it has been a while since i last blogged. i am getting really lazy! blogging is really sooo time consuming too - and i still have so much to update. it has suddenly dawned upon me that i will only be in vancouver for less than 1 month:( sigh. time is passing waaaaaaaayyy too fast!
went to chinatown with mijin-na coz she hasnt been there - even though she has been in vancouver for 5+ months already!! too bad it was raining quite heavily so we couldn't cover a lot of ground. but at least we lunched on some nice chinese food:) i had yummy crispy sangmin with minced beef and mixed vegetable! the portion was huge though - such that i could have it for 2 meals! glad mijin-na enjoyed the food too! and she has made me sooo addicted to pineapple buns now:/ despite the depressing rain, we had fun walking around and exploring parts of chinatown which i have never ventured to:)
after biblestudy on last last last friday, mijin-na and i satisfied our sudden cravings for cinnamon rolls! haha. we heard so much about the famous cinnamon rolls at grounds for coffee so we decided to try them for ourselves! the cinnamon roll with icing was sinfully delicious - i really love it:) the ambience at the cafe was great too! mijin-na and i really share a deep deep love for pastries and food in general:) haha.
i cooked blackpepper chicken and anchovies-spinach soup:)
much thanks to bora who brought me my favourite green tea gelato icecream:) i never knew gelato came in icecream sticks too! it was very good:) really enjoyed catching up with bora - whom i havent met up since i came back from my east coast trip!
last saturday, karen and i brought julia, bora-ya, mijin-na and anna-ya to primataste to try singaporean food! apart from bora, it was their first time trying our local food. we shared 4 roti pratas (which was horrendously expensive - cad$4 for just 2 slices of prata! madness. but it was comforting that at least they tasted good;) - and i had soyasauce roast chicken rice, which i really enjoyed!! i think it is even comparable to that of weenamkee back home?:) yummy! as usual - it was a night of good food and company:) since we were already in downtown, we couldnt resist going shopping after dinner - and karen came back very satisfied;) heh.
12:09 AM
Saturday, March 17, 2007
we had to leave for quebec that morning! much much thanks to sylvia who very kindly offered to let us stay in her apartment while we were in montreal - that lucky girl was enjoying herself in cuba;) i really love the walk-in wardrobe of her cosy apartment!
us on the road with jon behind the wheel - en route to quebec!
snowing in vieux quebec, the old walled city of quebec - with its characteristic euro-influenced winding cobblestone streets aligned with old stone houses
doesnt it feel like christmas time?
along rue saint jean - a lively street with many interesting shops and boutiques!
just outside the wall of vieux quebec - this high stone wall extends for more than 4km and surrounds the old city!
beyond the walls - after walking through the gate, it seems as though u had been transported into a different sense of time and place eh?;)
mich and i - trying maple taffy, a traditional snack in quebec. it is something like a high-class ice-kacang coz it is made from concentrated pure maple syrup poured over lightly packed snow . we then removed it from the snowbed when it hardened, and it was ready to be savored;)
a closer look at our maple taffy! it was soooo sweet but v yummy:)
quebec is even more french than montreal! it's easy to imagine that u have arrived in france. bonjour!
it was one of the coldest nights i have ever experienced:( maybe that explains why we were like the only ones out in the streets? haha. but we needed to have dinner - so we were finding our way to the restaurant that was recommended by the caretaker of the hostel! it was sad that our trip was kinda wasted coz the dinner was not too good - which explains why we didnt take any photos:/
walking through the gates back to vieux quebec, where our hostel was very conveniently located;)
the musee du fort - a military musuem
i never knew a hotel could be a tourist attraction itself. but if u see the fairmont le chateau frontenac in all its grandeur and opulence, u can definitely see why so many consider this a must-go attraction in quebec. this well-known railroad hotel dominates the skyline of vieux quebec and overlooks the st lawrence river! it's the ultimate romantic hotel - we all thought that it would really be the perfect venue to hold a wedding. haha
random shots in le chateau frontenac - the photos don't really do it justice though!
mich and i - at the hotel lobby. they are still using those antique telephone sets!
venturing outside - to enjoy the night scenery of old quebec:) u can tell how cold it was by looking at the river which was partially frozen :/
jon n i - in front of le chateau frontenac
to make up for a terrible dinner n to treat ourselves on this very cold night, we headed to a very nice italian restaurant for desserts and coffee:)
mich n i - with the charming italian resturant-owner/manager. he made fun of me though:( coz when i told him we wanted the chocolate cake, he proceeded to serve me the whole entire chocolate cake - when it was quite obvious that we wanted a slice!!?
the best tiramisu i have ever tasted!! it really melts in ur mouth - sinfully delicious:) and the chocolate cake was very good too!2:51 PM
Thursday, March 15, 2007
snow & slush in downtown montreal - despite the sun, the weather was still pretty cold! the day started late coz we all couldnt awake - but we were just in time for brunch:)
a trip to montreal is never complete without a visit to schwartz, a restaurant that serves the best smoked meat sandwich!!
can u even question why?:) absolutely heavenly!! even though i would normally take the trouble to remove all the fats from the meat, this time was an exception..
a typical subway station in montreal - it looks quite run down though..
outside the 'just for laughs' studio - i really love watching this show, which is the canadian version of 'candid camera'!
even in the heavily-french-influenced montreal, there's also a chinatown!
skyline of downtown montreal
going to the old port of montreal - this famous old walled town is the birthplace of montreal!
the montreal city hall - where the french president de gaulle uttered his famous "vive le quebec libre" (i think it stands for "long live quebec" - but do correct me if im wrong?) in 1967 - from the balcony!
statue of a famous military hero in quebec
remnants of quebec's winterlude - slides made out of ice blocks!
sometimes u don't really feel that ur in canada - when ur in montreal! france perhaps?
splendid victorian styled buildings and the narrow winding streets of old montreal - dating back to the origins of the french colony
walking along promenade du vieux port, overlooking st lawrence river. but we didnt venture too far out coz it was toooooo cold - we couldnt wait to retreat to the indoors each time we went out :/
outside marche bonsecours - which previously housed the city hall from 1840s to1870s. after being restored, it now houses high-end designer boutiques
the beautiful architecture of the notre dame de bon secours chapel - which houses the remains of saint marguerite-bourgeoys.
we really wanted to go the the famous montreal musuem of archaeology and history (we had earlier met 2 strangers, who kept telling us that it was a must-go attraction) - but too bad it was closed that day:(
the centaur - which is housed in canada's 1st stock exchange building, is montreal's 1st english-language theatre!
notre dame basilica - i wonder why so many churches adopt this same name? i think this is the 3rd notre dame basilica that i have come across! but this is by far the church with the most magnificent architecture i have ever seen!
a closer look at the amazing altar area - with all the intricate carvings and sculptures!! some trivia - celine dion said her marriage vows here in 1994!
even the back of the church is so elaborately detailed! it's really a breathtaking sight..
there were lots of nice paintings - that related the events leading to the crucification of Jesus.
the sacred heart chapel - which is located behind the notre dame basilica
our next stop was the bank of montreal (bmo) musuem, which showcased old bank notes, mechanical money boxes and historical objects and documents since the 19 century. bmo is canada's 1st bank!
the rue st jacques - is probably the heart of the commercial district in montreal. there were so many banks along that street! since we all had bank accounts with cibc, we couldnt resist taking a photo in front of their branch in montreal;)
at mcgill university!
there's mcgill's law school!
the very beautiful campus of mcgill university - with all its ancient-looking but majestic buildings all around
we went to the musuem in mcgill university - here's one of the more interesting exhibit - a real mummy!
they even exhibited the tiny shoes for chinese women who bound their feet in the past! looks so painful! what inhumane torture - i wonder how they managed to endure through it? thank God it is no longer in fashion now..
not surprisingly, we made a trip to mcgill's law fac building!
mich and i - outside the mcgill's law library
the amazingly charming student/staff lounge at mcgill - wow. if only e nus law lounge was as nice as this!
some random street in montreal
dinner and beer at qua!
the food was fantastic! :)
there was even a mini-beer-brewery in the restaurant itself!
hmm..was their beer up to standard? i would say yes!! i am not a fan of beers, but i enjoyed the special brew that night:)
all happy and satisfied after a good meal - much thanks to wern jhien for his good recommendation;)
after dinner, we picked up leticia and martzia - before heading down to habitat 67, which is a very expensive concept residence, originally developed as the main pavillion for the international work expo that was held in montreal in 1967 (hence its name). the unique design for habitat 67 consists of boxes arranged to create 16 differently configured living spaces for a total of 158 residences within the complex!
beautiful night scenery of montreal11:09 PM