I find the Canadian money interesting. It is very easy to use though and has changed since the last time I exchanged money here. Production of the penny has been stopped so all charges are rounded off to the nearest nickel, to take pennies out of circulation. The other day I told the clerk I had a nickel and she said "What? Oh we call that a 5." So I'm not sure what a dime and a quarter are called. All of these coins are the same size as ours.
The dollar is a gold-colored coin and is called a loonie. There is a picture of a loon on it.
The two-dollar bi-metallic coin (outer ring is silver in color, inner ring is gold in color) is called a toonie and has the image of a polar bear on it.
There are plastic bills for $5, $10, $20 and probably more. Right now the exchange rate is in favor of the USA - it's more than 20% discount on everything.
I've noticed that most clothing is the same price or cheaper while fabric, groceries, gasoline, and dining out (even with the exchange rate) are more expensive than home. Perhaps being in a high tourism area affects these prices.
This afternoon, Ray and I stopped at a foccacia bread/sandwich/pizza shop. We planned to eat out tonight but decided to bring sandwiches home because it is rainy. The fellow only accepted cash or Canadian charge cards so we paid with the rest of our Canadian money and some US money. He went above and beyond fixing our food so we could assemble and heat it later. We didn't mind giving him the US money because the 20% exchange rate was a nice tip for him.
We are almost packed and will leave this beautiful area in the morning.
By tomorrow night, we'll stop thinking in metric and driving 110km/hour. We'll be able to answer the question "Where are you from?" with "Illinois" instead of "the States". And we'll only see English on our signs and groceries instead of English and French. We'll miss hearing the interesting accents of all the neat people we've come in contact with. Most of all I will miss these gorgeous mountains. It really is sad to leave, eh?
The dollar is a gold-colored coin and is called a loonie. There is a picture of a loon on it.
The two-dollar bi-metallic coin (outer ring is silver in color, inner ring is gold in color) is called a toonie and has the image of a polar bear on it.
There are plastic bills for $5, $10, $20 and probably more. Right now the exchange rate is in favor of the USA - it's more than 20% discount on everything.
I've noticed that most clothing is the same price or cheaper while fabric, groceries, gasoline, and dining out (even with the exchange rate) are more expensive than home. Perhaps being in a high tourism area affects these prices.
This afternoon, Ray and I stopped at a foccacia bread/sandwich/pizza shop. We planned to eat out tonight but decided to bring sandwiches home because it is rainy. The fellow only accepted cash or Canadian charge cards so we paid with the rest of our Canadian money and some US money. He went above and beyond fixing our food so we could assemble and heat it later. We didn't mind giving him the US money because the 20% exchange rate was a nice tip for him.
We are almost packed and will leave this beautiful area in the morning.
By tomorrow night, we'll stop thinking in metric and driving 110km/hour. We'll be able to answer the question "Where are you from?" with "Illinois" instead of "the States". And we'll only see English on our signs and groceries instead of English and French. We'll miss hearing the interesting accents of all the neat people we've come in contact with. Most of all I will miss these gorgeous mountains. It really is sad to leave, eh?
I didn't realize that about Canadian money. Interesting. So where back here in the States are you going next?
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