#GPinCanada: The Neighborhood

Despite going to bed quite late the night before, since our bodies were still following UAE time, our family woke up early the next morning at around 6:30am. Actually, our jetlag lasted for almost a week so we were always the first ones awake in the house.

Our routine was simple: we would get up, do whatever we needed to do in the bathroom, then walk around the backyard and neighbourhood. And since almost everyone was still asleep, we were able to enjoy our daily walks in peace and quiet. The area had a common playground for kids so you can imagine our girls enjoyed going there each day where they had it all to themselves. Here are a few pictures of some of those precious mornings:

Doesn’t it look like such a great area to live in?! On our first morning as we walked around, I was absolutely thrilled at the number of greens and trees that were everywhere! The air was always clean, fresh, and cold…absolutely perfect for a morning or evening stroll!

We also loved the backyard of my brother’s house! Since we live in an apartment building in Dubai, our girls really enjoyed running around the wide open space with their older cousins during their vacation.

And if they were tired, they would play hide-and-seek around the house 

Or peek through the holes of the fence to see what was happening at the other side

Or pick up twigs and leaves from the grass.

There was even a time when we saw a squirrel scamper on the wall before disappearing up this maple tree.

As for us adults, we would either just sit and relax on the chairs outside and/or sniff the air while my brother grilled some food for dinner.

Staying in a house and neighborhood like that was such a welcome change from the busyness and fast-paced life we were used to in Dubai. You can bet we really appreciated and took advantage of the simple pleasures and beauty of nature that surrounded us each day that we were there.

Stay tuned for more posts about our vacation.  I still have more stories and photos to share!