March Break: Quebec City, Round 1.

Last week was March Break for those of us employed by the school district. It's what I used to call Spring Break but here in the tundra it ain't spring yet, so we call it March Break. If they would wait another few weeks until April than maybe Spring Break would be appropriate, but it they did that there is a very serious risk that we would all have gone insane by then. So, March Break it is...

The Canadian and I headed west to the great province of Quebec. I should probably go ahead and let all you Americans in on a little secret. We've been mispronouncing Quebec our entire lives. There is no typical Qu sound at the beginning. It is not like quiet or quick. It's a K sound. Kebek. Something like that.

Side note: check out the nastiness that grew on the side of our car during the drive. 

Gross.

Where was I? Yes. Quebec - pronounced with a K. We drove several hours through northern New Brunswick to the French province of Quebec. I was super excited to pass by my favorite town in the whole world, St. Louis du Ha! Ha! Possibly the greatest name ever. I want to live in a town that ends in an exclamation point. Moncton! New Brunswick! Maybe I'll send a petition on over to the mayor and see about adding that little piece of grammatical genius.  

New Brunswick is the only official bilingual province in Canada. Quebec is the only completely French province. I'm American. If anything, Spanish would be my second language. Do the math - French and I are not friends. It poses a bit of a challenge in Quebec, but lucky for me TC is pretty good at rolling his R's. Even though they don't care to admit it, most Quebecers speak English. Somewhat broken, heavily accented, but English nonetheless. Especially in the tourist cities, like Quebec City and Montreal.





Old Quebec lies inside Quebec City and is surrounded by an enormous wall. Driving through the gates transports you to a city in a city that is reminiscent of Europe.





I've never been to Europe, but that's what I am told and it is certainly like I imagine Europe.





We stayed at the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac - basically a castle. It was built in the late 19th century and is beautiful and ornate. Kinda made me feel like a princess, really. Next time I'll remember to pack my tiara.





TC let them know that we were there to celebrate our wedding anniversary (it's close enough, right?) and they treated us to a room upgrade and had delicious fudge and honey waiting in our room. Get this - the honey came straight from their rooftop beehives! I guess that is one way to keep the hooligans from climbing up on the roof.





We spent the afternoon wandering the town and enjoying the nice weather. It was super nasty the last time we visited so it was nice to actually see the sights when it wasn't buried under snow and cloudiness.





I tried to sucker TC in to a quick toboggan ride, but it apparently wasn't up to his standards.





He told me in no uncertain terms that we have an identical toboggan hanging in the basement and that there are much better hills at home that would be much more fun for my first toboggan ride. I told him he was a party pooper.





To make it up to me he bought me a lovely glass of wine, and all was well again. Doesn't take much, does it?





Exhausted from a long day of driving in the car and then gallivanting through the city we crashed early. The next morning we headed out in search of a hearty breakfast, and more importantly cafe au lait. We ended up with regular coffee but the woman next to us had a cappuccino in a bowl. I want coffee in a bowl. Mugs are for boring people. With that in mind, we set out to Montreal in search of coffee in a bowl.

To be continued...

I'm So Healthy, I Made Kale Chips.

I've been meaning to tell y'all how healthy I am for over a week now. I mean, if I made kale chips that definitely qualifies for the healthy category, right? Surely it counters all the sins of my peanut butter cookies.

It seems everyone and their brother routinely makes kale chips and I live under a rock, seeing as I wouldn't have known what kale was if it punched me in the face a week ago. But I do now. Don't you worry. Me and kale? We're thick as thieves.

I'd love to regale you with stories of all my healthy eating habits, but the fact of the matter is that it is all I can do to force myself to cook a lean meat and veggie combo every night...and even then I am not always successful.

Blah, blah, blah...all this talk about healthy food is putting me to sleep.

Kale chips. If you haven't tried them, do. They're good. Really. Even if they are "healthy."

Cut up the kale into bite sized pieces.

Toss it in extra virgin olive oil.

Lay it across a cookie sheet in a single layer.

Sprinkle it with a fair dusting of sea salt. Better yet, smoked paprika and rosemary. Go big or go home.

Now pop that bad boy in the over at 350 for 12-15 minutes until nice and crispy. 

Enjoy!

First Snowshoe of the Season.

Hopefully by now The Canadian and I are safely in Quebec, roaming the streets and enjoying our March Break. In my previous American life I would call this vacation Spring Break but since spring is no where in sight we just simply call it March Break since that actually makes sense.

Anyway, before our departure we ventured out for our first snowshoeing adventure of the season. Now that it's March I figured it was time to finally embrace winter. Let me tell you, snowshoeing is much more fun when there is no wind and the temperatures are above freezing. 

A little bit of coffee and Bailey's never hurt anything either.

Before we set out, TC had to put my snowshoes on my feet. I'm sure I could learn how to strap myself in, but it's much funnier to just stand there like a helpless kindergartner. 

We headed out with our friend Serge and the three dogs; Odin, Maple and the Hobester. Since Maple is staying with Serge for the week we thought it would be a good idea to get rid of as much as her energy as possible. It probably won't work, but it was worth a shot.

One of The Canadian's favorite trails is just down the street but he decided it would be more fun to break trail and just go randomly through the woods. That's the beauty of snowshoeing - no trails needed. 

It didn't take long before TC found a small hill that looked like it needed climbing. Serge and I were a bit behind him and when we caught up we found him waiting at the top of the hill. We both looked up at him with our best are you serious look.

Before my look made impact he was hurling himself down the hill. Then he ran back up and did it again.

With a little cajoling from TC, Serge was up the hill and ready to slide down on his arse. 

I swear a dog was going to loose a leg. Then we'd have a three legged dog on our hands and an awfully big mess.

Even worse, what if I broke my leg on the way down? How do I get talked into these things? Actually, I can't believe I have turned into such a weenie that I need to be talked into sliding down a tiny little hill.                    Oh my god, I'm getting old.

Man down! Man down! 

Good lord, it was a miracle my camera survived as I veered directly at Odin, completely out of control. I almost dislocated a finger but the damage was so minimal I can't even remember which phalange it was now.

The walk continued with TC leading the way, weaving through the woods while Serge and I questioned if he was paying any attention to his path.

Apparently he was, much to my bladder's delight. I was t-minus two minutes from taking a pit stop which I would imagine would have been rather cold and uncomfortable.

Watching the dog's you'd think we were just starting out. I'm not sure there are any other creatures in the world that love snow more than these three. Especially Odin, he rolls around in it, nose dives through it and eats it. 

Well, now that we can cross snowshoeing off our list I think it's time for spring to show up. 

Good times had by all. Here's to hoping it was our last chance to go snowshoeing this season!