Our first stop was Ottawa, Canada's capital. Canals, gorgeous architecture and markets along cobblestone streets made Ottawa a charming, quaint city. My favorite part was the parliament light show. Below is a picture of the parliament building - imagine a light show projected on this entire building. It was stunning! I've also added a picture of sunset in Ottawa - one side of the river is Quebec and the other side is Ontario.
Next up was Montreal. The old part of Montreal was so beautiful and Chris and I loved strolling these streets, stopping in shops or for coffee. But the best part of our visit to Montreal was the fine dining! We had an out-of-this world dinner at Europea (www.europea.ca). My taste buds went on a roller coaster ride with the sensational tastes of lobster cream cappuccino with truffle oil, parsnip puree, confit tomatoes with fresh thyme and honey, braised veal cheeks, and an array of deserts including apricot marshmallows, rasberry cream cookies and cotton candy! And would you believe the day after this amazing dinner, we had a delicious brunch in a beautiful "jardin" in Old Montreal? I am eager to return to Montreal to just eat!
After Montreal, we took an 18 hour train ride to New Brunswick. During our tour of the maritimes, we kayaked in the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick and toured the lighthouses and Anne of Green Gables' stomping ground in Prince Edward Island. We also went whale watching - one of the coolest experiences of my life. We saw birds, porpoises, seals and lots of whales! You feel so small when you see a large fin whale surface near your boat. They weigh a mere 60 tons.
New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island were gorgeous. I love being near the water and driving along lush fields that back up to lighthouses along the coast was amazing. Enjoy these pictures of a lighthouse on PEI, where we were kayaking at the Bay of Fundy's flowerpot rocks and cute seals from whale watching!
Toward the end of my trip I received some very good news - I was awarded a FLAS (Foreign Language Area Studies) scholarship! I am extremely excited and honored to have received this from the African Studies Center at UNC. The scholarship will cover my tuition and fees my final year of school as well as a provide a healthy stipend. This combined with a place on the MCH Leadership Consortium is a huge boost for my grad school morale. I'm so ready to get started!
Tomorrow I will return to work and I am actually very excited! Most people dread going back after vacation but I feel so invigorated by my studies and my job. Vacation was just the respite I needed to motivate me kick ass in global public health!
Whoa! Sounds like an awesome trip... but even better is the news about the FLAS Scholarship! I'm so excited for you! I saw the 'FLAS!!!' comment on facebook but had no idea what that was. :)
ReplyDeleteSuper, super proud of you!
Beautiful photos and congrats on the scholarship!
ReplyDelete