Joyeux Anniversaire ma cherie!

Bonne fete ma chère Soy!!

Je sais qu'on ne se voit pas souvent, même quand je suis à Montréal, mais je tiens à te dire que tu occupes une place spéciale dans mon coeur. Les années ont passé tellement rapidement! Il y a plein de choses qui se sont passées. Nos vies ont tranquillement changé, PAR CONTRE notre amitié est TOUJOURS restée la même!

Je te remercie pour toutes ces années d'amitié remplies de beaux souvenirs. Parfois, je repense à nos années du secondaire et ça me manque! On a passé par tous les stades ensemble... école, stupidités, conneries, clubbing, rires, pleurs, succès, échecs ;) Et dire qu'aujourd'hui tu as déjà 2 beaux enfants!! Et oui, les années avancent! ;)

Tu es une femme merveilleuse, intelligente **encore un peu slow :P** et ravissante. Je te souhaite le bonheur et l'amour que tu mérites. Profite de cette belle journée avec ta petite famille! On organisera un girls night à mon retour!!

Je t'embrasse!
xoxo

PS: Je viens de remarquer que ça fait des années qu'on n'a pas pris de photos ensemble! Cette photo date de 9 ans! OH GOD!! YOUNG AND PRETTY huh?!? :P

Christmas Eve dinner in Slovakia ;)

On Christmas Eve we had a traditional Slovak meal. I enjoyed the food, I learned a lot... and 2013 will just be AMAZING!!  Find out why!

First, we started off with oplátky s medom a cesnakom which are 2 thin waffles with honey and fresh garlic. There is actually a meaning behind that. The honey is soft and sweet so it will bring softness and sweetness into our lives, and the garlic is for good health! Then we continued the meal with the kapustnica soup with mushrooms, prunes, and sauerkraut. The main dish was vysmážaný kapor so zemiakovým šalátom - carp with potato salad. Food was great!!

After the meal, the tradition continued... One person of the family had to cut an apple in half across its width. If the the five-pointed star is nicely shaped that means everyone will have a good year. If not then we all blame the person who cuts it hahahah.. Good thing that our apple **cut by Martina** was just perfect! :D YEY! Good year for ALL OF US!! 

When I was about to leave the table, Martina's mom told me to look under the mat. I found fish scales... from the fish I just ate! Then the mom said that I have to put those scales in my wallet; they will bring money to it!:P

You think Chinese people are superstitious?! MAN! Slovak people are the same!! heheh...  

I am glad that I had the opportunity to learn about the Slovak culture! 
Good times!! ;)

Supermom's biskupský chlebíček... MIAM! ;)

I haven't had good homemade cooking since the day I got in England :S Food here is BLAH... The family that I am staying with cook for me everyday. However, I do not get a healthy balanced diet as I would want it to be. Oh well, dinner is ready on the table everyday as soon as I arrive from work... So NO COMPLAINTS! ;)

When I was in Slovakia, I stayed at Martina's parents place. Her mom is just AH-MA-ZING!! She is like a machine and she cooks non-stop! All the food on the table was homemade FOR EVERY SINGLE MEAL... soup, main dish, dessert, cookies even the wine! That was just AWE-SOOOME!!! So imagine Annie who loves eating AND who is always hungry... It was PARADISE!! hahahah!! :P Mom's cooking is ALWAYS the best because it is made with love!! <3

(@Olga: Hey Olga, she kind of reminds me of your mom!!! Speaking of that, I miss your mom's spanakopita!! Mmmm...)

My favorite of all time in Slovakia was a cake-bread called biskupský chlebíček, which I had for EVERY morning for breakfast. There was nuts, dried cranberries and dried orange peels **if I'm not mistaken**. It was sooo gooood!! Martina's mom usually makes that only during Christmas time... and uh.. hum.. Within 3 days, I finished the WHOLE loaf by myself!!!  :S :P :D I could have finished it the first day, but I didn't want to show them that I am a BIG PORK! hahaha...

Oh yeah! I also tried this homemade sweet drink... containing alcohol :P Yeah, yeah... It's a drink for 'women'! It was really good. I actually finished my glass! WHAAT?!?! Impressed huh? I know! I was impressed of myself too hahahah...
 

Thank you supermom for your cake! It was DELICIOUSLY yummmyyy!! I miss you, supermom... and I miss you, biskupský chlebíček :P

Little town... Piestany

Piestany is a little town. There's not much to see really. But it is a very cute town with many tales and meanings behind them, which make it even more charming.

Martina took me around, and it was a quiet walk from the house to the town center. The only thing that we could hear was the snow crisping underneath our boots. Sometimes, doing nothing, hearing nothing, and thinking about nothing are necessary moments to give our brain a rest. I think that was exactly what I needed...

We were crossing a bridge when I saw two trees which captured my attention. They had a really special shape. Then Martina told me that those two trees are famous since they have been in a "tree competition" hahaha... I found that funny! They are called "Her and Him"... That's a tree couple! Isn't it cute?! ;)

Piestany is very well know for its hot springs spas with a temperature of 60C and up. They have apparently curative effects for rheumatic, neural, and orthopedic diseases. I love natural thermal baths, but unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to go. However, I got the chance to touch the water... It was really super hot! I wish I could have gone! Oh well, maybe next time!! ;)

We got to the town center and the first thing that put a smile on my face was the ice rink! I haven't seen one for so long! **The one in England doesn't count because it's not an ice rink... It's a pool :P** For some reasons (probably because it was during Christmas time and I missed home) it made me think of my brother and I when we went skating at the park behind our house. It was really cold, but we had so much fun... Aaah when we were kids... No worries, no headaches! Good times, good memories!

We walked around the small 'downtown'. Most of the shops were closed since people were preparing for the Christmas Eve celebration. Thus, we were just window shopping and there was a yellow sweater that caught my eyes. I got closer to the window and this was what I saw ;)

 It says:

Campus League 1979

Canadian Style

Québec City

**By travelling around, I have noticed that I am really proud of being Canadian! Everything that has to do with Canada would make me smile. CANADA WOOT WOOT!!!

It was actually pretty cold that day, so after walking around 'downtown' which took us 10 minutes :D, we went to a cute little coffee shop called Monsalvy to warm us up. Their thick hot chocolates were soooo yummy!!! Mmmm... Drooling right now!

 Coconut and Raspberry :D~~

Thank you Martina for the amazing 'city' tour! Even though I make fun of Piestany, I did like YOUR hometown! :D

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BEST SHOT OF THE DAY:

I was going to take a picture of the tree couple when a sweet couple of elders holding hands were passing by... Awww... I had to take this picture! It's just so cute!!

Joyeux anniversaire à une bonne amie à moi :)

Bonne Fête ma Davy chérie!!

Je sais que normalement, peu importe où je suis dans ce monde, je suis TOUJOURS à Montréal pour ta fête. Malheureusement, cette fois, je ne pourrai pas faire de même. C'est la première fois en tant d'années et je suis vraiment désolée! Je ne suis peut-être pas présente avec toi, mais, dans mon coeur, je pense à toi en cette journée spéciale.

On s'est connu à l'âge de 8 ans et je me rappelle comme si c'était hier! Le temps a faufilé et ces ans ont passé tellement vite! Après toutes ces années d'amitié, je tiens à te dire que tu es une amie qui m'est très chère... Tu es une bonne personne avec un très bon coeur. Tu es sans doute une amie qui est toujours prête à prendre ma défense pour quoi que ce soit. J'apprécie tout ce que tu fais pour moi et je te remercie énormément!

Amuse-toi bien cette fin de semaine! On se reprendra à mon retour... très bientôt!


Annie
xoxoxo

PS: Je ne te le dis pas souvent, mais... I LOVE YOU!!! :D

OUR GOOD MEMORIES!!!

From Prague to Piestany

Before leaving for Prague, Martina and I planned that I would go to Prague and she would come join me, so we could go to Slovakia together. As much as I loved Prague, I was really happy to see Martina again after spending a couple of days pretty much alone! That day, Johny and I went to the airport to pick her up. We waited for so long and had nothing to do that I decided to do something to put a smile on her face... This is what I came up with!

Yeah, that was ghetto style - written on a bus map of Prague 

that was in my bag... But it worked! hahaha..

We went from Prague to Piestany, which is Martina's hometown, by car. It was about a 4-hour drive. I was all excited about the roadtrip because I wanted to take pictures of the scenery. BUT... What happened? Yeah... I think you know what happened :P **My family and friends always say that I'm like a big baby, I get knocked out in the car as soon as it starts moving.** That being said, I ended up missing the whole journey! I even missed the "Welcome to Slovakia" sign that I wanted to take a picture of! Aarrgg... Annie, Annie, Annie... :S

When I opened my eyes, we were already in front of Martina's place. We all got up there and met the parents. They were very cute and lovely! AND dinner was ready to be served! Aaahh... I felt like a lucky spoiled princess... EAT, SLEEP, WAKE UP, AND EAT AGAIN :D

As an appetizer I had a leek soup served with some garlic Slovakian "croissant" and it was SOOOOO YUMMYYYYYY!! As a main dish I had  the Slovakia national dish called the Bryndzové Halušky which consists of lumps of potatoes dough that looks a bit like gnocchi with some bryndza sheep cheese and bacon. MMmmm...

Princess Annie had a very good supper... She then followed her routine and went to bed after her meal! Good night! End of the day... To-be-continued stories... :P

Spending the Holidays... Touring!

Many of you expected me to go back to Montreal for the Holidays... However, I made that really big decision of not going back home. There were a few reasons why, but mostly because I wanted to take that opportunity to travel around, to gain some life experiences, to enrich my knowledge, to open my eye and see things differently, and, last but not least, to fulfill a long-time dream of mine...

Some of you would say that Holidays have to be spent with family and friends. Yes, I DO agree... On the other hand, some other friends reminded me that Montreal is not going anywhere and when I will go back, everything will be the same again! Yes, I DO agree too! Thus, I decided to make an exception this year and do something for MYSELF! What I am doing now **and will be doing for a couple more months** is an once-in-a-lifetime experience... AND now is the best time to do it!

During my touring planning, I knew that it was going to be difficult to spend Christmas and new year away from home, especially for the first time :S I knew I was going to be homesick; therefore, I chose places where I knew I would be surrounded by people...  Lucky as I am, I got an invite from Martina to go spend Christmas in Slovakia with her family. I was really touched! That was really sweet of her!

That means -> after Prague, direction Piestany!

Stay tuned for more stories ;)

Friends that I made...

Learning about cultures other than mine, meeting people, and making new friends are the goals of visiting different parts of the world. Prague was lovely! Although it was a place I spent most of my time alone, it was also where I made the most friends out of all the sites I have been to.

Through a friend of mine, Martina, I met Kamil and Johny, They were very nice and really took good care of me... from picking me up at the station to taking me out for dinner to introducing me to their friends to preparing late night snacks for me...  I could not ask for more!!

Through Kamil, I met Michal and Martin. They were hilarious! We were cracking jokes and laughed a lot... **Exactly what I needed!!** Their sense of humor was different, but in a good way. They didn't take things personal and neither did I... so imagine the stupidities that came out of our mouths! Unstoppable! :P

I was in Czech Republic... You would have thought that I met Czech people, but it wasn't the case. All the people I met were Slovak. Therefore, they taught me many things about the Slovak culture. It was cool since Slovakia was my next destination.

Since I went to Prague during Christmas time, everyone was very busy and was all preparing to going back to their hometown. Thus I didn't get the chance to spend a lot of time with them. But it's OK... We still have time! ;)

Message to my Slovak boys:

Ajoy! Dakujem for everything! I appreciated everything you all did for me... It was really nice meeting you guys. We will meet again... soon! :P Take care! Keep in touch!

PS: I don't even have pictures of you guys! :S

Christmas Markets in Prague :D

I don't remember seeing Christmas markets anywhere in Montreal. Are there any?  I might be wrong, but I think that Christmas Markets are something typical to the European countries. They were everywhere... Lyon, Paris, Prague, Piestany, Bratislava! Well, I'm not complaining since they were so pretty ;)

In Prague, there were 5 or 6 of them! But the most beautiful one was the one located on the square next to the 'Astronomical Clock'. Once again I was so amazed by the beautiful Christmas decorations, the sparkling lights of different colors, the big Christmas tree... Everything surrounded by old and nice monuments! Aaaah... so lovely!!

The photos above were taken before sunset... I was so astonished by that place that I wanted to go back at night time, which I did. When I went back... WOW!!!  I was a kid again :P I was smiling by myself and couldn't take my eyes off the lights! I felt like I was a little princess from a Disney movie! That feeling was sooooo great! HAHAHAHA...

LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!!! :D Wanna go back to childhood?!? Go to Prague during Christmas time!!! You won't be disappointed!

My experience in Prague

Prague has been a really popular travel destination the last few years. I heard people talking about it, saying good things, and commenting the beauty of the city. That built a curiosity in me and created the urge to visit that place... Thus, when I was planning my holiday trip, I decided that I would go to Prague. However, I did not want to do any research on it. I wanted to go there without any expectations, without any plans, without a map... Just FREESTYLE! That's right, baby! :P

I am usually not a loner... I don't like doing things when I'm unaccompanied, especially not eating out and travelling. But in Prague I spent most of my time with me, myself, and I. I wandered around, got lost so many times, explored the city, and had fun taking pictures. And guess what? Travelling alone is not THAT bad. I actually really enjoyed my time letting myself do what I had to and wanted to do without anyone rushing or dragging me. It allowed me to focus on MYSELF... and that was great! ;)

If I had one word to describe Prague, it would be the word MAGNIFICENT. The city is impressively beautiful! It is itself an outdoor museum! It is just... WOW! There are numerous historical monuments which the architecture is incredibly gorgeous. I like the feel of walking in small streets made out of stones with old houses and buildings. That makes the city very charming.

My favorite landmark of Prague was the famous Charles Bridge and its statues. It crosses the Vltava river and it is an alley that links the Old Town and the Prague Castle. It is a very busy passageway with little kiosks of all kinds, artists selling their pieces of arts or playing musical instruments to people/tourists who are crossing the bridge.

Prague is the most beautiful city I have been so far... There are so many other countries and cities I would like to visit, but I would definitely go back to Prague a second time without hesitation ;) I loved it so much that I actually had to buy myself a souvenir :D

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One of my favorite shots

La gastronomie de Lyon :P~~

AAaaah... Manger est un des meilleurs plaisirs de la vie! **En tout cas, pour moi, ce l'est!** A Lyon, la ville gastronomique, le plaisir est continuel et interminable! Les restaurants, les patisseries, les cafes sont partout, partout, partout... Vous pouvez alors imaginez le sourire permanent suspendu a mes levres lorsque je traverse les rues dont lesquelles la bouffe et les odeurs me font saliver!

J'ai travaillé dans la restauration toute ma vie, mais cette fin de semaine-la m'a permis d'apprendre des trucs dont je ne savais pas et d'expérimenter les services autrement. D'abord, un bon restaurant n'a pas plus de 5 ou 6 choix pour chaque section, c'est-à-dire entrées, repas principaux et dessserts. Les chefs planifient leurs menus en conséquence des produits frais du marché et des aliments saisonniers, donc leurs cartes changent à peu près à chaque semaine. J'aime bien l'idée de pouvoir commander des aliments frais et que le menu d'un restaurant soit modifié constamment. De cette façon, on est "sûr" de bien manger et de varier les goûts.

Aussi, les chefs veulent assurer les clients que leur nourriture est fait sur place et non fait à l'avance, donc certaines choses sont amenées à la table pour la préparation. Par exemple, un bon chef d'un restaurant de qualité préparera le tartar de boeuf devant ses clients.

De plus, certaines soupes sont également amenées à la table, c'est-à-dire que la serveuse se rend à la table avec la casserole et verse la soupe dans un bol devant le client. COOL NON?! ;)

Je dois avouer que la nourriture à Lyon est vraiment bonne. Ceux qui me connaissent bien savent très bien que je suis une "picky eater". En fait, ça en prend beaucoup avant que je dise que ce soit bon. Par contre, je n'ai pas été déçue une seule fois des repas que j'ai eu durant mon séjour. Vous êtes étonnés hein?! Bien, moi aussi!! :P

J'ai mange comme une vraie de vraie reine... Et comme ma meilleure amie le dirait: "Tu as mangé comme une PORK!" :P J'ai gâté mes papilles gustatives et j'y retournerai bien juste pour manger de la bonne bouffe hahaha... :D

Merci à un ami de longue date qui vit maintenant à Lyon! Il m'a fait découvrir cette ville magnifique de lumière et sa gastronomie! Nhiem, merci pour tout!! ;)