Becoming Québécois 101: Cabane à Sucre

With spring slowly approaching, so does the season for extracting the sap of maple syrup. After finding out that a sugar cabin (cabane à sucre) called le Chalet des Érables is opened while I’m back in Montreal for reading week, le bf and I decided to drive out to Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, a city in southwestern Quebec, to check it out.

A sugar cabin, also known as a sugar shack, consists of a series of cabins where sap collected from sugar maple trees is boiled into maple syrup.
Historically, sugar houses were a tradition introduced to New France by settlers of Swiss and Normand origin in the 17th century. The purpose was to produce delicious syrup for trade and for personal use during the Winter. After the British conquest of 1763, the tradition was spread to the Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia but remained the only family-related tradition in Quebec.

Though I’ve already visited one other cabane à sucre near Montreal before, I was very excited about this one since their website boast of having various animals :D

Upon arrival, our first stop was the reception hall, where lunch was being served.

Inside the salle à manger

Rustic decorations with the light

The quality of the food wasn’t too refined (kind of expected since it’s all-you-can-eat), and the portions were big for the two of us. Still, it’s worth to try it at least once in my opinion. All the dishes are complemented by maple syrup, which were freshly produced on-site.

All-you-can-eat lunch:
Bread, pea soup, sausage and ham in maple syrup, oreilles de crisse (fried smoked pork jowls) with eggs, potatoes, salted bacon, baked beans, ice cream sugar tart

Le bf really liked the oreilles de crisse (the brown crispy things with the eggs), and we originally thought they were made from bits of bacon. After researching afterwards, I found out that oreilles de crisse, a traditional Quebec dish, is made of deep-fried smoked pork jowls, traditionally topped with maple syrup.
An interesting piece of knowledge that came with it:
The word crisse is the Quebec French profanity word for “Christ”. So the name of the dish literally translates to “Christ’s ears”! Sounds delicious, doesn’t it? :P

After lunch, I wanted to go see the animals, but not before we make a stop at the wooden stand outside for some maple taffy (tire sur la neige).

Maple taffy is made by boiling maple sap past the point where it would form maple syrup, but not so long that it becomes maple butter or maple sugar. It’s part of traditional culture in Quebec. It’s poured onto the snow and then lifted with a small wooden stick and eaten as a snack.

Tire sur la neige (maple taffy)

Yummmy!

We kept coming back to the taffy stand, le bf ate a totally of 6 tire sur la neige! That’s how good the maple syrup was :D

I found out that the best way to bond with the animals was to offer them food. Good thing I smuggled some bread from the dining halls from lunch :P

All the deer came after they saw I had food

The biggest deer of the herd, he kept pushing the others out of the way to get bread from me

Mama sheep protecting her babies

Timid baby lambs

My new goat friend: Goat-migo!

 
I became fast friends with the goat, I swear by the end of our visit he could recognize me. He really liked thebread I gave him and kept stand up with his front legs on the ledge. I almost thought he was going to follow us home!

He’s attempting to eat my coat!

One of the baby goats (:

Looking kinda derpy :P

This alpaca needs some combing

—–
The visit to the llama and alpaca was not so enjoyable for le bf. I’m not sure if he did something to irritate the llama, but he spat on le bf, twice!
(Maybe he didn’t spit on me since I gave him bread? :P)

The llama likes bread

Where all the maple syrup comes from

Adventures near the Old Port: La Banquise, Ice Fishing, La Maison du Macaron

Since I had a week from school for reading week, I had time to come to Montreal and do some of the fun stuff that le bf and I have been wanting to do for ages!

We kinda had to pack a few places to go within a Sunrday since le bf still had to work during the weekdays. So to be efficient, everything we did that day was located near the Old Port.

Starting off with brunch at Poutine La Banquise, which is a restaurant specializing in, of course, the French Canadian delicacy: poutine!
Located on 994 Rachel Street East, this casual restaurant is opened 24 hours and serves 25 different types of poutines.
As we arrived, there was already a line of people forming outside the store. Luckily the queue progressed quickly and we were inside and seated within 15 minutes.

We picked 2 different regular sized ones: La Miam and La Danse, they were both delicious! Le bf and I both preferred La Miam though, since it had a heavier flavor and various different ingredients in the toppings.

La Miam: ground beef, merguez sausages, onions, tomatoes & swiss cheese

La Danse: chicken, onions, bacon, pepper sauce

So happy with food :D

Note: These are only regular sized dishes! If you’re REALLY hungry or with a group of people, you can always go for the large size (:

We overestimated the size of our stomachs and had to pack the rest to go. The leftovers made a good dinner after being reheated though :D

Afterwards, with full tummies we felt ready to do some ice fishing at the Ice Fishing Village (Village de Pêche Blanche) on the Old Port.

After getting our fishing permits from the reception, we were assigned a tent and given various equipment: a fishing rod, a bucket full of live baits, and a sifter to filter out ice.

Our bucket full of baits

I was a bit worried beforehand about standing hours on a lake at -20C. However, upon entering our tent, I was pleasantly surprised by the heater and little chairs that were inside. 4 holes were drilled inside the tent, and 2 were outside. Though inside the tent it wasn’t as warm as it is in a house, it was a lot better than having to stand outside with the wind chills.

Inside of our tent (#15)

I was surprised that they had given us little fish as bait, and couldn’t bear the thought of having to put hooks through their tiny, writhing bodies ): Fortunately le bf was there to do the necessary tasks.

Ready to do some fishin’!

We stayed for about 2 hours, and decided to leave as the sun was starting to set and we were getting hungry. Though we didn’t catch anything, I was able to convince le bf to let me free the rest of the bait fish, so it wasn’t a total lost :D

Sunset by the Old Port

We decided to go to La Maison du Macaron for some tasty desserts before heading back home.

Sortilège: Frais et parfumé, ce mélange réunit le thé vert pencha aux parfums des fruits exotiques, papaye et
mangue. des notes sucrées et fraîches.
suggéré : en accompagnement des desserts à base de fruits… $3.10

Miam! : Macaron garni d’un crémeux au citron et de framboises fraîches… $6.75

Mûre-mûre: Pâte sablée, crème légère à la pulpe de mûre, morceaux de mûres fraîches, mousse à la purée de marron, confit à la pulpe de mûre… $11.50

Just a couple of macarons for the road:

Macaron du mois: Rose
fraise & rhubarbe:
Biscuit macaron bicolore parsemé de sucre rouge garni d’une ganache aux pulpes de fraise et
rhubarbe

I have to say, even though Ladurée is still my favorite brand for macarons, the ones from La Maison du Macaron were really good!

Under the Sea We Go – Ripley’s Aquarium

Once I heard about the recently opened Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto, I knew I had to convince le bf to bring me there, since we were already planning to visit Toronto for a weekend. After some light coercing, le bf agreed to go there since it was conveniently located beside the CN Tower, a tourist must-see destination. The ticket was a bit pricey: $29.98 for adults over 14 years-old. But since I’ve heard some very good things about it from various friends, I had my mind set on going anyways.

The aquarium was divided in different sections, our first stop was the Canadian Waters Gallery, which includes 17 different tanks featuring creatures that can be found in the Great Lakes and Canada’s surrounding seas.

I don’t know why these fishies are stacking themselves

American Lobster with huge arms!

Next stop was The Gallery, featuring a variety of delicate species living in fragile ecosystems.

So this is what it looks like underneath a starfish

The Weedy Sea Dragon: it’s stunning and it really does look like a plant!

Sparkly piranhas

The Ray Bay was one of my favorite spaces in the aquarium. There was a huge tank featuring dozens of stingrays that glide through the water as if they’re flying. We stayed there for a good 20 minutes to watch a diver feed the stingrays as well (:

Spotted Eagle Ray flying in the water

They look like they have faces underneath them ._.

After the stingray show, I was feeling a bit woozy from all the underwater picture-taking (or maybe I was just too excited to see all these pretty fishies :P), so we took a break in the the Rainbow Reef, across from all the colourful, tropical creatures.

Afterwards, we went on to the Dangerous Lagoon, which was probably the most exciting section of the entire aquarium. It begins with an underwater tunnel bringing the visitors through the gallery on a conveyor belt to see the many different species of sharks and other species.
It was a really cool experience going through the tunnel, with all the sea life swimming around and on top of us, you really get a sense of being underneath the sea!

A Sand Tiger Shark with some crazy teeth

The giant grouper: can reach up to 400 kg, they’re humongous!

Last but not least, the Planet Jellies! My personal favorite space of the aquarium, probably since it’s so visually pleasing to look at. Featuring 5 different species of jellies, the colors of the jellies are absolutely stunning against the colour-changing displays.

Chrysaora fuscescens (Pacific Sea Nettle)

This one is missing a piece, looks like it’s dying ):

Moon Jellies

An upside-down jellyfish

Spotted Lagoon Jellies

Being Touristy in Toronto

Some new photos added to the Around the World section from our mini weekend trip in Toronto :D

We were particularly happy with this one (it looks good enough to be an ad for the CN Tower or Moose Knuckles, doesn’t it? :P):

CN Tower, Toronto, Canada

Aside from the CN Tower, we also visited the new Ripely’s Aquarium and went to some interesting restaurants there. More updates will come shortly!

Follow me to Florida: Christmas Edition

New additions to the Follow Me series in the Around the World section, featuring photos on my second trip to Florida this year with le bf.
This was my first time spending Christmas holidays in a tropical climate since I’ve lived in Taiwan as a child! Gotta say, it felt a tad weird for the Canadian in me to see Christmas ornaments and lights hanging on palm trees :P
Overall it was awesome not to be freezing in the -20 something Celsius in Montreal though!

“Asia”, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Orlando, USA

And more updates from the holidays will come out soon, I promise (:

Where I’ve been

So it’s exam season here in Waterloo, and I’ve procrastinating and playing around on www.whereivebeen.com. I’ve been wanting to keep track of all the cities I’ve been ever since my Europe adventures, so this site is perfect. In addition, it lets you add places that you want to travel to, and you can also create scrapbooks of places that you’ve visited, pretty cool eh :D

Though I felt like I’ve traveled quite a bit during the past 2 years, I’ve apparently only explored 7% of the world! :0
This just goes to show how big the world is, and I’m getting really excited just thinking about possible future trips to the rest of the 93% (:

Places to see before you die

Abandoned Tunnel Along Suhua Highway, Hualien County, Taiwan

Bringing back the Places to see before you die posts with a stunning photo from my home country by Alexander Synaptic, found here. Suhua Highway is a 118-kilometre section of the Provincial Highway No. 9 in Taiwan, starting at Su-ao Township, Yilan and ending at Hualien City. With a portion built alongside very steep cliffs high above the Pacific Ocean, it is a dangerous yet scenic drive. Famous tourist stops include the Chingshui Cliffs.

Majestic Hotel Restaurant

Ever since our one day trip to Miami and Le bf told me about the huge cocktails they have at the hotel restaurants by South Beach, I’ve been dying for an opportunity to try them. Luckily, after our visit to the Theater of the Sea, Le awesome bf drove us all the way back to Miami the night before leaving Florida, so we could have the chance to get a taste of the famous “big” drinks at the Majestic Hotel Restaurant .

Sample Paella dish on display in the restaurant. They’re HUGE!

More fancy display food. They’re actually real too

I couldn’t believe my eyes when the waiter walked over with our cocktails. The drinks were literally bigger than my head!

My white Sangria (:

I was happy with my choice though, there were plenty of fruits in the Sangria, they were so yummy. I spent the whole night fishing out pieces of pineapples, melons, cherries ,and grapes :D

Le bf’s Raspberry Mojito

We only ordered an appetizer and a salad since we were both not feeling super hungry. This was a good choice on our part, since by the end of the night we were so full from the drinks (and we couldn’t even finish them all).

Cheese and charcuterie plate for two

Theater of the Sea

I’ve been so busy with homework that I’ve not had time to update on some of my previous adventures!
Here’s a long overdue post from back in August on my trip to Florida. For the last few days of our time there, we’ve decided to drive to Key West, which is the southernmost city in the Continental United States. After spending a night in Key West, we woke up bright and early the next day and went to visit Hemingway’s House (check out that post here!).
Afterwards, we drove to the Village of Islamorada to go the Theater of the Sea, which le bf had planned since he knew how much I enjoy interacting with animals :D

As soon as I walked in the entrance/store area of the Theater of the Sea, I knew he was right. They had all sorts of rescued animals wondering around in the store ! (Yay more cats!)

Kitty #1 spotted outside the entrance

Inside the shop

This one looks kinda wary

cats everywhere!

                
There was a list of programs lined up for us to see, and our first stop was to take a mini-cruise on the Bottomless Boat Ride with the dolphins!

The view from the bottomless boat ride

The dolphin joined us in the boat (:

Caught a shot at the perfect moment when the dolphin was jumping by!

We had some time to kill after the boat ride, so we stopped by some ponds to check out the marine life.

Seagulls in a row

Such colourful fish

Metallic blue fish

Afterwards, we got an interesting Guided Marine Life Tour with one of the staff and learnt something pretty cool facts about the animals there.
There were quite a few tortoise in the ponds and they’re all rescues, so each have different injuries.

Turtle with a flotation device due to a deformity to its shell

This one is missing one of its flippers

It looks like it’s smiling O_o

Sting ray

Nursing shark

Caretaker feeding the sharks

                
Iguanas are an invasive species in the Florida Keys. They can be spotted everywhere just chilling in the park. We saw a few of them on our way to see the Parrot Show:

A wild giant iguana appears!

Big yawn!

Omnomnom nuts

This one keeps doing silly things like this

                

I was quite impressed by how smart some of the parrots were!

He correctly placed all the shapes!

Walking forward and backwards

He’s got addition and subtraction down pat!

Next on our agenda was the Dolphin Show, featuring the 2 dolphins that we saw earlier on the Bottomless Boat Ride.
We both got to kiss the dolphins at the end of the show! Their skin was slippery.

Kissed by a dolphin (;

Next up on the list, the Sea Lion Show, it was pretty hilarious :D

Dat strength

Sea lion smile… Kinda creepy LOL

Pretending to be a walrus :D

Throwing hoops and he caught each of them!

Since it was late August, I assume that most people were not on vacation anymore so there weren’t that many visitor in the park, which was awesome because we didn’t have to spend anytime in line waiting, and got excellent seats to all of the shows :D

The Hemingway Home and Museum

Though I am not a big fan of Ernest Hemingway’s works (to be honest, I only knew “The Old Man and the Sea” before coming here), The Hemingway Home and Museum has been the one place that I’ve been looking forward to visiting, ever since le bf told me about it a year ago.
The reason? This place is home to approximately 40-50 poly-dactyl (six-toed) cats!

Exterior of Hemingway’s house

View from the balcony. I spot a cat :D

This one reminds me of my cat Mia :3

Not all of the cats have the physical poly-dactyl trait but they all carry the poly-dactyl gene in their DNA, which means that the ones that have 4 and 5 toes can still mother or father six-toed kittens.

Hemingway was given a white six-toed cat by a ship’s captain, and some of the cats who live on the museum grounds are descendants of that original cat, named Snowball. Key West is a small island and it is possible that many of the cats on the island are related.

For this exciting occasion, I even smuggled a small bag of cat treats in so that I could befriend these famous cats :P

Cat cemetery

Kitty guarding the cemetery

Hemingway named all of his cats after famous people, so the museum continued to follow that same tradition today. You can see some of the names on the cemetery plaque:

Some of the deceased cats over the years )’:

Omnomnoming

This one has curly sheep-like fur

In the souvenir shop

Most cats have extra toes on their front feet and sometimes on their back feet as well. Sometimes it looks as if they are wearing mittens because they appear to have a thumb on their paw.

Check out the paws on this one!

One of the more stunning and unusual features of the Hemingway Home property is the in-ground swimming pool, an extraordinary luxury for a residential home in 1930s Key West. The final cost of construction in 1938 dollars was $20,000.

Hemingway’s expensive swimming pool

Oh hiiiiiiii there

What do you want?!

Curious kitty

This one is just sitting there looking at us

Little kittens kept in their cage

                   
                   
                   

According to one of the caretakers that we talked to, there were currently 45 cats at the house. Afterwards, le bf and I went through all the photos I took and counted all the cats that we saw, there were 22. Almost half of all the cats, not bad at all eh?! :D

le bf et le chat :3

Finally, a special thank you to le bf, who not only brought me to this awesome place, but waited patiently while I spent 2 hours taking photos and feeding every cat that crossed our path (I was really excited lol). T’es le meilleur mon amour <3

Palm Beach: Ta-boo American Bistro & Bar

I know that from the things that I’ve been posting on my blog it looks like we did nothing but eat LOL. I swear this is the last restaurant review I’m doing from the Florida trip!

We were introduced to Ta-boo American Bistro & Bar through my friend Helena, whom I’ve met in Paris an year ago. We wanted to meet and catch up while I’m in Florida, so she suggested this restaurant. Ta-boo is situated on Worth Avenue, an upscale shopping district. Squeezed between two luxurious clothing stores, the entrance of the restaurant appeared to be a little hidden since it didn’t have a big obvious sign advertising it. Once we entered though, we were surprised by how spacious and comfortable is was inside.

Brie And Pear – a pizza crust topped with brie, pears, grapes, candied pecans and red onion with a balsamic reduction

When I looked at the menu, I was a little doubtful about the combination of brie, pear and grapes. However, with the strong recommendation from my friend, I decided to give it a try. It was an excellent decision on my part, since it turned out to be delicious! Some how the soft texture of the brie worked very well with the sweetness and crunchiness of the pear and grapes. I’m usually not a big fan of pizzas, let alone ones with fruits on them, but I was really impressed by this one. I highly recommend you guys to order this if you ever get the chance to eat at Ta-boo.

Le bf ordered the steak, which was very tasty as well (also recommended by my friend):

Grilled Chopped Steak – topped with gorgonzola cheese and fried onions served with sauteed spinach and roasted tomato

We were so impressed by this restaurant, we decided to come back again, this time with le bf’s parents as well, as our last lunch before they leave Florida the next day.

I ordered the mussels, which had an amazing meuniere sauce/soup. The portion was, as usual, a bit too much for me to handle on my own though :P

Mussels Meuniere – from Prince Edward Island

Le bf’s mom ordered a simple, classic pizza, which was quite good as well:

The Classic Pizza –
our classic tomato sauce with fresh basil and mozzarella cheese

Le bf’s tuna steak burger came with an interesting seaweed salad in it which he didn’t like, but I happily devoured.

Ta-boo Tuna Steak Burger – on a toasted english muffin with wasabi mayonnaise and wakame served with french fries and mixed greens

Le bf’s dad took the tuna carpaccio salad:

Tuna Carpaccio Salad – seared marinated loin of native yellowfin tuna encrusted in sesame seeds and black pepper on a bed of mixed field greens, red and yellow pepper strips and red onion in a balsamic vinaigrette. served with pickled ginger, wasabi and lite soy sauce

We also ordered the fried calamari to share:

Fried Calamari – served with an orange aioli and marinara sauce

And then for dessert, the chocolate mousse, which was surprisingly good (by French standards apparently :P). To me it seemed more like a cheese cake than mousse. A bit too sweet for my standards, but I’m sure the dessert lovers would appreciate it more than me.

Chocolate Mousse

ALSO, they have a bowl of free chocolate mint sticks by the entrance, so don’t forget to be a cheap Asian and take a bunch of them before leaving like I did :P (What can I say? I love free stuff!)

Miami: The Rusty Pelican

A quick review of our the restaurant that we went to on our one day trip in Miami: The Rusty Pelican Miami

The view from the restaurant was stunning!

We were quite hungry so we ordered a cheese and charcuterie platter. I quite like the cheddar, which was a bit of a surprise since I usually prefer soft cheeses.

All American Charcuterie and Cheese Plate – Prosciutto-Berkshire, Iowa
Sopressata – San Francisco, California
Jasper Hills Brie – Greensboro, Virginia
Mature Cheddar-Waterbury, Vermont
Blood Orange Marmalade,
Cornichons, Quince Paste

I ordered the Loster Bisque, it’s not very photogenic but it was really good! The soup was rich with plenty of seafood in it.

Tableside Poured -Lobster Bisque
Lobster, Sea Scallops, Crab,
Roasted Tomatoes, Toasted Corn Relish

Le bf’s dish:

Crab Cake Benedict – Poached Egg, Brioche Toast,
Potato Hash, Chipotle Hollandaise

Le bf’s dad took this one:

Duck Confit – Nueske Bacon Hash
Pee-Wee Potatoes, Bell Peppers,
Teardrop Tomatoes, Fried Eggs

I tried a bit of the dish that le bf’s mom ordered, I think it was my favorite dish from the meal:

Local Catch Sliders –
Beer Battered, Blackened, or Grilled
Local Catch, Caper-Lime Remoulade,
Brioche Bun

And chocolate dessert is always delicious no matter what (:

Chocolate Sabotage

Busch Garden, Tampa, Florida

After our brief stay in Orlando, we drove straight to Tampa, which took around an hour and half. Le bf’s parents dropped us straight off at Busch gardens, which I’ve been really excited about, since le bf told me they have a very good combination of animals and rides there (both of which I absolutely LOVE).

Five minutes inside the park and we saw a whole flock of flamingos by the entrance:

My first time being so close to a flamingo!

I was so surprised and delighted by this I asked one of the animal caretakers to take a polaroid of us with the flamingos. As we positioned ourselves beside the birds, one of them suddenly started to approach me very closely, and the caretaker told me, “Don’t move, looks like you’re getting a flamingo hug!” This literally made my day :D :D :D

The polaroid was able to capture this perfect moment :

Hugged by a flamingo. My life is now completed <3

Apparently there are over 200 Caribbean and Chilean flamingos in Busch Gardens!

A whole flock of flamingos

These little white birds are wild, and they’re everywhere!

The park was huge and organized in different countries, for example, there is Morocco, Egypt, Nairobi, Congo…etc. I loved how each region had different representing animals and that the architectures and even the music changes accordingly as well.
After our little run-in with the flamingos, we started with the Egypt section, and saw some animals on the way:

The hyena was sleepy due to the heat

We saw one of the animal shows: The Cheetah Run, where the caretakers demonstrate the speed of these felines. It was really quite impressive how they can go from 0 to 70 miles per hour in the matter of seconds.

I think most of the time they prefer being lazy and lying around like cats though :3

Continuing our journey alongs the trails toward Nairobi and Timbuktu, we saw a variety of other interesting animals:

Oh hi there meerkats

The hippopotamus

A white skunk that I touched (:

Sleeping aardvark

Baby flamingos, their legs look all messed up O.O

What a cutie :D

He sang a little song for us!

It’s hard to tell from this photo but this bunny was HUGE.

Just hanging out :P

Pretty colors but definitely poisonous

Tiger chillin’ in the shade

The snake skin had an interesting texture, it was heavier than I anticipated!

The mud/grass mixture on their backs is suppose to be like “elephant sunscreen”

We ventured in the Walkabout Way just in time to see some of the Australian animals and to feed the kangaroos and wallabies:

Super friendly kangaroos

They were all so hungry lol

Check out those luscious eyelashes ;)

Le bf feeding the kangaroo

Can’t refusing this cute face :3

They’re not afraid of humans at all

While most of the kangaroos were super friendly and not afraid to interact with humans at all, the wallabies appeared to be more timid, and wouldn’t eat off our hands. It was a bit of a shame, they were so adorable, and I really wanted to pet them!

Cutest wallaby (:

Omnomnom

Oh hello there

Throughout the day we saw a variety of shows in the park, some of the must-sees including:
– Iceploration: a 30-minute ice show which explains some of the park’s history. It was really entertaining, featuring some world-class skaters, larger-than-life puppets, amazing costumes, and 21 different live animals.
– Critter Castaways: a really cool show featuring lots of different animals that were trained to do some amazing tricks. Probably my favorite show of the day :D

Here are some snaps taken during the Critter Castaways:

3 little piggies

I’d like to hold a kangaroo like this :3

Random llama in the show lol

The best part is the meet-and-greet portion after the show:

Mr. Owl doesn’t look too impressed …

… Possibly cuz I took my sweet time to touch him :D

                   
                

I realize that my post was really animal heavy and I didn’t really take many photos of the rides in the park, but this doesn’t mean that they weren’t awesome!
We went on most of them throughout the day, some of my personal favorites were the Cheetah Hunt, the Scorpion, and the Montu. You can check all of them out here.

Orlando: Aquatica Waterpark & Capriccio Grill

After a 3 hour drive from Wellington to Orlando, we arrived at the The Peabody Hotel. It was the first time I’ve heard of this hotel, their symbol is a mallard, and everything was duck-themed (even the soap in our room), which I found was super cute :D

They also had was is possibly the biggest, fanciest hotel pool that I’ve ever seen: the Grotto pool with an interactive water feature, sandbox, and a 20-foot slide!

The Grotto pool at Peabody

After checking in and settling down a bit, we went for dinner at one of the hotel restaurants: Capriccio Grill, an Italian steakhouse.

Le bf choose their signature steak, which was 20oz (O_O)! Clearly a good choice in his opinion, as he later told me that’s the best steak he’s ever had in his life.

Le bf’s plate: 20oz Bone in Rib Eye – Capriccio’s Signature Cowboy Steak

I took the Chicken Française, in the spirit of wanting to order something that I haven’t tried before (plus I figured it can be bad since it has the word “French in it and all).

My plate: Chicken Française –
Sautéed Chicken Breast in Egg Batter, Lemon Parsley Butter Sauce

The meat of the chicken was very tender, and the sour taste of lemon was just strong enough to make it very appetizing. The portion was a bit big for me since I ate a lot of the bread and the sides too, so the others helped me with it, and they all enjoyed it as well.

Le bf’s mom’s plate: Pappardelle Pescatore –
Shrimp, Crab, Clams, Calamari, Sweet Peppers, Capers, Olives, Tomatoes, Wine and
Lemon Butter Sauce

Sides:
Risotto del giorno, creamed spinach

The waiter surprised us after our entrees with an assortment of dessert samples in shot glasses. Each shooter is a sample of one of their signature dessert. I thought the idea was smart, these dessert shooters are just the right size for those who just want a taste of something sweet after a satisfying meal (plus they look really cute :D ).

Desserts: signature dessert shooters

Somehow le bf still had room in his stomach to want to order this:

Desserts: Hot Godiva chocolate cake

Though I was really full I couldn’t help but steal a few bites, since it smelled so heavenly. The quality of the Godiva chocolate was really good and sufficiently warmed up, so that the contrast between the hot liquid and the cold vanilla ice cream created a perfect match in the mouth.

After such a rich meal I tried to work some of it off by taking a quick dip in the hotel pool:

Night time swim in the huge pool

The next day, we woke up bright and early for a full day of fun at Aquatica Waterpark :D It was quite pleasant spending the day in different water rides since it was scorching hot outside.

And they also had various animals in the park! One of their most famous animal attraction are the Commerson’s dolphins:

Commerson’s dolphins

The black and white dolphins were smaller than I expected, since their appearance made me thought of killer whales. Commerson’s dolphins are one of the smallest dolphins and are found in shallow waters of the sub-Antarctic.

We also saw the big African spurred tortoise, they are the third biggest type of tortoise in the world.

African spurred tortoise

It came over so that I could touch it :D

The park was not very big, so we were able to go on all the rides at least once. Some of them include:

The Dolphin Plunge: 2 side-by-side enclosed tube slides going underwater where you can see the Commerson’s Dolphins.

The Taumata Racer: a high-speed competitive mat ride where the racers rip down a staggeringly steep hill, head first.

Mojito – Latin Cuisine and Bar

We decided to celebrate our one year anniversary with a simple dinner date at City Place, a plaza with lots of shops and restaurants, located in downtown West Palm Beach.

We’re all dressed up for the big night(:
I feel as if we’re going to prom lol

We walked by Mojito, a Latin Cuisine and Bar and decided that we would eat there, since the atmosphere and menu seemed pleasant. It turned out to be a pretty good choice, as both the food and drinks were delicious.

Kiwi Apple Mojito

We decided to order 4 different tapas, which are small plates of Spanish appetizers designed to be shared. I liked this since I enjoy tasting a variety of different dishes. We each chose 2 tapas, I took the paella and lobster guacamole, and le bf ordered the sliders and the “Ropa Vieja” (clearly he likes his meats :P).

Paella – mussels, clams, featured fish, shrimp, chorizo, saffron rice

Lobster Guacamole – maine lobster, tomato picante, Mojito chips or crispy plantains

Mojito Sliders –
ground chuck, shaved romaine, tomato picante, spicy aioli, manchego cheddar

Ropa Vieja – shredded beef, tomato ragu, sweet pepper, cripsy plantains

We were especially impressed by how much seafood was in the paella. The sliders were really tasty too, the meat patty was tender and the small size was perfect for me. The portion of the plates were more than enough for the 2 of us, I had to depend on le bf to finish most of it of at the end as usual :P

The inside of the restaurant was dimly lit and the atmosphere was quite casual. Towards the end there was a live music group playing and it got quite loud, so we left a bit earlier to walk around outside in the plaza. Overall it was a wonderful night :)

City Place Plaza

First impressions of Florida

Though I’ve visited Florida when I was younger, I had almost no memory of it. At the end August I was delighted to get the chance to go on a 2 week vacation with le bf to join his parents at their summer house in Wellington, Florida.

Exterior of le bf’s family’s house in Wellington

Awesome pool in the backyard that le bf’s dad built

Impressive lights :D

The weather was more hot and humid then I’ve expected. It was a nice change though, the perfect temperature for going to the beach and swimming outside, in my opinion. I enjoyed the tropical climate, with all the palm trees and little lizards running around everywhere, which I found very fascinating :D

These little guys are everywhere in Florida!

During our stay in Wellington, le bf and I tried our best to go to the nearby community center to exercise in an attempt to not gain too much weight from eating so well in restaurants all the time.

At the community pool in Wellington

For dinner on the night after we arrived in Florida, we went on a 2 hour yacht cruise on Delray Beach for dinner.

Dinner cruise in Delray Beach

All of us on the yacht

Interior of Lady Delray

Buffet in the yacht. AC was so strong that we were all wearing jackets lol

We saw a lot of beautiful mansions on the way:

Most of the houses I saw in Florida were nice, spacious and often with a big swimming pool. Everyone seems to be super relaxed and on vacation mode. Not a bad place to plan for one’s retirement, in my opinion :P

Follow Me to Florida

We didn’t take many Follow Me photos during the Florida trip, but all of them turned out quite well (:
Check them out in the Around the World section.

City Place, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA

Back to school for fall term

Hello everyone, sorry for not updating the blog for so long. After my last final exam I was caught in a frenzy of packing to go back to Montreal, and then packing again for 2 weeks in Florida. With fall term starting again in 2 days, I’m back again in Waterloo, and I finally have time to go through the numerous amount of photos that I’ve taken during the trip and do some belated updates.

Here are some of the things from Florida I want to cover for the next few days:
– Restaurant reviews (we went to so many good restaurants during the trip, and I took a ton food photos being the foodie I am :P)
– Some of the cool places that we’ve visited:
> Aquatica
> Busch Garden
> Clearwater Beach
> Miami
> Bahia Honda Beach
> Hemingway House
> Theater of the SeaAnd of course I’ll try to keep up with the L’Amour du Jour quotes and Places to Visit Before You Die as well. Looks like I’ve got a lot of blogging to do! :P

Places to see before you die

Natural Jacuzzi, Saturnia, Italy

In the south of Tuscany, a couple of kilometres south-east of its ancient namesake hillside village and west of the stunning Pitigliano are the remarkable hot springs of Saturnia. With the haphazard parking of cars and vans, a steady stream of half-naked people strolling along a dirt track and the less-than-subtle scent of sulphur wafting in the air, the Saturnia Cascades gushes warmed water from the Earth which settles into a series of small rock pools.

Places to see before you die

Sagano bamboo forest, Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan

The Sagano Bamboo Forest is located to the northwest in Kyoto Basin, Japan, covering an area of 16 square kilometers. It is one of the most beautiful natural environment in entire Japan, not only because of its natural beauty but also because of the sound the wind makes as it blows through the thick bamboo grove.

Places to see before you die

Ice tunnel, Rhone Glacier, Swiss Alps

Being one of the most accessible glaciers in the Swiss Alps, Rhone Glacier is already a popular tourist destination. Each year, a 100-meter blue ice tunnel with an ice chamber is carved out of the glacier for visitors to walk through. The ice grotto moves along with the glacier, at approximately 10 cm per day downstream. Due to this reason, each year, the tunnel has to be rearranged.

Places to see before you die

A Real-Life Hobbit Town, Matamata, Waikato, New Zealand

A nearby farm in Matamata was the location for the Hobbiton set in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The New Zealand government decided to leave the Hobbit holes built on location as tourist attractions, since they were designed to blend seamlessly into the environment. During the interim period filming Return of the King and The Hobbit they had no furniture or props, but could be entered with vistas of the farm viewed from inside them. A “Welcome to Hobbiton” sign has been placed on the main road. In 2011 parts of Hobbiton began to close in preparation for two (later three) new movies based around the Lord of the Rings prequel novel The Hobbit.

Places to see before you die

Vischering Castle, Lüdinghause, North Rhine Westfalia, Germany

The region has one of the highest German concentrations of castles, palaces and fortifications, Lüdinghausen having three by itself. The castle consists of outer defensive courtyard, defensive gateways, moat, drawbridge, main building and chapel. The sandstone walls, the red tile roofs as well as their reflection in the moat provide many harmonious views from the wooded surroundings.
Vischering Castle was built by Bischop Gerhard von der Mark to counter the second castle built by the Von Lüdinghausen family. The outer defensive courtyard contains the business and farm buildings. The main building is a horseshoe-shaped three-story structure with heavy outer wall. Its inner courtyard is closed off by the chapel and a lower defense wall.

Places to see before you die

Waterfall Restaurant, Villa Escudero, San Pablo City, Philippines

Villa Escudero, located at San Pablo City in the Philippines, is a resort with cozy rooms and a museum. But the villa’s true attraction is the amazing restaurant at the foot of a small waterfall. Unlike most waterfalls that would be deadly or dangerous to eat near, at the foot of the Labasin Falls people are encouraged to take their shoes off, relax and eat their popular Filipino dishes. Labasin Falls is a not a natural waterfall. It is actually a spillway of the Labasin Dam.

Places to see before you die

Red Sea Beach Scenic Area Panjin, China

The Red Beach (红海滩) is located in Dawa County (大洼县), which is about 30 kilometer southwest of Panjin City (盘锦市) in China. The beach gets its name from its appearance, which is caused by a type of sea weed, genus Sueda (碱蓬草), that flourishes in the saline-alkali soil. The weed that start growing during April or May remains green during the summer. In autumn, this weed turns flaming red, and the beach looks as if it was covered by an infinite red carpet that creates a rare red sea landscape. Most of the Red Beach is a nature reserve and closed to the public. Only a small section is open for tourists.

Places to see before you die

Water Slide through Shark Tank at Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, USA

The famous hotel Golden Nugget, in Las Vegas has possible the coolest pool I’ve ever seen. It is named “The Tank” – a $30 million complex completed with:
– A shark tank with 300 other species
– A 3-story water slide which goes through the fish tank
– Fifteen private cabanas

Places to see before you die

Outdoor Jacuzzi on Matterhorn, Switzerland

This outdoor jacuzzi is part of the Igloo Village in Zermatt, Switzerland. Guests sleep at an altitude of 8.946 ft at the Gornergrat, right next to Switzerland’s most famous mountain, the mighty Matterhorn. The Igloo village typically opens up in December with accommodations for up to 40 overnight guests.

Places to see before you die

The Summer Cave, Grotta Palazzese hotel, Polignano a Mare, Southern Italy

Voted as one of the most romantic places to dine, The Summer Cave is a restaurant located above a limestone cave, belonging to Grotta Palazzese hotel. Dimly lit and only funrished with items made from natural materials, the restaurant has a magnificant view of the Adriatic Sea.

This Seaside Restaurant is open during the summer, from May to October

Places to see before you die

Wisteria Tunnel, Kawachi Fuji Gardens, Japan

Kawachi Fuji Gardens is in Kitakyushu, Japan, which is about a 4 hours from Tokyo, is where you will find this lovel, pastel-colored fairy-tale tunnel. The best time to visit is usually from late April to mid May.

The gardens are home to about 150 Wisteria flowering plants spanning 20 different species (white, blue, purple, violet-blue and pink).

A Day With Nature: Biodôme & Jardin Botanique

As promised, this an update from my adventures in Montreal on the weekend of July 12th.

Le bf and I decided visit some touristy places that he hasn’t been to yet: Biodôme & Jardin Botanique!
Though I’ve already been to Biodôme before I was still super excited since I love looking at all the animals :D

The picture-perfect Tour de Montréal

Riding frogs at the entrance

The Biodôme allows visitors to walk through replicas of four ecosystems found in the Americas:
Section 1) The Tropical Forest is a replica of the South American rainforest.

The world’s largest rodent, the capybara, and its duck friend (:

Sparkly piranhas… not as dangerous looking as I expected

Little black monkey (Goeldi’s marmoset) jumping over our heads!

The golden lion tamarin, one of the cutest animals in the dome :3

I wonder how these birds hide from their predators being so brightly colored?

Section 2) The Laurentian Forest is a replica of the North American wilderness.

It is gathering wood to bring back to its house. These are some well-fed beavers :P

Section 3) The Saint Lawrence Marine Eco-system is an estuary habitat modelled on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

I’m strangely drawn by the creatures under the sea

I thought it was cute, le bf though it looked like Gollum LOL

Section 4) A polar area that is divided into Arctic and Antarctic.

Being penguins in the Arctics :D

Their cute little waddle reminds me of Happy Feet (:

On our way out we found this giant bird just chilling at the exit. No big deal. I really wanted to touch it!

After taking a small food break in the Biodôme cafeteria, we headed towards the Botanical Garden. The day was glorious and the sun was blazing. After 10 minutes of walking, though I was all sweaty from the heat, I was pleasanlty surprised to see all the big plant sculptures from the Montreal International Mosaicultures (MIM) 2013 Show Exhibition. 50 participants from 30 different countries are showcasing their works which reflects the different cultures of their countries, using the theme of Land of Hope as an inspiration while incorporating several sub-themes:
– Interdependence of man and nature
– Humankind’s positive actions for the environment
– Species and ecosystems that are endangered or at risk
– Nature in the urban environment
– Beauty and fragility of life on earth

Here are some photos of the ones I liked, taken during our 3 hour walk in the humongous garden:

Belgium • Province of Hainaut •
The Insects’ Garden

Aquatic Garden

United States • Atlanta • Fragile Frogs!

China • Shanghai • A True Story!

Japan • Tokyo-Shibuya • Hachiko, the Loyal Dog

1 Japan • Hamamatsu • Hamamatsu, City of Creativity: Looking Toward the Future Through a Symbiosis of Man and Nature

Canada • Val d’Or • Near the City of Gold

Spotted this little guy on the road in Shade Garden. He doesn’t look impressed.

Chile • Easter Island • Guardians of the Island

Canada • Montréal • Spirits of the Wood – Coventina

England • (Heather Jansch) • Hope and Odyssey

Canada • Montréal • Mother Earth

France • Comesse’s Butterfly

Malaysia • Hands Up!

Malaysia • Hands Up!

Canada • WWF • Ambassadors of Hope

Japan • Okinawa • Small Clownfish and Anemone

It was too hot to keep the shirt on :P

Canada • Montréal (Albert Mondor) • The Garden of Glass and Meta

Canada • Verdun • Upheaval

Canada • Repentigny • The Bridge Between Generations

France • Department of Moselle • Memories of a Childhood Dinner

Canada • Nunavut Cape Dorset • Nanuk

Madagascar • All in a Row

Canada • Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie • The Heart Tree

Canada • Montréal • The Man who Planted Trees

The exhibit is open until September, so I highly recommend who ever happens to be in Montreal to go visit it. Not only are all the sculptures beautifully made, each of them come with a small story describing the meaning of the work, which was interesting to read. Plus, since the sculptures are quite sparsely spread, you can easily spend 2-3 hours walking around, which is quite the work out! (My legs were sore for 2 days straight after lol)

My number one (:

Places to see before you die

102-Year-Old Abandoned Ship, Homebush Bay, Sydney, Australia

The SS Ayrfield is one of many decommissioned ships in the Homebush Bay, Sydney, but what separates it from the other stranded vessels is the incredible foliage that adorns the rusted hull. The beautiful spectacle, also referred to as The Floating Forest, adds a bit of life to the area, which happens to be a sort of ship graveyard.

In 1972, the SS Ayrfield was retired and sent to Homebush Bay which served as a ship-breaking yard. While many ships were taken apart, about four metallic bodies of vessels that are over 75 years old currently float in the bay, though none are enveloped by nature quite like the Ayrfield. The ship continues to attract visitors to its majestic presence.

Follow Me to Montreal

Some new Follow Me photos up from my weekend trip back to Montreal, featuring Biodôme and other awesome places (:

I’ll probably try to do a post soon with more photos, there were quite a bit since it was a beautiful weekend and we spent a good amount of time visiting places. So stay tuned!

Places to see before you die

Kakslauttanen Hotel and Igloo Village in Saariselkä, Finland

Hotel Kakslauttanen is the home of the famous Igloo Village with the unique Glass and Snow Igloos and a World’s Largest Snow Restaurant. In addition their guests can enjoy all the other Lappish winter activities including the Northern Lights (Aurora borealis). Surrounded by Lapland’s exotic and stunning scenery, not only can guests sample the peace of sleeping in snow (the snow muffles sound, and provides a great night’s sleep), their glass igloos are fantastic for lying on your bed at night, watching the Northern Lights in the warm.

Places to See Before You Die

Tree Camping on the Pacific Coast; Elk, California

I’ve never been a huge fan of camping, but this looks absolutely amazing!
In Elk tree camping is very popular, because of its stunning panoramic bird’s eye views. In the evening, I imagine the view of the sunset from inside the tent would be incredible. The concept of sleeping on the top of the trees is so fascinating to me, I could experiences of what it would be like being birds resting in high tree top nests (:

Places to See Before You Die

Waitomo Glowworm Caves, New Zealand

Located just outside the main Waitomo township on the North Island of New Zealand, the cave is a famous for its sizeable population of glowworms. Glowworms or Arachnocampa luminosa are tiny, bioluminescent creatures that produce a blue-green light and are found exclusively in New Zealand.

Imagine walking into a cave light up by millions of these creatures, it must feel like being surrounded by a galaxy full of twinkling stars!

Places to See Before You Die

Aquaria Grande in Mumbai, India

Architect James Law designed an residential complex, known as Aquaria Grande, for real estate company Wadhwa Group in Mumbai, India. It’s comprised of two 37-story towers, and includes a series of swimming pools placed within each balcony. These pools appear like floating gelatinous molds extending at the edge of each apartment’s balcony.

Places to See Before You Die

Ithaa: The Underwater Restaurant in the Maldives

Ithaa means “mother-of-pearl” in Dhivehi. Located 16 feet below sea level, Ithaa restaurant offers an amazing 180° undersea view while you dine. It is the first underwater restaurant, opened in 2005, designed and constructed by M.J. Murphy.The restaurant is part of the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort.
I’ve always been so fascinated by the amazing world undersea with all the mysterious underwater creatures. If I ever get a chance to go here, it would definitely be like a dream come true for me!

Places to See Before You Die

So being the travel junkie I am, I’ve been keeping track of the photos from Places to See Before You Die for a while now.

From now on I’ll be doing some regular updates on some amazing places that I would really hope to visit one day (:

To start this trend off: Jericoacoara Beach in Ceará state, Brazil

Check out those awesome hammocks!

“East or west, Guilin landscape is the best”(桂林山水甲天下) – Part 3: The River

Our last scheduled destination before taking the train at 2am on the morning of April 19th was the Li River (灕江), which ran 83km from Guilin to Yangshuo (陽朔). On the bus ride to the Yangti (楊提) harbor, we negotiated with a vendor a ticket price of 200RMB for a round trip bamboo boat ride for the two of us from Yangti to Xingping (興坪). However, the trip didn’t end up going quite as we had expected in the end.

Yangti Harbor

Our boat at the harbour

                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   

                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   

During the 2 hour long boat ride, we saw many interestingly shaped mountains formed due the unusual karst topography of the region. Many of these mountains or hills were given imaginative names by the locals based on their appearances.

Wall with carp shaped markings (鲤魚挂壁)

I thought the hill looked like a cat head :3

We’re on a boat :)

                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   

                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   

                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   

About halfway through the ride, the boatman rowing our bamboo raft suggested that we make a short stop by the riverbanks. There were some small tents crowded in the area selling various fruits, snacks, and photo services. I couldn’t take my eyes of the guy with cormorants (big birds traditionally used for fishing), which sat on a stick that he carried on his shoulders!

Where we took a pause

Cormorants!

I really wanted to touch it but it looked vicious ._.

I wonder if the fish is really from the river?

Local child eating some sort of cake

Black marks on the mountain are suppose to be 9 horses (九馬畫山)

                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   

                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   

                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   

                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   

After we got back on the raft, we had expected to keep cruising down the river. To our astonishment, the boatman turned the raft around and started to go back in the direction that we came from.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you suppose to take us to Xingping?” We asked the boatman.
He looked at us innocently and replied that there were water polices that patrolled the area and if we went any further, he would get fined. We explained that we had paid for a round trip to Xingping, but somehow he deemed that to be impossible. We even ended up calling the vendor who had sold us the tickets on the bus (she had left us her business card), and checked the receipt of the tickets (which clearly said “roundtrip Yangti -> Xingping). But soon it became obvious that they had purposely misled us to think that the price of the boat ride covered a longer course than it actually did, because if we had known that our final destination was only halfway to Xingping, we would not have agreed to the price that we have paid. At this point we were quite angry and contemplated on tracking down the vendor and asking for part of our money back. But we quickly realized that it would be an useless endeavor, as we had no clue where we would find that vendor. At the end we decided to just try to enjoy the rest of the ride without letting this event affect our mood.

I quite like the gradient of the mountains

Thinking back, we should have paid only half of the money in advance and the other half after the trip was done. Well, at least this is one way to learn a lesson that I’ll be sure never to forget.

A friendly warning to all the traveler out there: Sadly, this type of things tend to happen quite often in China, especially if it’s obvious that you’re a foreigner. Be extra careful to make sure that you’ve understood exactly what you’re getting for what you’re paying for, and try to pay in installments instead of all in advance. Culturally Chinese people can be quite ambiguous and indirect in negotiation, so be sure you’re being crystal clear on what you’re expecting for the price!

And this concludes my Guilin trip (: