MONTREAL PHOTO DIARY, PART 3

May 21, 2013

Real talk: I got tired of looking at my own Montreal photos so I needed a little break between photo diary 2 and this one. But now I’m back and feeling really positive about the experience. We all need a little break sometimes, ya? In this last installment of Montreal photos (I’ll share our favorite restaurants/shops next), we visited the beautiful botanical gardens, hung out on the roof of our hotel, and explored the city by night.

On this particular day, the temperature dropped dramatically and I thought my face might freeze over. We tried to ride the city’s bixi bikes in the morning but then I lost feeling in my hands and ears. Spending the day at the botanical gardens, with it’s regulated climates and breathtaking greenery, was exactly what we needed. Plus, one of the greenhouses was filled with the most beautiful butterflies I’ve ever seen. FILLED. I’m not talking 5 or 6 butterflies. I’m talking hundreds of them and strong feelings of should-I-be-scared-because-they’re-kind-of-creepy-and-keep-landing-on-my-jacket??

Oh and don’t even get me started on how gorgeous Montreal looks at night. I didn’t take many night photos because I never really bring my camera out at night. Big mistake. The one night I brought it out, I took about a hundred photos and I’m so glad I did. This city is pure magic! I miss it already.

MONTREAL PHOTO DIARY, PART 2

May 15, 2013

We spent a lot of time in Old Montreal because it’s just so dang beautiful and otherworldly. Also, our hotel and favorite lunch place were both there too, so that made it easy to just wander around those cobblestoned streets all day long. Note: riding the city’s bixi bikes on cobblestoned streets, on the other hand, is not easy. Things get real bumpy. Fair warning.

We didn’t have too many plans in Montreal so we were more than happy to explore the area and take a million photos of buildings. Besides endlessly wandering, we rode bikes along the water, visited the Museum of Contemporary Art, and did a little shopping. Oh! We also had the best meal of our lives on this particular night. There is a grainy photo from it below, with a chalkboard menu all in French (talk about living on the edge), and me looking a bit terrified for what’s about to happen. But just like I did with NYC and Brooklyn, I’ll share all our favorite eats and shops soon!

MONTREAL PHOTO DIARY, PART 1

May 14, 2013

So I thought I could cut down my photos from Montreal into one post and I was very wrong. VERY WRONG. Instead, there will be a few more, and consider this a fair warning. This was the first part of our Canadian adventure, where we tried to speak French (ca va?), still paid for everything in US dollars, and were lost 95% of the time (by the end of the week, we were sayin “eeh?” after every sentence like true Canadians). We explored the downtown area of Montreal, hiked through a wooded forest to the top of Mont Royal, strolled through the cobblestoned streets of old town, and shopped at Marche de Jean-Talon (a beautiful food market).

We walked about 8-9 miles a day in that vastly spread-out city and loved every minute of it. Of course, they have other amazing public transportation services that we used constantly as well, like their impeccably clean metro line and the bixi bikes lined up throughout the city. Everything about Montreal was accommodating and easy – you gotta love a city that looks out for its people. Speaking of the people! If Canadians aren’t the nicest humans on this planet, then I don’t know who is. LOVE THEM.

aaaaand a grainy selfie:

FRIDAY LOVE LIST

May 10, 2013

Aside from my raging allergies, I love this time of year. The days are longer, the nights are warmer, and the sunsets get all crazy on us. Last night, the sky turned a million shades of pink and I saw about 40 instagrams documenting it (including my own). Not gonna lie, there was also an earthquake yesterday so THAT coupled with the super bizarre sunset kind of made me think the world was ending. I’m so dramatic! Here’s what I loved this week:

• I read this New Yorker article about wedding hair at least 20 times because it’s so hilarious and yet, so spot on at the same time. Gonna go read it again…
• I’m a huge fan of Kelly Oxford’s crazy twitter antics and loved her new book. Go read it if you haven’t yet.
• Honey chocolate chunk cookies? Umm sign me up.
• I recently purchased a nut milk bag (YEAH, I said it…a nut milk bag) to make homemade almond milk. I’ve been testing out recipes and will share my favorites soon.
• In case you missed it, here are my photos from New York City, Brooklyn, where we ate and shopped in NYC & Brooklyn, and Connecticut! Next week, it’s allllll abooot Montreal, eh? So come back and visit!

This weekend is Mother’s Day and I feel so lucky I get to spend it with my amazing mom. Enjoy your weekend, friends!

CONNECTICUT PHOTO DIARY

May 9, 2013

After our adventure in New York (photos here, here, and here), we took a train from Grand Central Station up to New Haven, Connecticut. My cousin, Anabel, goes to Wesleyan University in Middletown and our plan was to hang with her for a day before road-tripping to Montreal. We arrived really early in New Haven and took a mini-tour of Yale to kill some time. I geeked out a bit because it looks kind of like Hogwarts. That’s how you know I went to a public university in CA –> I think Ivy League schools look like Hogwarts. Anyway, the campus was beautiful and we kept searching for any and all trapped doors that led to secret societies.

Then we rented a car* and drove to Middletown to spend the day with Anabel. First of all, this girl is such a dream and I love her to pieces. So smart and witty and gorgeous. Kyle and I had a great time hanging around her school and pretending we were young college students (sigh, miss those days). I’m so glad we had a day to just relax and chill with my cousin before the whirlwind that was Montreal!

*okay how adorable is our mini coops rental car? kind of wanted to steal it…