Resumption of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 – Road Trip! {Letter “L”}

 

I am very excited to be taking part in the Blogging A to Z Challenge 2013.  This is actually my third challenge; the first year I featured a recipe for each letter and last year I drew on  my nursing background and used “parts of the human body” as my inspiration!

This year I have decided to change things up a bit.  I live in Canada and believe it is one of the most beautiful countries on the planet; so I have decided to feature a different Canadian “place”, for each letter of the challenge.

I am very much looking forward to seeing how everyone interprets the Challenge and I would love to have you join me, as I crisscross this vast country on my Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 – Road Trip!

I cannot think of a better letter with which to resume this challenge.  If you are just dropping in for the first time, I had to take a few days off last week as I had a totally unexpected, but fun, actual road trip to participate in.  You can read more about it at, Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 – Virtual Road Trip & Actual Road Trip!

So, as I resume this amazing virtual road trip and without further ado, “L”  is for London, Ontario!

Population:  City – 366,151 / Metro – 474,786 {2011 census}

Notable Residents:  There are many, many notables who hail from London; in fact there is an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to them.  I’ll mention just a few here:

• Not mentioned on Wikipedia, but immensely notable to me, is my son, Jarod :)
• David Suzuki, geneticist, environmentalist, writer and broadcaster
• Frederick Banting, co-discoverer of insulin, practiced in London and has both a museum dedicated to him and a high school named after him.
• Rachel McAdams, actor
• Craig MacTavish, former NHL hockey player (ret. 1997), former Edmonton Oilers head coach (2000–2009)
• Scott Moir, ice dancer and 2010 Winter Olympic gold medalist with his partner Tessa Virtue.
• Tommy Hunter, country singer
• Ryan Gosling, actor
• John Labatt, pioneer brewer

London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor, approximately halfway between Toronto, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan. London was first settled by Europeans between 1801 and 1804 and became a village in 1826.

Since then, London has grown to be the largest Southwestern Ontario municipality, and Canada’s 11th largest metropolitan area, annexing many of the smaller communities that surrounded it. The city has developed a strong focus towards education, health care, tourism, and manufacturing.

London is home to Fanshawe College and the University of Western Ontario, which contributes to the city’s reputation as an international centre of higher education, scientific research and cultural activity.

The city hosts a number of musical and artistic exhibits. London’s festivals contribute to its tourism industry, but its economic activity is centred on education, medical research, insurance, and information technology.

 London, Ontario, Canada: The Forest City (Photo attribution: Adam Colvin (CC)}

A look at downtown London during a winter morning. (Photo attribution: Mathew Campbell (CC)}

It has been a very exciting and exhausting week of both virtual and actual road trips and I am having a glass of delicious Ontario wine, Henry of Pelham Pinot Grigio that I picked up on my actual road trip and will soon be heading off to bed!  I will see you on Monday and we will be exploring another great Canadian place, this one beginning with the letter “M”.

Past visits on the A to Z Challenge 2013 – Road Trip:

• A is for Alma, New Brunswick
• B is for Banff, Alberta
• C is for Cornwall, Ontario
• D is for Dawson City, Yukon
• E is for Edmonton, Alberta
• Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 – Virtual  Road Trip & Actual Road Trip! 

Complete listing of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 participants.

CREDITS – Map source – http://gocanada.about.com/od/canadatravelplanner (altered to add place name).  Information contained in this post was obtained from the City of London website and Wikipedia.