Hello 2023!

But first goodbye 2022. Hoping everyone reading this has had a great Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus, Kwanzaa or just a really good 2022. If 2022 wasn’t all you hoped for then 2023 is another chance to do what you can to make it a special year.

2022 was good for me. I was able to start traveling again, and dipped my toe into leaving the country in October. I went to Tampa, St Petersburg, Scottsdale, Tucson, Tahoe, Kansas City, Lake Geneva, Raleigh, Sugar Mountain, Nashville, Québec City, Montréal and Oahu Hawaii. I felt like I was starting all over again in terms of travel expertise. Coming back from Canada I asked where the TSA pre check area was and the employee responded “In the United States.” Took me a minute to understand what he was saying and then had to laugh at myself. I can usually pack so fast but found I was having to really think about what I needed to take. Travel like almost everything is something that you get better at doing the more you do it. Hoping this year to get more of that skill back. I’m finalizing my plans so stay tuned because I will be blogging.

This year I trained and started volunteering at 2 organizations here in Oak Park doing tours of historic homes. The first is the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio and the second is Pleasant Home. Pleasant Home is just open for tours on Thursdays so much less of a commitment and more relaxed. It’s an amazing estate that was designed and built by the architect George Washington Maher. Commissioned by the first millionaire in Oak Park John Farsons and built in 1897. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in town and have time. The picture at the top of the group in front of the house is from when the re-opening happened this past spring after the new state of the art geothermal system was installed and that’s me in the center in the green shirt with her arms raised. They said cheer so I did!

I spend quite a bit of time at Frank Lloyd Wright doing tours as it’s a busy and popular destination. I have met people from all over the world - Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Egypt, Australia, every country in Europe, and all over the US. Wright is considered to be the most important American architect from the late 19th century to the mid 20th, so it’s fun for me to share what I know with them, and I learn more every day. It’s also been great to meet the other volunteers as we have such a shared passion.

Keeley came and took my tour and snapped this picture of me outside the studio right before I take people inside. I do look like I’m enjoying myself because I am!

I still run or walk - almost every day. My good friend Cheryl and I had a goal to run and/or walk a combined total of 2022 miles and we achieved it by the end of November. Having a partner to make you accountable is a good thing! Cheryl we ROCK!🏆

I read quite a few books - 40 to be exact. So many great ones it’s hard to pick my top 3 but here you go:

• Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

• We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

My kids are all good! I get to see Keeley and Matt on a regular basis which I love. They keep very busy with work and their new puppy Monica. She’s a lot of work but so sweet, friendly and smart. If you sit down she will try and sit on your lap. At about 60 pounds that’s quite a bit of puppy!

Keeley and Matt are big sports fans so this is a picture of them at the United Center for the KU Elite 8 game which they won to get to the Final 4! I was there too! And then they won the National Championship! Rock Chalk Jayhawk💙

Anna and Tom have made Raleigh their permanent home and it’s been a great move for them. They still have the mountain house and will be making it available for rental soon. A great place to visit any season of the year up in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. I got to spend time with them recently in Oahu and we had such a wonderful time. Here’s a picture that I took of them in the botanical gardens.

I stopped making resolutions quite a few years ago. Instead I like to take a bit of time and reflect on the previous year - what are the things I enjoyed the most, anything I would change if I could, things I could or would like to do without. Travel, volunteer, and spend time with family and friends. That was my 2022 and I’m planning to do the same in 2023. I will do things that bring me joy and in my own small way try to make the world a little bit better for those around me. I encourage you to try and do the same. As my mom always said we are each responsible for our own happiness and I believe that is very true.

Time to open my new planner! Yes I do mean an old school planner - my favorite thing about New Years Day🥳 The best is yet to be! Wishing you each a great 2023!

The Beautiful Island of Oahu🌴

I returned recently from a lovely two week trip to the beautiful island of Oahu, and am finding it somewhat challenging to be back in what is being called a Bomb Cyclone, Arctic Freeze or Polar Vortex with the coldest temperatures in a generation! The wind chill here right now is -32, and Hawaii was 80 degrees consistently every day. But instead of feeling sorry for myself I’m focusing on being grateful for a fantastic two weeks.

A couple of lines about the history of the Hawaiian Islands. They arose from the Pacific Ocean around 70 million years ago from lava. Oahu is not the oldest of the islands but it’s growing days are over. Translation - no more active volcanos unlike the newest island - the Big Island of Hawaii which has made the news lately with not one but two active volcanos helping it to continue to grow.

I have been to Maui, Kauai and the Big Island previously, but had only landed in Oahu previously to change planes. Like a lot of people I thought of Oahu as just being Honolulu and Waikiki - neither of which sounded great. After further research when planning this trip it seemed there was much more to the island and I definitely found that to be true. Honolulu is definitely a big bustling city but the rest of the island is spectacular with gorgeous beaches and two mountain ranges providing some great hiking. With two weeks we had plenty of time to visit all parts of the island and still manage lots of relaxation at the beach in cabanas or lounging at the pool. My friend Julie came along for the two weeks and my son and his wife joined us for the second week. A fun group that got along great!

We stayed at the Marriott resort at Ko Olina. Ko Olina is about 20 miles up the coast from Honolulu on the leeward side of the island. It’s a more private area with 4 resorts one of which is the Marriott. Each resort has a lagoon that creates an amazing calm beach great for swimming. You can even snorkel right by the rocks of the lagoon and big turtles and monk seals were spotted in addition to lots of fish. With 4 resorts and a shopping/restaurant area it offered us lots of food and meal options.

It’s hard to remember Christmas is right around the corner when you are surrounded by palm trees, but they made an effort to be festive in a tropical way. A beautiful Christmas tree with a large fish coming through it!

They offered sunrise yoga on the beach every morning at 7AM and I took advantage of it almost everyday. What a great way to start the day! One morning I was greeted by a rainbow as it had rained a bit during the night. Every morning was beautiful and special in its own way.

I celebrated my birthday on the island - how lucky am I? The resort had a fun water area at one of the multiple pools and it had a great water slide. I figured if I went down the slide that would prove I wasn’t really that old. 😂 Here is proof!

Tom and Anna treated Julie and I to a beach cabana for the day. We took full advantage and thanks to the cover this very fair skinned person was able to spend the entire day on the beach. So lovely! Thanks Anna and Tom!

I also discovered I really like Piña Coladas! Tastes like beach vacation in a glass! Yumm! I’m still willing to try new things.

Now onto the activity part and exploring the rest of the island! We did a couple of nice hikes. Diamond Head is the iconic volcano crater that defines the Honolulu skyline and most likely the most popular hike to do on Oahu. It’s about a 2 and a half mile hike and takes roughly an hour and a half. Lots of fairly steep stairs at the end to get to the top but worth it for the view extending for over 20 miles. You do need a reservation to get in to do the hike so don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Here’s the view from the top!

Hike number 2 was just Julie and I before Anna and Tom arrived and we hiked to the top of Makapu’u Head located at the easternmost point of the island. Said to be one of the most likely places to see whales at the correct time of the year - December to April. Another hike of about 2 and a half miles but very easy to walk on a nicely paved trail. Eagle eyes Julie spotted a whale right off the rocks which was so fun! Very hard to get a picture but in the upper right is my best shot. We watched the whale frolicking and flipping their tail in and out for awhile and then continued on. The two islands in the picture on the lower left are Rabbit Island (larger of the two) called that because a local resident used to raise rabbits there in the 1880’s and Kaohi-ka-ipu Island (smaller island) which looks dark and burnt most likely because it was formed from the last lava flow and so is relatively “young” by lava standards. Bottom right pic is the beautiful view of the windward side of the island from the top of the hike.

It’s hard to think of Oahu and not think of Pearl Harbor. History and in particular World War II is an interest of mine for quite some time now, and I have read quite a bit about many areas involved. Visiting Pearl Harbor was a priority for me and everyone else wanted to spend a day there as well. So I did the research luckily and booked our visit a month in advance. You can easily spend an entire day there. The USS Arizona Memorial is the single most popular site on Oahu and there are just 1300 tickets available per day. The memorial is free but the tickets are timed so get online and reserve your tickets well in advance. Another popular site there is the USS Missouri Battleship. The deck of the Missouri is where the Japanese signed the surrender agreement bringing the fighting in the Pacific to an end. Lots of other places to visit and see but the rest costs money. You can pay per site or buy the Passport to Pearl Harbor for one price which is what we did. We learned so much and it really made it real for us. The memorial is a very somber place resting over 1,177 young promising lives cut short in the attack of 1941.

Here are pictures from the USS Missouri Battleship. It is the last battleship ever built. The picture top right is the spot on the deck where the surrender agreement was signed. Until you are up close it’s hard to imagine how big those guns are!

Julie and I really like cemeteries so took a couple of hours another day to visit the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl. Another very moving place where 45,000 men and woman killed at Pearl Harbor and other conflicts in the Pacific Ocean are buried. At the end there is a giant statue of Columbia holding a laurel branch with a moving quote from Abraham Lincoln that he wrote to a mother of five sons killed in the Civil War. A moving tribute to so many that gave their lives for freedom. The bottom left is a view from the cemetery as it sits on top a hill overlooking Honolulu.

Jurassic Park was filmed on Oahu and if you want to see why take the H3 Highway that cuts through one of the mountain ranges getting you quickly from one side of the island to the other. In the middle you go through a very long tunnel and depending which side you started on the weather could be totally different at the other end. Sunny on one end and raining on the other! And you will be looking for dinosaurs for sure.

I had read about what looked like a very cool Japanese Temple so talked the group into making a trip there. Noticed that in the same basic area there was a botanical garden. We decided to stop at the garden first and we’re glad we did because it turned out in our opinion to be better than the Japanese Temple. Wish we would have stayed there longer and skipped the temple but that’s just our opinion. Here are a few pics from the Ho’omaluhia Park Botanical Garden on the windward side of the island. So many beautiful trees and plants.

The Byodo-In Temple. A replica of a 1,000-year-old Buddhist Temple in Uji, Japan. The cemetery it’s in was pretty cool to see but the temple itself just took a few minutes to get through. Luckily my people didn’t hold it against me as the drive was pretty and the garden very nice.

Julie and I drove up to the North Shore to see what are considered the biggest waves on the island in the winter, and where the best surfers hang out. We did see some pretty big waves but not the gigantic ones that you hear about. You have to pay close attention and monitor the information sites to time it for that but they were still bigger than any others we saw. And it’s a very local area with just a two lane road and cars parked every which way. Tiny local restaurants so a whole different vibe. This picture is from a video I took trying to capture the waves and surfers and I’m the first to admit not my forte. The surfer is on the far right.

Other fun things: out for a walk and saw some men climbing the palm trees cutting down the coconuts - most likely so that they didn’t fall on our heads! Seeing them climb the trees with their spikes, cut the branches with a machete and then slide down the rope to the ground was fascinating! And then they would cut the tops off the coconuts and give them to anyone that wanted one to drink the milk. Yes that’s what I call fresh 😊

Animals we saw: Chickens and roosters all over the place. Often right at your feet when you were in a restaurant. Lots of noisy birds especially at sunset. And the mongoose. At first I thought they were odd squirrels (or less scary rats😱), but then found out they were mongoose. Introduced to many of the Hawaiian islands from India to control rats in the sugarcane fields. They weren’t super effective against the rats (not a problem now because they grow very little sugarcane anymore) but very effective in killing snakes. So no snakes to worry about. They really seem to be afraid of people so you just see them running from bush to plant but I did read if cornered they will attack. So clearly I left them alone! Here you go in case you’re curious what they look like.

Much more pleasant was seeing monk seals lounging on the beach. They are well protected so as soon as one is sighted the volunteers are called out and immediately rope off the area so they aren’t bothered or people don’t get too close. They just rest all day and then in the evening roll back into the ocean.

Usually I take lots of pictures of the food I eat in great detail. If that’s your favorite part of my trips you will be very disappointed. We ate lots of good food but it wasn’t really my focus. Fish tacos, fish sandwiches, great fresh salads and lots of fruit. We had a kitchen so kept food there for grab and go which worked out great. The thing I remember most were these amazing açaí bowls right down the street in an amazing coffee shop. I wish I had one right now😋

Tom had read about a great hot dog place outside of Honolulu so we decided to stop after our Diamond Head hike. Featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives apparently - why not? Turned out to be great!

But my most favorite place of all and totally a reason to fly 12 hours again was Leonard’s Bakery serving Portuguese donuts called Malasadas. LIFE CHANGING! I can almost taste the cream filled with plain sugar coating!

Where did I get all my great info? This book right here! The best books if you’re going to any of the Hawaiian Islands! Guaranteed!

It was a fantastic two weeks. Watching the sunset every single night was magic. Every one was different but beautiful in its own way. Thanks Anna, Tom and Julie for being my great companions. Memories I will cherish forever💕 Olaha🌴

Québec City 💙

Part two of our Canadian trip was to Québec City - the oldest French speaking city in North America. Also the only remaining walled city north of Mexico. I am so glad we made the trip there as it reminded me in many ways of Salzburg, Austria. So pretty, almost like a fairyland. Both Montréal and Québec City are in the province of Québec and French is by law the primary language. But even if people don’t speak much English they seem to understand it fairly well as we were told they all take English in school at a young age, and they watch Netflix!

We didn’t rent a car but it was easy to get there from Montreal - either bus or train. We opted to take the bus and it was easy to get to the bus station in downtown and buses left almost on the hour for the 3 and a half hour drive. Same heading back to Montréal which we needed to do to get our flight home. The buses were very nice and clean, but I recommend buying your tickets in advance as both of our buses were full.

Québec City is small compared to Montréal - and very walkable. In fact I highly recommend walking everywhere because it the best way to see this beautiful old quaint historic city. The explorer Samuel de Champlain is credited with founding the city in 1608 and it was called Kebec. It was originally governed by France but after some back and forth for more than 100 years it lost a big battle with the British and became part of Britain in 1763. Little did I know in 1775 American revolutionaries tried to capture Québec but were unsuccessful. I can’t believe they still like us so much!

We stayed right in the very center of town at the cutest boutique hotel. It was called Auberge Place D’Armes. Fantastic location and a great attached restaurant called Chez Jules. It got excellent reviews but we just ran out of time to eat at all the great spots. The hotel was very reasonable - I’m guessing more expensive during the summer months. We were lucky and the weather was great the whole time we were there. We needed coats but it was sunny.

The old city is all within the city walls and referred to as Old Upper Town and Old Lower Town. We could never get a definitive answer as to where the line is so everyone just said if you walked down a hill or stairs you are in lower town. Well ok! There are a few cool areas outside the walls too. We spent a day exploring two of them - St-Roch and St-Jean Baptiste. St-Roch is definitely lower and St-Jean Baptiste upper, but there is either a very tall staircase to climb between the two or you can take the elevator! We had done plenty of walking so elevator for us!

There are a number of what sounded like good museums, but since the weather was so great we stuck to more of the outdoor sites - and an awesome free walking tour. I had a spur of the moment idea and googled free walking tours in Québec City and one popped up. Let me introduce you to Sam DuBois. An awesome guy that is a certified tour guide and Québec City native that has been doing free walking tours for 7 years. He also has almost 1000 great reviews on Trip Advisor. What did we have to lose? If you are heading there I highly recommend committing to this two hour tour. His website is www.afreewalkingtourofquebec.com. He is interesting and funny and you will enjoyably learn a lot. But he should be compensated for his time and effort so tip generously.

The tour starts at the Parliament building right outside the city wall. Sam said basically that makes it like a state capital building.

In my opinion the most picturesque district is called Le Quartier Petit-Champlain. If it’s not in the Old Lower Town it definitely felt like it because you either walked down a lot of stairs or took the funicular. This time we took the stairs. So many cute shops, restaurants, galleries, statues etc. We went a couple of times and stopped one night for a glass of mulled wine at a cute rustic bar right at the bottom of the stairs.

La Citadelle is a massive star-shaped fort that construction was begun on in 1820 by the British to defend against an American invasion and a possible revolt by the French-speaking population. Lots of cannons pointing in all directions and sits very high up overlooking the St Lawrence River. It’s still an active military post with about 200 members based there. They give hour long tours which is the only way to see it from the inside so Cheryl and I did it and learned a lot. Yes that is a real (stuffed) goat that was a gift from Queen Elizabeth on her visit in 1955. His name is Batisse and it is a Persian goat descended from the Queen’s private stock of goats. The goat participates daily in the summer during the changing of the guard, and has become the mascot of Québec. The goat proved to be so popular and the lifespan not that long so they started raising the goats instead of importing them from England - and the current one is the 10th by best guess.

The Dufferin Terrace sits on the hilltop just below the very famous Le Château Frontenac. It is a great boardwalk that will take you all the way along the Governor’s Promenade to the Plains of Abraham where the famous battle of 1759 decided the fate of the city. A reminder - the British won. It s a beautiful overlook along the St Lawrence River and we lucked out with a spectacular day.

So many cute shops to browse in! I’m not much of a shopper but they had a great selection of scarves, gloves and hats. Lots of locals mentioned how cold it gets there in the winter so not a surprise they would be stocking up. Also cute souvenir shirts, sweatshirts, magnets, mugs and the like. I loved this cute shirt and came very close to purchasing it. Made me laugh every time I saw it.

We found a self guided walking tour of St-Jean Baptiste and decided to follow it. This area is outside the walls of the old city and I’m pretty sure it’s where most of the locals live. So many cute houses, shops and restaurants along with Martello Tower 4 - one of the three remaining towers that were part of the fortification built for defense in 1810. If you visit Québec City and have time it’s worth a half day and a breakfast or lunch as part of your exploration.

Last but definitely not least as far as sites is Le Château Frontenac. It totally dominates the city no matter where you are. You will end up with 50 pictures of it because it is spectacular and you want to remember it from every angle and every time of day. It was completed in 1893 and was built for luxury stays along the Canadian Pacific Railway. Lots of famous people have stayed there but the most memorable for me was PM Winston Churchill, President Franklin Roosevelt and Canadian PM William Lyon Mackenzie King met here to plan the final stages of WWII. Anyone can go into the lobby or eat at the hotel. They have a beautiful bar called 1608 that Cheryl and I went to our last night. Pictures coming up!

And now for some food! I didn’t get pics of every meal - but captured some of our favorites. We headed to St-Roch for breakfast one day because we read Le Croquembouche was the best bakery in town. They had an amazing selection and it was wonderful but very reasonable. I had a plain croissant with homemade jam and Cheryl had an apple turnover. We were definitely the only tourists - all locals - a good sign.

Our very favorite spot for lunch was La Buche. The food was delicious and we loved the very Canadian decor. Check out that bear skin on the wall! Cheryl started with a pea soup that was fantastic - and it was kind of a mustard color. We both had only seen pea soup that was green so caused us to do some research and find out that actually there are lots of colors of peas. Now we know! I had a grilled cheese but the cole slaw was unique. I think they use maple syrup liberally in many things. It was good.

Our favorite dinner spot was Bello. Excellent Italian but the lighting wasn’t great for food pics. We shared a salad, risotto and a ravioli dish that were all wonderful. Then a lemon tart with lemon sorbet - Yumm!

As mentioned we treated ourselves the last night by going to Bar 1608 at Le Château Frontenac for drinks and a charcuterie plate. It was such a cool place and felt so European. No one rushed you or kept coming by to entice you to get more drinks. Great service but respectful of letting you enjoy the lovely atmosphere. And of course some flying Canadian geese!

Je Me Souviens - you see it everywhere. It means “I remember” in French. Their heritage is important to them so they don’t want to forget.

There are a number of gates into the city. This one is right by the entrance to La Citadelle.

One last picture of Le Château Frontenac. You never get tired of it💕 This one taken looking up from Le Quartier Petit-Champlain.

We had such a wonderful trip! Thanks for being such a great travel partner Cheryl. You made everything more fun. We love you French Canada!

Montréal🍁

My first trip to Canada and my first time leaving the country since Covid. It felt great! Entering Canada the customs agent asked me my reason for coming and this would horrify my daughter, but I did share a bit too much information. Told her this trip was supposed to happen in 2020 but due to Covid my first ever trip to Canada was postponed and I was finally getting to come now. She leafed through my passport and saw all the stamps and laughed and said well you’ve been everywhere else what took you so long to plan a trip here? So yes it’s true when they say Canadians are all nice. We found that to definitely be the case all week.

I traveled with my good friend Cheryl and once again confirmed to me that picking your travel companion is very important. Cheryl and I both love most of the same things especially when it comes to travel. We have the same energy level, like to see as much as possible, get up and out fairly early and while food is important and part of the experience certainly when visiting a country or new city - it’s not the only thing that drives our agenda. So all went smoothly and we had a fantastic time. The weather could not have been better. The days in Montreal were quite a bit warmer than expected with beautiful sunshine and lots of leaves still on the trees. We had done quite a bit of research and made a couple of dinner reservations. That was all very helpful but I’m glad we also had a lot of flexibility. Since the weather was so good we stuck to doing more outside versus inside things like museums.

What a beautiful city! There are 7 areas in the metro and we managed to cover 5 of them pretty well. The 5 we saw were Old Montreal, Downtown, Plateau Mont-Royal, Little Italy and the Lachine Canal. The 2 we didn’t see are Rue St-Denis and Parc Jean-Drapeau, which is an island across the St Lawrence River. The city has a fantastic metro system of trains and buses. It was so easy to navigate and all the trains and buses looked new. We bought a 3 day pass for what was about $15 and used it to get us everywhere. Also the US dollar is strong versus the Canadian dollar so our money went far. Our first 3 nights in Montreal before heading to Quebec City we stayed in an AirBNB in Old Montreal. It was in a great location, quiet and clean - just what we had hoped. One thing that was a bit of a surprise was how many pay phones we saw that were in excellent condition and obviously still in use. I can’t remember the last time I saw a pay phone in the US but apparently it’s still a thing in at least Montreal. Just in case you don’t remember what it looks like I took a picture!

So here goes with the highlights of what we did! The first night we arrived we walked around Old Montreal and headed down to the Old Port to see across the St Lawrence River to Parc Jean-Drapeau. There are restaurants, bars, breweries and an old Ferris wheel and I read in the warmer months lots of water activities.

The Place D’Armes is one of the main squares. The beautiful Basilique Norte-Dame is on one end of it and spectacular inside. The center of the square is Monument Maisonneuve dedicated to the city founder Paul de Chomedey. The Basilique has an entry fee to see it and also an evening show called Aura where you see the the inside during a computer generated light spectacular. We decided to spring for the visit with the light show and it was very cool. Then after you can stay and see the church in more detail.

There is a beautiful mountain (do not call it a hill we were told) called Parc du Mont-Royal. It is in the Plateau area and really wonderful for hiking and enjoying nature. Very well maintained and gorgeous views of the fall leaves and city. We spent half a day there enjoying it all.

Right in the same basic area was one of my favorite spots. The Square St Louis surrounded by these awesome colorful homes and lots of cool restaurants and shops. If I lived in Montreal that would be my spot for sure.

McGill University - the Harvard of Canada is right by the Parc du Mont-Royal. On a beautiful fall day the students were out enjoying the last bit of good weather. This picture is through the gate of the main entrance and if you look closely you will see the quad dotted with students.

The Lachine Canal area is another cool area we explored in detail because of the great cooperation of the weather. It is fed by the St Lawrence River and originally was an industrial waterway. It has undergone a major renovation and many of the warehouses have been converted into condos and apartments. It has great bike paths and running trails on both sides and people were out in mass to enjoy the sunshine.

Montreal is famous for its impressive year-round food markets, and we visited two of the biggest. The Marché Atwater is in the Lachine Canal area. The largest is Marché Jean-Talon in the Little Italy area. Both were great but unfortunately when you are just visiting you can’t do much more than look.

Last and truthfully maybe least was the Oratoire St-Joseph. Cheryl was a real trooper and I’m not sure I was deserving of her good nature that afternoon. It looked amazing in the research but number one it’s not really near anything else. Technically in the Lachine Canal area but really that’s a stretch. If my memory serves me correctly we took 2 metro trains and 3 buses to get there. And then almost a mile walk uphill to get to the church. The very impressive front entrance was totally under construction so there was no way to even attempt a picture, but at least we could go inside. It was totally my idea and Cheryl didn’t complain once. She commented on how pretty the trees were on the mile walk uphill. And it was at the end of the day so we were already tired. Clocked in at almost 12 miles of walking that day! Hopefully Brother André who build the original chapel in 1904 and is now a saint due to his healing powers will shower Cheryl with some extra blessings for her patience🙏🏻 The structure was completed in 1960 so quite modern and massive inside.

Now for food! There is a lot of great food in Montreal. Lots of French since it is French Canada, but lots of other great choices as it is quite cosmopolitan. Cheryl and I did a decent amount of research - my number one priority remains as always breakfast. And that usually means bakeries, patisseries and coffee shops. Montreal did not disappoint. One place was so excellent we went twice! There is a fun show on Netflix called “Someone Feed Phil”. Phil travels around the world eating food in cool cities. After seeing the episode in Montreal we decided Olive + Gourmando was a must - so we went twice! It did not disappoint.

Breakfast in Little Italy at La Croissanterie Figaro. Had a yummy croissant breakfast sandwich outside on an awesome patio.

Now for lunch. Have you heard of poutine? If there can be such a thing as a national dish than poutine is the dish of French Canada. It is French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. Sounds delicious or disgusting depending on who you talk to. But you can’t knock it till you try it and Cheryl and I were game. So we went to one of the places where it is supposedly the best. And served around the clock as in 24/7. Of course now they have a menu of poutine that numbers up to at least 25. I went with the basic - or classic as it’s called. Cheryl is a little more adventurous with food so hers also had sour cream, Swiss cheese, bacon and onions. Comes in two sizes - regular and large. We both went with regular and it’s a healthy (not really at all) portion. Neither of us came close to finishing it but I will say it was better than I thought it would be. We went mid afternoon and it was packed. I give you La Banquise! No extra charge for the house cat roaming above our heads😂

Poutine on Monday - vegan on Tuesday! Lola Rosa was close to McGill University and downtown and sounded good so we gave it a try. A sweet potato burger and chick pea fries for Cheryl (I told you she was adventurous) and a salad for me. Cute and not too heavy.

Apparently Montreal is quite famous for bagels. All the way back to 1915 they have a history of great bagels. People debate the merits of the various shops like people in Chicago talk about pizza, hot dogs and Italian beef. We had heard lots about St-Viateur Bagels and seen it on the Netflix show so decided to try it for lunch. I’m not an expert on bagels but I’m no novice either and we both liked them very much. Boiled and baked in a wood-fired oven. They ship all over even to the US so if you can eat 2 dozen which is their minimum go ahead and give them a try! The manager told me the location we were at sells 7000 a day and all of their locations sell 60,000 a day!

Dinner the first night was right down the street from our AirBNB in Old Montreal. Brasserie 701 was filled with locals - always a good sign. The food was French and had a very old school classic decor. We shared an appetizer that was mushroom toast and it was fantastic. It’s mushroom season in that part of Canada so many of the places had mushroom dishes on the menu. My main dish was salmon with asparagus and cauliflower. We shared an apple tart for dessert. All delicious!

Next night we ate at Un Po’ Di Più and reservations a must. It’s a very cool Italian restaurant and the food was wonderful. A great place to get a couple of dishes and share them. We started with fresh veggies and eggplant dip. There are lots of farms right outside of Montreal so lovely fresh vegetables including a Tokyo white radish that neither Cheryl or I had ever had that we loved. Milder than a red radish but delicious. Then charred broccoli with red cabbage, a tagliatelle pasta with mushrooms (another mushroom appearance) and an olive oil chocolate cake with pears and macadamia nuts. The Italian wines were excellent too. Just a really fun night and meal.

Our last dinner in Montreal was a pleasant surprise. We were tired and leaving the next day and ran out to the Marché Jean-Talon to see it thinking maybe we would pick something up there to bring back to eat. We had eaten a late lunch at St-Viateur Bagel so weren’t very hungry. We loved the market but didn’t see anything that looked like it would work for us since we had no way to really prepare any food. Cheryl had read about a little sandwich shop called Porchetta that got great reviews but actually didn’t sound that appealing to me. It was basically pulled pork and the review said the great bread soaked up all the grease. Kind of made me gag. But I thought let’s give it a try - we’re not really very hungry anyway. Well we met one of the owners of the shop and she was so very pleasant and helpful. We decided to share the classique sandwich with fries and a salad. We took it back and let it sit for at least an hour - maybe two and I was fearful it would be a congealed disaster. Much to our surprise it was fantastic! Not greasy in the least. The meat was so lean and delicious and even after that amount of time the fries and salad were delicious. If I get back to Montreal it will be the first place I go back too! I didn’t even take a picture of it because I thought there was no way I would put it on the blog. No one more surprised than I. Just a few blocks from the Marché Jean-Talon. Run!

Just a few other pictures I really like. This one is from the top of Parc du Mont-Royal viewing the city on a beautiful fall day.

Lots of old historic buildings but great modern architecture too. This is a cool building downtown.

Not all the metro signs make you feel like you are in Paris but in Old Montreal this definitely gave me a flash back to one of my favorite all time cities.

So that was the first part of our trip. Next up with be my recap of Quebec City. Coming very soon! Thanks for coming along💕

2022 So Far!

If you think I haven’t traveled all year you would be wrong. If you think I haven’t traveled outside the US than you would be correct. But that will change very soon! Yes going to make the leap and do the trip to Canada that was planned for April of 2020 and well - Covid. For my first trip to Canada I decided I would head to Montreal and Quebec City - 2 beautiful cities that appear to be almost like visiting France. What’s not to like? Traveling with one of my favorite like-minded friends and we have 17 pages of things we want to do, see and eat. Cheryl keeps asking me how we are going to eat at all the bakeries on our list and my reply is that we will do our best. Canada here we come!

Now a quick recap of the places and fun I’ve had so far. In March a fun family gathering in Florida for my nephew Cam’s wedding. Part one in Tampa for the beautiful wedding of Brooke and Cam. So wonderful to see my kids, siblings and cousins! Many of us then went over to St Petersburg to finish a great week and enjoy more sunshine.

April I headed to Scottsdale for a college girlfriend trip delayed from 2020 hosted by Jan - an incredible planner and memory making genius. We hiked, line danced, ate amazing meals, attempted to golf, lounged at her pool and had a fabulous time with lots of laughs and at least a few fabulous cocktails made by her awesome husband. I stayed a few extra days with my goddaughter and niece Angela in Gilbert and even made a day trip to Tucson to reconnect with a colleague I hadn’t seen in 30 years. Thanks Kassie and Bruce for showing me the highlights of Tucson!

Late April I was invited to Lake Tahoe for a few great days of hiking with my dear friend Liz. I said yes as quickly as possible and had a couple of fabulous days hiking everyday around the beautiful lake at the most perfect time of year. Not crowded, snow covered mountains and clear skies! Thanks Liz!

May was a trip to Kansas City to visit the place I consider my 2nd home. I miss my dear friends, colleagues, my church and all the places I loved to volunteer. It was an action packed week seeing as many friends as possible, happy hours, lunches, dinners, runs and even the fabulous KC Ballet! I will return soon! Thanks for being an amazing host Cheryl💕

July I got to host my super cool friends from KC for a split week - half the time relaxing in Fontana WI in a cozy cottage on Lake Geneva, and the other half doing the city thing in downtown Chicago staying at the fabulous Talbott Hotel. The lake part was super chill. Walking, swimming, browsing cute shops and eating amazing Wisconsin mildly unhealthy food. Is everything fried or dipped in cheese? Pretty much the answer is yes. Then downtown Chicago super action packed. Art Institute to see Cezanne, Art on the Mart digital art projection, run on the lake, champagne cocktails to celebrate Deidre and Cheryl’s birthdays, rooftop cocktails and lots of delicious food. Can’t wait for you all to come again!

August found me on a much anticipated trip to see Anna and Tom in their new home in Raleigh. Such a beautiful city with lots to do in those rolling hills. Close to the beach and close to the mountains. I call that pretty perfect and they seem to agree. We had lots of great food and I did get to the Raleigh Art Museum one day. I do love museums! They also introduced me to Crumbl Cookies! All I can say is WOW! Got a bonus long weekend with them on Sugar Mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountains too. Our Charlotte cousins joined us which made it even more perfect. We hiked, ate and had a couple of very spirited Yahtzee matches. I even won a game and that’s a first for me for sure. Thanks for a wonderful time Anna and Tom. I can’t wait to return🥰

Who doesn’t love a puppy pic??!! We had 2 dogs with us in the mountains - cousin Bowser and our beloved Penny. Bowser was very interested in Penny but she was definitely playing hard to get.

September was a long overdue get together with my high school friends again postponed due to Covid. We went to the number one destination for girls trips….Nashville! We rented a fabulous house, ate lots of great food, had more than a few cocktails, listened to music at Tootsie’s, and stayed up way too late catching up and laughing at the stories we tell of our great past together. We missed you MK! What happens in Nashville stays in Nashville!

What else have I been keeping busy with you ask? Well training to be an Interpreter for the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust for one. Currently certified to do tours at the Home and Studio here in Oak Park, but training for the Walk Around Oak Park and then perhaps I will expand from there. I really enjoy it. So fun to literally meet people from all around the world and share my love and knowledge of Wright with them. And I have met so many fellow volunteers and staff that are so great and been an incredible source of help to me.

Also tap dancing and performing with Keeley! She is the BEST in class and I’m not the worse😂 Our favorite little buddy Owen came to our recital, brought us flowers and said he liked our sparkly shirts. Is it any wonder he’s our favorite!

I have a new grand dog! Hello Monica! She is a sweetheart and has lots of energy. I have been trusted to dog sit her. High praise.

So that has pretty much been my year so far. Lots to do here in Chicago and I’m fortunate to have fun friends and family to do them with, or go by myself which I don’t have a problem with either. Canada is up soon and then another fun trip in December. Working on 2023. Thanks for reading and now do one other thing for me. Please go get your flu shot and Covid booster! 💕