canada

montreal

graff | montreal

air bnb | montreal 

at Le Bleu Raisin in Montreal with Michael

The travel buddies- Kiara, Pat and I on his wedding night!

I don’t even know what to say or where to start. I probably wouldn’t even have a post but I am on the plane with nothing else to do et voila...

Canada was a whirlwind. I saw my two best friends, got to be in French culture, learned to salsa dance at Pat’s wedding with French Canadians and Africans as my dance partners, I got sick, sick, sick but powered through. You know, just how it goes on the road. 

I adored the international vibe of Ottawa and Montreal and all the interactions with cultures. I will miss that about city life as I find it one of the grandest adventures of all is to mesh with other cultures. 

Kiara and I had the best lunch of our lives in Ottawa and a picnic on the river with gluten free wild boar pate and a hunk of roquefort with berries and cherry tomatoes fresh from the market. 

So, you know I had to pack up my life in about a day to move to California and that my bike got stolen and life pretty much happened all at once. Well...when I arrived in Ottawa, I dropped my passport in the airport. 

Now, being as well traveled as I am, I am very OCD about those things. Though, I often think I have lost something, I never actually do. So, when we got to our hostel (yes, we stayed in an old prison converted into a hostel), Pat and Kiara thought I was being my usual paranoid self but I knew I dropped it for real. Poor guys, I already shortened my trip and now, I forced them to go back to the airport. 

This is why The Road is Life, guys! When you travel, you seem to encounter a lot more obstacles than you do at home but being without the convenances of home, you learn to be resourceful and strong. There is no time to think, only time to act.

Story short: I got my passport and we spent the night bar hopping with Pat, meeting his friends and family we have  heard so much about all these years (nicest people EVER!)

In Montreal, we meet my Sis-in-law’s cousin, Michael and what a treat that was. He took us to this wonderful, little French restaurant owned by a chef from Lyon. We had bison, duck and rabbit, mushroom gratin, duck heart, pate, chocolate cake (all gluten free!) and a bottle Bourgogne and Chinon. My favorite way to spend an evening is with a small group, interesting conversation and great food. And ending the night with a midnight bike ride around Montreal had us beaming with happiness the entire next day! 

I loved Montreal. The French always told me it was so different than France but, to me, it was much more European  than I had anticipated. Even small things like the turnstiles to enter the grocery store where the same as in France and not at all like the rest of Canada. So, I quickly forgot where I was and was happy to be amongst my people once again. 

We befriended a taxi driver from Syria who quickly became “our” cabbie. He was on his way to make a life for himself in Rio and got stuck in Montreal. I often like to shoot the shit with non-Americans, laughing at Americans poor geography skills and such. Our cabbie jumped right in telling us how most American had no idea where Syria was, 

“Oh, is that near India?” 

“They didn’t know where Syria was until George Bush and now they know the name and think we are all evil.”

Living in Florida with Kiara and her Swiss husband was chalk full of hilarious silly American stories. My favorite being the one where they asked,

 “Where is Switzerland? Is that up by New York?”

It was a great trip. I am all over the place as I have to finish moving, sell furniture, say goodbye to my loved ones and I am sick and I fly to Sacramento first thing on Saturday morning. 

The very first thing I will be doing with my new job is meeting the whole company for a team build kind of thing which is a wine tasting. Pretty awesome, eh?

After a year of school, freelance and city life, I am so happy to go back the west coast and be in the field of work I have always loved. I love being behind the computer to a degree but a job where I get to move my body is pure bliss as I have a lot of energy to burn! I feel so lucky to be one of the few people that get to live in this great spot. 

I also have to find a way to get a car as soon as I get there. I will be living about an hour away from the largest town so it is not like I can really bop around checking out Craigslist cars. We have a small town, 7 miles away which I can bike too but to get out there is a 17% grade incline. Hmpf. I would love to not have a car but as I want to do my photography on my days off (take note, if you know anyone in Northern Cali that wants shoots, hook us up!) and visit family and friends in San Fran and Napa, I think it is mandatory. I am even thinking of just leasing a Smart car for 2 years until I get myself grounded. 

I have made it this far, after this crazy week, I am sure the rest will fall into place (fingers crossed).

I expect you all to come visit. 

PS- I KNOW I have a ton of typos as I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off- feel free to inform me on what needs a fixin'!