Montreal recap!

Wow, it’s almost been a month since I went to Montreal! How time flies. Here are a few eyegasms for y’all from my trip:

First evening in Montreal, obviously on a terasse. Yes, terasse, not patio. I never wore makeup after this.
Juan and me in Montreal

Instead spending loads on a hotel, I tried out airBnB instead. Rented an apartment and had the luxury (yes, it’s a luxury) of having some homecooked meals on our trip. Okay, it was only breakfast but still.
Breakfast

Stopped by McGill. Pretty sure everybody has this same picture. Beautiful campus.
McGill

Visited some relatives. How cute are my niece and nephew? Oh, I guess my cousin’s are good-looking too. Runs in the family.
My niece and cousin
My cousin-in-law and nephew

Did some major shopping. Seriously. Who the hell buys earmuffs and Hunter boots in June? A true Vancouverite does. (Those are NOT my Ugg boots. Y’all know how I feel about Uggs. Let’s not get started.).
Shopping

Had a mandatory pit stop at the very top of Mont Royal. Aw.
Mont Royal

Met up with more family. Over dinner. In Old Montreal. Nom.
Juan, me, Colin, and Melissa

Even though we came at a shitty time (I always do that — this time, we just missed F1 and came right before all the jazz festivals), we still managed to check out some street festivals.
St Laurent street festival

Did some clubbing. Bottle service, VIP, the usual.
Muzique

Also got to see my very first Cirque du Soleil! This was Amaluna, the newest one. Beautiful performance.
Cirque du Soleil: Amaluna

Of course, no trip to Montreal is complete without smoked meat, poutine, and Quebecois beer. Decided to hit three birds with one stone. Bad idea. Don’t go to Montreal Poutine (total tourist trap) in Old Montreal. Missed Schwartz and La Banquise this time around…next time!
Smoked meat poutine at Montreal Poutine

Because I heart museums and such, we checked out the Montreal Science Centre. And to my horror, they had a Star Wars exhibit on (I hate the Star Wars series with a passion). And to my greatest horror, I came out of the exhibit actually interested in wanting to watch the whole series! Ha! Can you believe that? The inner nerd in me tends to pop out at random times.
Star Wars exhibit at Montreal Science Centre

…and the best for last, the food. Definitely gained about 2 lbs while I was in Montreal. Foie gras, crepes, beaver tails, maple everything… hells yes.
Rabbit crepe at Jardin Nelson
Seared foie gras atop ginger bread and red wine jus at Holder
Chilled foie gras with caramelized pears at Holder
Beef tartare at Holder
Bouef bourgignon at Holder
Pate chinois at Holder
Calamari
Greek
Rib steak
Dumplings at Xing Hua
Beaver tails

[1] Rabbit crepe [2] Seared foie gras atop ginger bread and red wine jus [3] Chilled foie gras with caramalized pears [4] Beef tartare [5] Bouef bourgignon [6] Pate chinois [7] Calamari, not onion rings [8] Grilled octopus [9] Greek rib steak [10] XLB-style dumplings [11] Beaver tails

Juan and I
All in all, great vacation. So nice to getaway even for just a little bit. It was also my very first trip with my boyfriend and I am so glad to say he’s an easy traveler! Phew. Dodged a bullet. So, since Montreal is over and done with, I guess the next big trip would be Asia in October for my birthday. Crossing my fingers!


Grrr.

I wish Flickr would upload faster so I can finally give you guys a real post, dammit. 80 more pictures to go…


Where to begin?

Even with 24 hours in a day, I still can’t manage to find the time to blog nowadays! Apologies. There has really been a lot going on. May just flew by, it seems. Some recent highlights?

My aunt got married! Yahoo. Such a great wedding. It was 1940s-themed and I was surprised and so, so glad that so many people participated in the theme. Red lips? Check. Pearls? Check. Fascinator? Check. Even the venue was kick-ass. It was held at The Metro in New Westminster which also secondly runs as a swinger club… cool? Overall, it was awesome. Despite being designated as the wedding planner for the day (and also providing some hundred fabulous gluten-free cupcakes), I still managed to enjoy myself…as in take advantage of the open bar. Yes! Still waiting on the pro pics…
Me and Melissa
Ladies

Introducing my boyfriend to the family (finally!!!). So, I guess we are pretty serious now, huh. This actually happened the day before the wedding. More casual environment, I suppose, so I thought less pressure for him. Smart? Yes. Anyways, this seemed to go over very well. I think? Off to good start in my eyes…crossing fingers. A picture, you ask? Well, I’m trying to keep this relationship as private as I can but one picture doesn’t hurt, right? Plus, I really do love showing him off. And this picture is hilarious. Pretty much paparazzi-style as soon as we walked inside. Oh, and try to guess his age. I dare you. Get it right and maybe I’ll bake something delicious for you.
Me and Juan Montreal. Well, the cat’s out of the bag and yes, I will be flying off to Montreal next week to spend a mere five days in some actual decent summer weather. This will also be our first trip together. Whatever happened to weekend trips? Nope, we’re fast-forwarding. Seriously looking forward to this mini vacay. In dire need of a vacation and I am also really looking forward to taking him around since he’s never been there and also to visit some family and friends. 10 more days!

Job hunt or career change? Yes, I’ve begun the mundane job search again. I always have good intentions and positive energy whenever I think about job hunting for something in my field yet when I actually start searching I just end up in a miserable mood. Just started looking again about 4 hours ago and I’ve become incredibly frustrated. Still, nothing. Atleast in BC. So disappointing and discouraging. Going to see if I can get referred to the New West Police Department. Apparently there’s an opening. Might as well try and put my degree to good use (10 more days til I convocate!!!). But if all else fails, I will be enrolling for courses again….this time in the realm of real estate. And I will be giving myself a deadline for this. Honestly, I was going to enroll on July 1st but maybe I should give myself some time. I know the restaurant I work in will/should be undergoing renovations in the fall, namely October, which will be when I’ll be in Asia so ideally a good time to study and prepare for the licensing examination. Sigh. Sometimes I wish I could just take the “easy” route and just take a 9-5 job and have an actual position. Work for a big company. Make a fixed salary. Wouldn’t life be much simpler that way? Nope, always a non-stop hustle for me.

Other stressors. Honestly, the last month I received a few announcements and had a couple of very serious discussions with someone who is of utmost importance to me. But lately, it feels as if every week there is a bomb going off. Surprise after surprise. Some good, some bad. Normally, the information that was shared would scare people, especially in a relationship setting. But I wasn’t scared. There wasn’t a real fear….until the bomb that went off this past weekend. I am in a very unique relationship. I am serious. I guarantee you that no one, no one (atleast that I know of) has to deal with what I am dealing with right now. This information is strictly confidential and I feel I can’t even confide in anyone about it. It’s very private — even for me. But there are different ways to look at it — do I have a challenge on my hands or are these very blatant warning signs to GTFO? I honestly don’t even know. I’m trying to keep myself grounded which isn’t too difficult and not fall head over heels and I honestly think I am doing a great job thus far. But who knows…am I just demonstrating willful blindness and oozing naivete? Perhaps the resolution to these situations I’ve been faced with will just come with time, age, and maturity. And sometimes playing with spontaneity isn’t always a good thing? Believe me, I try extremely hard to protect myself when it comes to emotions and feelings. Again, I make calculated decisions and try to map out potential consequences that may occur in the future. Serial planner here. But who knows… guess I’ll just need to play my cards right. And not be a stupid little girl.

I’m at the stage where I need to make decisions for myself. What to do…


Montreal, again.

So I had some other exciting news but since that other news is no longer happening I decided to share some equally exciting news with y’all — I’m headed to Montreal again! Next month. Mid-June. Three weeks today. Right after I receive my Bachelor’s degree and convocate forever from SFU. Happy graduation to me? I’m so excited. Excited to finally graduate and to travel once again. Been deprived of a proper vacation for almost a year now — unacceptable. Will be there for a mere five days and even though it’s a tad short, I’m still super stoked. This trip will be different from my past trips to Montreals but also my other getaways since it will be the first (and hopefully of many, many more) vacation I am taking with my boyfriend. I like how this relationship is progressing. Definitely keeping things positive and looking forward to the future. 3 more weeks, baby!


T-Swizzle: Speak Now Tour.

Taylor Swift: Speak Now 2011 Tour
Even though I fought long and hard for three hours for shit seats this morning on Ticketmaster, I GOT TICKETS TO GO SEE TAYLOR SWIFT!!!!!!!!! Sunday, September 11th, 2011 at Rogers Arena. Right after my eastcoast trip to Montreal and New York. Booyah.