses are round the back. I love the clock - very contemporary - no idea what it stands for (literally!) Time flies? Running out of time? No idea! You're it Jen! :)

Art Gallery - Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) is the second most visited contemporary art gallery outside London. Displayed inside is work by local and international artists as well as addressing contemporary social issues through its major biannual projects. A thoroughly inspiring and elegant neo-classical building in the heart of Glasgow city centre.

On a more fun note (and not from a guide book *lol*), see the horse statue at the right? The dude on it usually has a traffic cone on his head! *lol*

Ok Mum sent me this photo - here's what he looks like with the traffic cone on his head! Lol.

Art Gallery - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

This is the Burlington Art Centre. It used to be called the Cultural Centre (because we love to change the names of things) but I like the new name better. Anyway, it's free to get in and I've been going there to see art (and sometimes take art classes) since I was five or six years old. It's always had that large orange hunk of ...um... ART in front of it. You're it, Carol!

Movie Theatre - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

We call them movie theatres not cinemas (cinéma is French). Anyway. This theatre used to be called Famous 8 because it had eight screens, but then they expanded to 12 screens so they changed its name to (yup, you guessed it) SilverCity Burlington. There's two other movie theatres besides this one: "Showcase" and "Encore" but those are the cheapy ones. It rained today so it's a perfect time to go (we didn't, but it would have been a good time to go anyway).

Cinema - Glasgow, Scotland

Probably a very easy one for ya here! At over 12 stories tall, CineWorld has entered the Guinness Book of Records as the Worlds Tallest Cinema! It seats around 4,300 in total over 18 screens, the largest of which seats 663, the smallest 84. Derek and I used to go here all the time! It's a great landmark in the city. You're it Jen!

Bridge - Glasgow, Scotland

Well here are two of Glasgow's bridges. Like I said, there are plenty but too many to choose from. The top one is a footbridge and that is the Clydeside walkway to the left. It's always busy down here at lunchtime and it's only a few minutes walk from work so ideal for a sunny day, which today was! The bottom photo is a totally different bridge: the Kingston bridge which the M8 motorway travels over. It's Europe's busiest road bridge!! But standing where I was, you'd never guess it - it was so tranquil!

Bridge - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

There's actually two bridges in this photo. The big one on the right is the Skyway Bridge which is part of a highway called the QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way). The green one that says "Canada" on it (in case you forget where you are) is the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge (meaning it raises up so that the boats can go through). Both bridges lead to Hamilton, Ontario and beyond. I recommend taking the Skyway Bridge rather than the lift bridge because noone has time to wait for that bridge to lower. You're it Carol.

Garden Centre - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

This is Terra Greenhouses, the garden centre near my parents' house. I took two photos and couldn't decide which one was the least horrible so I decided to post them both! There are so many plants that they have to use that little red vehicle to drive around and get them all. We haven't any problem with summer weather. Although personally I think it's too hot to garden.

Garden Centre - Glasgow, Scotland

Seeing as it was a somewhat pleasant day, Derek and I took a trip to our local garden centre. Dobbies is the one of the main garden centre chains in the UK and my Grandparents swear by the coffee shops in them! Usually a hustle and bustle of activity in the Summer months, this one was dead quiet when we were in because the Summer weather here in Scotland has been so poor this year! :( You're it Jen!

High School - Glasgow, Scotland

Barrhead High School. Derek used to go here (a looooooong time ago) *lol* but I didn't. Mine was much nicer, but sadly too far away to get a photo of. Because of this, I couldn't tell you the first thing about it, but the design of the building is pretty standard of all high schools in the area.

High School - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

This is M. M. Robinson High School, where I spent most of my teenage years. In Burlington we have two government funded school systems the Catholic school board and the public school board. MMR is a public school. It was named after Melville Mark (Bobby) Robinson (1888-1974), a Burlington fruit-farmer who was the sports editor of the Hamilton Spectator (a newpaper) and who founded the British Empire Games (later the Commonwealth games) in 1930. He was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame in the 1950s. That goofy man giving the thumbs-up in the Subaru is my husband (don't mind him, he went to Catholic school). You're it Carol!

Café - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Okay, so it's a bit of a stretch to call Tim Hortons a café (it's a doughnut and coffee shop) but I couldn't let the opportunity pass by to post this little bit of Canadiana. Tim Hortons, named after a hockey player, can be found on nearly every corner here. Many people buy coffee or muffins or even soup and sandwiches here on a daily basis. Once a year, usually around May, Timmies runs a "roll up the rim" contest, where by rolling up the rim of your coffee cup (or in my case, hot chocolate cup) you can win a car, or doughnut, or television, or more coffee. Edit: There are 2710 outlets in Canada, 336 outlets in the United States and one outlet just outside Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Cafe - Glasgow, Scotland

I hope this doesn't constitute cheating ~ posting two photos in one go. :oP

I spotted this lonley soul enjoying a quiet coffee one day last week when the sun was shining. It's very rare to be able to sit out and enjoy the sun in Scotland lol. Mind you, this has to be the smallest cafe ever!! I love how it's so tiny but it is part of such a huge sandstone building! Ok you're it Jen!

View from my place - Glasgow, Scotland

Here is the view from my spare bedroom looking out of the back of the house. The bottom left corner shows our garden (you'll recognise the bird house!) and behind all those trees is the main road. The little triangles you see on the hill are the roofs of houses. About 1 miles up the hill to the right is where Derek's Mum and Dad live. :)

View from my place - Burlington, Ontario

I thought I'd make things easy this time. This is the view from my condo. There are few perks to living on the 9th floor. This is one of them. From up here, Burlington seems very green, forest-like even. Anyway, that stripe of blue along the horizon is Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes (the Great Lakes are called the Great Lakes because they are SO great.)

Beautiful House - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

I took this picture while I was strolling along lakeshore. This isn't the largest house on lakeshore, nor is it necessarily the prettiest, but it is one that I happened to take a decent photo of. In Burlington, there are a lot of mansions down by the lake, on Lakeshore Rd and Northshore Blvd, and other scenic streets whose names escape me.

Beautiful House - Glasgow, Scotland

A house. But not just any house. This is actually two houses just a couple of streets away from me. There is nothing really special about them, I just liked the bay windows and the landscaped gardens. Glasgow has a million and one house styles, so this is likely to be a recurring theme lol. Ok now you're it Jen!

Church - Glasgow, Scotland

Here is a beautiful church, right in the heart of Glasgow city centre. It's the St. George's Tron Parish Church on Nelson Mandela Place. I love how cars can drive around it and it's right there sandwiched between shops, restaurants and offices. I've never actually seen a service take place there but isn't is lovely?

Church - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Not being much of a churchgoer (understatement of the decade), I can't tell you much about this particular church (other than the fact that it's near my building) or about Canadian churchs in general (other than the fact that this one looks pretty typical). Anyway, I like this photo because it has the Canadian flag waving all majestically. Unfortunately, judging by the clouds, it's going to rain. You're it Carol!

Girlie Magazine - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Since I'm too cheap to actually buy a magazine (even in the name of blogging). Here's a pic I took at the library, while I was getting little William some books to chew.

Girlie Magazine - Glasgow, Scotland

Here is the latest issue of Company magazine. I bought it on my way home today 'cos I wanted to look at the fashion pages. Anyway £2 and you get a free book. :) You're it Jen!

School Bus - Glasgow, Scotland

Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry!!! :'o(

FINALLY I get a [school] bus for ya! I had no idea we had so many viewers!!! Technically this isn't a School Bus but technically it's not a public transport bus. It's a luxury hire coach. Usually school buses aren't anywhere near as fancy as this but if you're going on a long school trip you'd usually get one of these, or if you're on a coach tour, this is your bus!

School Bus - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

For kids who live too far away from school to walk. Also useful for field trips to the apple orchard, or science centre, or pioneer village. This one was parked outside the mall across the street from my house, a sure sign that today's schools are really stretching for field trip destinations. You're it, Carol.

Taxi - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

I cheated with this photo aswell. Oh it is in Burlington, but I didn't take it. My husband, Adam took it a few weeks ago (he's getting into the international tag fun). Anyway, a lot of taxis around here look like the mini-van above, others are normal-sized cars. This taxi company has chosen the traditional yellow for their cabs. And now if I ever need a taxi, I know the number.

Taxi - Edinburgh, Scotland

It's a taxi! Scottish cabs are traditionally this shape but black all over. This one is advertising Queen Margaret University, where I used to study! You're it Jen!

Library - Edinburgh, Scotland

Ok so I cheated a little with this one. Yes it's a library but its not in Glasgow. This photo was taken in Edinburgh where I grew up. In fact thisis the very place I used to get all my books. :) Btw it's not as creepy as it looks! ;o)

Library - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

This is the Burlington Central Library, where I spent a lot of time in my youth. My Mom took us all the time to get books, and for story hour. Also this was back in the day when you had to go to the library to do research, so completing last minute projects the night before was much more difficult than it is today. You're it, Carol.

Gate - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

When Carol posted a gate I thought immediately of the luxurious mansions by the lake complete with extravagant gates. So I took a nice drive and a walk down Lakeshore Road, and you know what I discovered? People here are very fond of extravagant, luxurious gate posts with no gates on them! This must say something profound about Canadians (though I'm not sure what). Maybe it means that we're all friendly, welcoming, and trusting. Or else we're just too lazy to open and close gates all day.

Gate - Glasgow, Scotland

A gate. Nothing more, nothing less. :) Well, there are daisies and some really long long grass... But primarily a gate. You're it Jen!

Petrol Station - Glasgow, Scotland

24 hour petrol Glasgow style! :) This petrol station is part of Tesco supermarket. See, the cars are a bit bigger than before lol. Ok so your "gas" is super cheap!! Derek filled our wee Toyota today and it cost him 94.9 pence/litre, which is 202.9 cents for you. Taxes in the UK suck! :P

Gas Station - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Here's Petro Canada, one of the big gas station companies around here. We Canucks talk about gas prices almost as much as we talk about weather. This morning we tanked up at 104.3 cents a litre, which is very expensive to us, but I understand is laughably cheap to the rest of the world. Oh, and it rained this evening. You're it, Carol.

Groceries - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

From left to right:
Kraft Dinner (or KD for short)- for some reason this cheesy noodle "meal" is found in every Canadian household. If you ask for it in the States, though, they look at you like you just crawled out of an igloo.
Frozen fishsticks - We don't actally have these very often but I think we should remedy that because they are yummy and easy to cook.
Mini-Wheats - It's a cereal with multiple personality disorder. Poor MW can never decide whether to show his sensible, healthy, high-fiber side, or his sweet, fun-loving, frosted side. We eat cereal every day for breakfast at our house. And look, I get a free Shrek Knight Light (my nephew stole the last one).

Just in case you were wondering: yes, our counter is always this dirty but this is by no means typical of Canadians. Most of us are very clean.

Groceries - Glasgow, Scotland

Ok I think this has to be the most random tag so far! Lol. Three items regularly found in a kitchen after a trip to the supermarket. ;o) Here were have good old Heinz Baked Beans, a staple in our house. Then we have Bisto gravy granuals for chicken (goes great with chips!) Not crispy "chips" but fries... And then we have Harry Ramsden's mushy peas. Love them alongside fish. Yum! You're it Jen! :oD

Fire Engine - Glasgow, Scotland

Here's a Strathclyde Fire Brigade fire enginen responding to a 999 emergency call. Actually, it was a false alarm at my office, but still. Lights flashing, sirens blaring... No parade for these guys! Is it just my imagination or do fire engines in Burlington seem longer than in Glasgow?

Fire Truck - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

I wonder what these guys do more often, fight fires or drive in parades. Here they are at the Sound of Music Festival yesterday. It's good to have them around, I guess, in case one of the marching bands catches fire. You're it, Carol.

Bird - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

I too know nothing about birds. This one was hanging out on a rock at Spencer Smith Park (a.k.a. The Waterfront). We have other kinds, including little birds similar to your Scottish blue tit, but I just happened to have taken this photo a few weeks ago. Bonus!