zippin' through whistler

we spent a couple days to whistler because a trip to vancouver just wouldn’t be complete, right? whistler is about two hours away from vancouver and the route there is this beautiful scenic one along the coast with a panoramic view of the mountains. gorgeous.

the day we arrived we spent the afternoon ziplining through the whistler rainforest. it was such a fun and exhilarating and educational activity—we learned much about whistler’s mandate on sustainability and the rainforest itself. the views between each treetop point was absolutely breathtaking; while sitting in my harness, suspended 1000 ft aboveground, I was in complete awe of my surroundings. beautiful B.C, indeed.

we stayed at a hotel in squamish, a town 40 minutes away the mountains. our accomodation was a two bedroom suite which we shared with collin and co. there was a full functioning kitchen which collin used to cook us a steak dinner. it was a cozy evening in.

the second day at whistler started off with a hearty breakfast, once again made by collin. aferwards, the group went boarding/skiing while I spent some time alone. having done both before and taking no pleasure in the sports, I spent the day doing things decidedly more pleasant. I wandered whistler village, did some shopping and reading, and received some pampering and R&R at the spa. daniel had a blast out on the slopes and I the best massage I’ve ever received. I tried to convince the RMT to move to toronto.

whistler was great fun. I would like to go back in warmer weather one day and enjoy non-snow activities the mountain offers.

eating our way through vancouver

we ate a lot in Vancouver. even though it was painful to eat, we still ate and ate and ate...

we started the trip with a visit  to hokkaido ramen santouka for some ramen. I ordered the house special toroniku ramen bowl which was simmered pork jowl meat (pork cheeks, I’m told) in a yummy broth made with pork bones.  oh my, the pork cheeks were possibly the best pork I’ve ever had!! it was so juicy and tender and flavourful; I didn’t need teeth to eat it because the pork pieces melted in my mouth.

we had ramen again a couple days later at kintaro ramen, one of the first and most well-known ramen places in Vancouver. The wait for a bowl of noodles was about half hour, pretty much average for this restaurant I was told.  The wait was worthwhile— we really enjoyed the ramen at kintaro. the broth was so rich and creamy. I ordered the spicy garlic ramen which had an ice cream scoop of garlic atop the noodles; it was delicious but daniel wouldn’t kiss me for a day and a half. no amount of gum and coffee rid that garlic breath.

we also had a taste of the famed japadogs, of course: pork weiners loaded with fried onions, teriyaki sauce, japanese mayonnaise and nori shreds. while tasty, I am a hotdog purist and prefer one smothered with just mustard and relish.

because vancouver is like the north american central for izakayas, we had to visit one. we went to kingyo on denman which served deliciously fresh sashimi and stone-grilled kobe beef.  kobe beef deserves all its hype; it was definitely tender, succulent and intensely-flavored meat that melted in my mouth.

our most favourite meals in vancouver had to be the ones at hachi hana. yes, we were there more than once—we liked the restaurant that much. the portions were generous; the price, more than reasonable; the food, heavenly. the first time, I ordered a plate of salmon and tuna sashimi for $10; daniel was skeptical at my order, thinking it wouldn’t be enough for dinner. but lo and behold, I was presented with ten pieces of brightly coloured sashimi, each piece an inch and a half thick. but it was the quality of the fish that had me at hello. creamy, smooth, melt in your mouth pieces (seems like vancouver serves a lot of “melt in my mouth” food); it was almost like eating salmon flavoured ice-cream (which may sound gross, but it was sooooooooooooooo delicious). and it was filling. The second time around, daniel and I shared a big boat of rolls, tempura, sashimi and sushi. Though full a quarter way into the meal, we just couldn’t stop eating because the food was so yummy. I unbuttoned my pants after that meal. don’t know how we can go back to eating sushi in toronto.

we also had non-japanese food during the trip (like a beaver tail; they’re the same out west as they are back in ontario), but it was the japanese meals that were the most memorable. If you can’t afford a trip to japan, I’d say visit vancouver for a taste of the country.

beautiful british columbia

the first couple of days we were in vancouver, the city was encased in fog and drizzle. but the sun eventually came out and the mist cleared to reveal a city of glass towers against snow-capped mountain against the bluest of skies. quite beautiful.

we travelled with some friends and rented a two bedroom apartment through airbnb. the apartment was awesome, located between a TNT and costco, beside a skytrain (vancouver’s subway equivalent), and less than a half hour walk downtown. being a corner unit, the apartment offered amazing panoramic views of the city, mountains and harbor.

we spent the majority of our time in vancouver eating and shopping. vancouver boasts of tons of amazing restaurants and vibrant and fun local independent shops. we went home with heavier bodies and luggage.

Where to shop: explore the different neighbourhoods and shops (gastown has the most incredible shops, and a couple of my favourite design and consignment stores (baker’s dozen, regional assembly of text) were found on Main St); peek into artists’ studios and then buy their goods on Granville island, also visit the public market for rows and rows of food stalls; rent bikes and ride around the beautiful Stanley park.

Where to eat: see here

bits of my weekend

it was a most delightful weekend in stratford, ontario to celebrate our second year anniversary. stratford is ever so quaint and picturesque— a stars-hollow of some sort (there’s even a town troubadour!); I am quite infatuated with this little city and plan on returning quite frequently.

after driving past fields and fields of gold and emerald, and trees of earthy rustic colours, we arrived in stratford to discover the city was having some sort of culinary festival! there was a picnic lunch packed, but we decided to have “appetizers” at the festival first. we wandered through the booths and tried food samples from local restaurants and community groups and nearby farmers. the smell of cinnamon drew us to blue trailer (with an union jack), selling “brits apple frits” (deep-fried apple fritters). we had intended on ordering only one each, but the local in queue in front of us warned it would not be enough (“I could have seventy!” her son exclaimed). she was quite right; we ended up ordering the half dozen, even three each was not enough (I could have had seventy!). eventually we made our way past the festival and had our romantic picnic lunch— of the bread and spread we’d picked up from the best little pork shoppe— in the car (it had started to rain). the rest of the day included massages, a delicious dinner, and the straford’s shakespeare festival’s production of peter pan. the performance of peter pan was a gem.

the next day we awoke at an ungodly hour of eight-o-clock for a lovely breakfast provided by kit, our b&b host. daniel and I then crawled back into bed to take a nap before check-out. when well-rested, we explored the stratford downtown, stopping at the peter pan picnic for some hot dogs and street performances and, again, at the culinary festival for some more of those “brits apple frits”. we had so much fun going in and out of the little stores and trying to find little antique trinkets to take home. when the day drew to an end, we loaded the car with books and teacups and made our way home

p.s. the beautiful jacket I wore, made of cotton, was an anniversary present from my sweet husband.

cythnia's wedding

(you can see the mountains in the background...)

niagara falls

we just came back from Niagara Falls. it was a little trip planned by daniel for our 6th month wedding anniversary celebrations (two saturdays ago marked our six months of being married) and just to get away to relax. it's been busy here both with work and socially and a mini getaway was much needed. we stayed two nights. the first night was at the hilton hotel; we got a package that included a dinner voucher, breakfast, a room with a jaccuzi tub and a view of the american falls. we switched hotels the second night so we could get another package that included dinner and breakfast... so two semi-free dinners (the two vouchers were for $50 which we exceeded) and two free breakfasts. yes, we'd do anything to save a couple of bucks...

we had the best time- both very fun and relaxing! we didn't venture too far from the hotels because there really isn't much to see at niagara falls aside from the falls. sunday, we took a walk to see the falls, lounged around in our jacuzzi tub, and watched marley and me. yesterday, we went shopping at the canadian coach outlet. daniel was sweet and purchased a "grown-up work purse" for me. I had a planned a picnic lunch for us, but because it was rainy all day, we had it in bed at the (second) hotel while watching arthur. I had wanted to go to the casino in the evening, but wasn't allowed to because I couldn't show ID (had left my wallet at home). thus, after dinner and a walk, we went back to the hotel and watched tv. this morning, we read the paper during breakfast which is one my favourite things to do but something I rarely do because one, I never wake up earlier enough on a work day and two, weekends are generally full of activities and we're constantly on a "go go go" mode. anyway, we went through the entire globe and mail this morning and it was totally awesome, the best way to end the getaway.

and here's are a  few more photos from our trip:


view from our (first) hotel room


our jacuzzi tub. after taking a warm bath, we filled it with ice to keep our picnic foods cool; there was no mini-fridge in the hotel room like we assumed there would be.


our picnic lunch


having a picnic in bed



and just plain 'ol fooling around

hello from sunny fort mcmurray

That is where I have disappeared to in the last couple of weeks. Fort McMurray, perhaps a chemical/process engineer’s haven, is not my type of place. I. Hate. It. Here. Daily, I wake at 4am (or pm, depending on which shift I work- and yes, by shift I mean I sometimes need to work nights) and trudge to the McKay river to work on this super important project for Petro-Canada. I wear coveralls, goggles, hard hat, ear muffs, three pairs of gloves (two nitrile, one leather) and my ugly steel-toed boots that hurt my feet a million times more than my high heels because it rubs against my ankles and gives me huge blisters. Then I work twelve hours, which doesn’t include my two hours commute from Fort McMurray to the McKay River site. Half of my shift is spent in a 53 degrees celcius plant. The other half I am probably spilling 85 degrees celcius bitumen (unrefined oil) on myself. And I am doing this all for the sake of “gaining oil industry experience to become a well-rounded environmental consultant”. Wise or foolish? My bleeding ankles say the latter.

And so, I return home today. Dear beautiful Toronto where there is culture and food and family and Daniel and 8 hour work days! I return to my small cubicle, exactly the same as the one beside it and the beside it and the one beside that one. Some people hate desk jobs, but I love mine! I really do! I now also love my desk! so much!

And then I am to go shopping and spend all my hard earned overtime money on a pair of four inch heels that will hurt my feet so but, at the least, won’t make me bleed! I am also debating between purchasing a pair of seven of all mankinds or a extremely girly dress with lots of pink and florals. After wearing will-fit-a-300-pound-six-foot-man coveralls (they didn’t have remotely close to my size) for two weeks, I just want to revel in feminity.

Oh, and on Sunday, the much dreaded Sunday, I am to return here to Fort McMurray for another two weeks to “gain oil industry experience to become a well-rounded consultant”. Bah.

Calgary in a nutshell

a few Calgary pictures now uploaded on flickr

out west