studying the art of fine French cuisine
Last weekend I went on a field trip to a maple syrup farm! We enjoyed a very Canadian brunch and tasting.
I hung out with these two horses, Sparky and Winston, as well as our fantastic tour guide.
This goat also kissed my cheek (and then tried to eat my hair.)
Finally I did the most Canadian thing of all: rolling hot maple syrup onto a stick in the snow to make a lollipop!
It was a pretty great adventure.
March 5th, 2017
Last weekend I went on a craft beer, distilled spirits and winery tour of Ottawa! Here’s some photos from this awesome field trip.
February 7th, 2017
Living in Ottawa has given me the opportunity to cross a number of things off my bucket list, including skating on the Rideau Canal, meeting an astronaut and attending Winterlude!
February 7th, 2017
Winter break has come and gone! I really enjoyed my 3 weeks off school. I spent the days leading up to Christmas day with in Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario with my loving relatives.
When I returned to Ottawa, I moved out of my apartment in Vanier and moved into a suite in the bed and breakfast I work at in Sandy hill! Even more exciting, New Year’s Eve in Ottawa was the kickoff of #Ottawa2017. I got to see the torch lighting, flagbearers and fireworks from the very front row at Parliament Hill. It was the best new year’s eve I’ve ever had.
I also visited Montreal over the break. I’m starting to get very comfortable with taking rideshares, staying at Airbnbs, and going on very spontaneous adventures. We took a 2-hour speed tour around the city in a Benz, hitting up Mont Royal Plateau, Saint Viateur bagel cafe, Saint Joseph Oratory, Mt. Royal, Vieux Montreal, the Biodome and Notre-Dame Basilica.
Unfortunately all great things come to an end, and I am back on the grind of school every weekday and work every weekend. Though I already feel like this is going to be a very long semester, I am sure it will be over in a blink.
January 16th, 2017
This is my roommate’s and my gingerbread contest submission. There’s prizes for the top three creations and we’re hoping that ours has a fighting chance against the actual pastry student’s!
Also: it’s really starting to snow here in Ottawa! It can be dreary at night in the wrong gear, but during the day time it’s really beautiful.
December 8th, 2016
Yesterday I attended my very first hockey game! And where better to watch one of Canada’s most favoured sports than the country’s very own capital city?
Not to mention, our seats had an incredible view:
In the first period Minnesota scored one point, and in the second period they scored again but it was ruled out by the refs because the puck was hit down into the goal by a high stick. Finally the Senators scored at the start of the 3rd period, but no more goals were made. We were tied at 1-1 when overtime began, but quickly lost the game to Minnesota just before the time ran out.
Regardless of losing, I had an awesome time. We got complimentary Montreal-style smoked beef sandwiches from the Ledge lounge and ordered some Mike’s Hard Lemonade to sip from our box seats. My school was able to offer all the students a complimentary ticket, as well as a +1 ticket for a cost of $50.
We even got these super cool Senators scarves!!
November 14th, 2016
I don’t tend to eat out much in Ottawa despite my interest in food and the city. Being on a student budget makes it difficult to run a food blog when it comes to food someone else has cooked!
Aside from the delicious samples I tasted on the C’est Bon tasting tour, I have visited 7 places to eat: Nando’s, Presotea, Sash Gelato Cafe, Jay’s Pizza and Poutine, Mu Goong Hwa Garden, Heart & Crown, and Lieutenant’s Pump. I’ve already reviewed Mu Goong Hwa in my first post and the previous two places mentioned were solely for drinks (which are hella expensive here.)
Jay’s Pizza and Poutine offers pizza for $2 per slice, ($2.25 for slices with meat) they’re open late and offer delivery. It’s nestled on the block between 3 Brothers Pizza and Poutine and Shawarma Palace on Rideau, which makes me genuinely wonder how this mom & pop shop could stay afloat. But now I can reason why: the crust is crisp, the cheese they use is St. Albert’s, and the owners are incredibly friendly people. I ate my pizza before I could take a photo of it, but they handed me this nice take out menu which will have to do.
The bubble tea scene in Ottawa has nothing on Vancouver. A medium-sized bubble tea without tapioca pearls at Presotea Ottawa costs an average of $5.50 each, and they’re often made with powder-flavouring rather than fresh fruit. There’s only a small handful of bubble tea shops in the city and so far, I am unimpressed. However, this hang-out spot was surprisingly populated and the tea itself was not bad.
The gelato scene, however, is a worthy contender of Vancouver’s. I’ve only been to two gelato cafes so far, but there seems to be an abundance of places to get your fix. Sash Gelato is definitely a trendy place to try some creative flavours.
Finally, there was Nando’s flame-grilled chicken. Though there are Nando’s(es) in Vancouver, my first time actually sitting down to eat there was here in Ottawa. The ordering system is a little odd, but the food is tasty and the atmosphere is very relaxed (if only I hadn’t snapchat story’d the photo for it, I’d show you.) What I really need to try next time though is the $3.99 bottomless frozen yogurt!
November 12th, 2016
Every Thursday I try to visit one of Ottawa’s many free-admission evenings to local museums and galleries.
Anyone who says that Ottawa is a boring city doesn’t appreciate the incredible stuff the city has to offer.
November 12th, 2016
Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a prêt à thé (tea party) and tasting all of the delicious dishes that my housemate and his classmates prepared! It was absolutely superb.
The presentation and taste of each sample was even more overwhelming than the selection of tea. My personal favourites were the sweet club sandwich, the hazelnut-lime macaron and the finger framboise.
All of them were lick-the-plate delicious.
November 1st, 2016
Ottawa is easily one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever visited. On a sunny day in autumn, the parks here are naturally saturated by the blue sky and the rainbow of trees.
Even the cloudy days here are beautiful. The leaves are crunchy and the air is dry – it is very unlike Vancouver.
It can get sort of lonely moving to a brand new city on your own, knowing no one. I’ve made it my goal to take advantage of free admission Thursdays at various Ottawa museums, but it’s not always so easy to find someone to go with. The first week I went to the Canadian War Museum with housemates who I met that day; the week after I visited the Canadian Museum of Agriculture and Food with this goat who tried to eat my phone.
However, I’m very thankful to have met so many wonderful people across Canada through the French immersion program Explore. Not only has it helped me immensely with understanding the French taught at LCB, but it’s also helped me adapt to Ottawa. I even have a few Explore friends who are students here in Ottawa too, who visited the Canadian Museum of Nature with me last week. (Nuts to you, stupid goat.)
I particularly liked the dinosaur exhibit.
Anyway, today’s my 20th birthday and though can be tough to really celebrate given the circumstances, I had a great day regardless. In fact, my talented housemate in Superior Pastry even brought home some especially special treats to share with me and my other housemate whose birthday happened to be yesterday!
I’m also going to celebrate a little extra by treating myself to a fresh haircut tomorrow and brand new winter boots. Going to enjoy the hell out of this gorgeous weather while it lasts!
October 25th, 2016
Once in a bleu moon 