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.
Wow, I had no idea London is so large and with such tall buildings. Somehow I thought it was a small city. Of course Jarod is the most important person to be living there.
Great ‘L’ word. Welcome back!!
Kathy at Oak Lawn Images
It is quite a large city and reminds me of a very, very big Fredericton. It was a fun “actual” trip but it is always great to get home.
Nice to “see” you back and glad you had a safe actual trip.
How appropriate to restart with “L” is for London, Ontario!! Jarod should be first on Wikipedia’s list as well! The lovely city was home to a lot of famous/notable individuals that are even familiar to me!!
Looking forward to the next stop on our virtual trip!!
Pat, it was quite serendipitous that the post I was resuming with, started with the letter “L”. I had to choose London because it is a city that is now very important to me and one that I have visited numerous times!
I never knew this about London :) What a great list.
Thanks Ashleigh, hope you are enjoying the Challenge!
I’m one of the A-Z team checking in. Glad to see that everything is going smoothly for you during the Challenge. :)
Thanks for checking in DL, I’m having fun with the challenge and even learning a lot about many cities/communities in my country during my “virtual” road trip.
Wow! I didn’t know there was a London Canada. :) Thanks for introducing me. It looks and sounds like a beautiful place to visit. Great idea taking a virtual road trip with the A to Z challenge. Looking forward to seeing where you go for M.
It is such a wonderful and vibrant city to visit Nita, there is always something fun happening!