Travel: California and Nevada

This winter, our escape to warm weather was to Southern California and Nevada. We were fantastically lucky that it came JUST before everything started happening with COVID-19, and we didn’t have to modify our travel plans at all.

Our first destination was San Diego. Daytime temperatures were between 65 and 70 F – this was in February – and residents were apologizing to us that it was so unseasonably cold! We sure weren’t complaining, though. It was gorgeous and sunny.

Honestly, of all the things we did, I think I most enjoyed just sitting in Balboa Park, enjoying the sun and eating vegan hot dogs. Runners up were visiting the local coffee shop, Dark Horse, and visiting my aunt and cousin for dinner in Little Italy.

We then took the drive to Death Valley National Park. As soon as we got out of the major metro areas, and headed west, we encountered a vast desert, the Mojave. It got hotter the further west we got, and more and more desolate. We drove through a few towns, briefly stopping at a cactus and gift shop populated by an older woman who owned the shop, and her three cats. The one pictured is (ironically, some might say) named Handsome.

Finally, after a few sightseeing stops and bathroom breaks, we made it to the park, setting up our tent just as the sun set.

The following days were filled with hiking, exploring, and reading spooky stories at the campfire. It got quite chilly at night, but during the day it stayed in the mid-70s.

Our drive out of Death Valley to Las Vegas featured two interesting stops: the historic Amargosa Opera House and the Area 51 Alien Center.

Amargosa Opera House was built in Death Valley Junction, an old borax mining town, by a semi-famous vaudeville performer in the mid-20th century. She happened upon the tiny outpost, which was run-down and unused, and made it her life’s work to turn it into a desert performance center and hotel. The opera house still hosts performances today, and the hotel is in operation, with a small cafe next door. I once stopped here with my family on a road trip when I was a teenager, and it was interesting to see it again as an adult. Naturally, I also took photos of the resident cat, a friendly, fluffy boy named Wilson.

The second stop, the Area 51 Alien Center, was completely different – a kitschy tourist trap with alien themed foods, gifts, decor, and even a legal brothel. It featured fun alien memorabilia and photo ops, and of course I bought a sweatshirt to show off my silly roadside stop.

At long last, we arrived in Las Vegas, admittedly exhausted. Immediately upon entry to our Air BnB, we collapsed and took a nice, long nap, before going out to explore Fremont Street, also known as Old Vegas. Since I had played Fallout New Vegas, this was of particular interest to me – some of the landmarks on Fremont matched the ones in the game, albeit a bit less dilapidated.

We also explored the strip which, to be honest, was both underwhelming and overwhelming at the same time. It was certainly something to see, but the other things we did were way more fun. One notable place we visited was the Erotic Heritage Museum. Not only was it novel and weird, it was actually quite informative. The photos we took of the exhibits, however, were maybe a little too salacious for my blog.

One attraction I was quite impressed by was the Wynn. It was absolutely covered in gorgeous flowers – real and fake – and every single restaurant featured several non-salad vegan items. We had what may have been the best lunch either of us had every had, overlooking the gardens and pool. I will not tell you how much it cost, though (it was a lot).

The last night we were there, we had drinks atop the Stratosphere, where we watched the sun set, and saw bungee jumpers falling from the tower, which was terrifying to even see. I can’t imagine actually doing it.

Just weeks after we got back, the entire country went on lockdown. So, I guess we got really lucky with this one. A lot of people I know have had to cancel vacations, which of course is a bummer, even if it is in the name of safety. I’m hoping that the country will be open again by September, since we have a Cape Cod trip booked! I’ll try to be optimistic. In the meantime I’m doubling down on sewing to keep myself occupied, so stay tuned!

Travel: Madrid, Spain

To be honest I am not sure why I didn’t post about Spain on this blog the minute I got back. It was an amazing trip. But here we are, 3 months later, and not a peep. Well, dear reader, today is your lucky day, because I am here to wax poetic about Madrid. Get ready for a long-winded post.

The neighborhood we stayed in, Lavapies, has the highest concentration of immigrants of any neighborhood in Madrid. It was also super punk. Anarchist, leftist, and progressive students abounded; when we arrived, a DIY zine and craft fair had popped up at the local plaza, Tirso de Molina, and a vegan activist group was engaging with the public on animal rights. Every night, young leftists gave out presumably donated or rescued food to the community; when a formalized event wasn’t happening, folks were drinking, playing music, and chatting through the night at Plaza Tirso de Molina as well as Plaza Nelson Mandela, just a few blocks down the street.

The view from our accommodations

Another cool thing in our neighborhood, as well as the neighboring hood La Latina, was the sticker graffiti. Local artists create characters who they then produce stickers of in varying sizes. These stickers are made of a material that is very difficult to remove, ensuring the longevity of their art. The below character is Bloo, a tiger found all over Lavapies and La Latina.

It took us a day or two to get used to the time change as well as the differences in standard mealtimes and siesta (yes, this is a real thing and it’s glorious) but when you’re on vacation you can sleep whenever you want, so we recovered relatively quickly. Typically, lunch and dinner are both eaten much later in Spain than in the US. We had dinner around 9pm most days, and lucky for me, there were TONS of vegan tapas places. We had tapas veganas almost every night, and honestly I lost track of some of the delicious cafes we ate at, there were so many!

I didn’t take a lot of pictures of the tapas since I was busy devouring them, but on our very first night I took a photo of our very first Spanish sangrias. 

In addition to food there’s a LOT of wine and cocktails to be had in Madrid. They aren’t as big on the craft beer I’m more used to in the states but we weren’t upset. The abundance of sangria y vermut more than made up for it. I have never seen vermouth regularly offered up straight in so many varieties on a menu – I just saw it as a cocktail ingredient – but turns out, plain vermouth is delicious! Not so much the standard Martini&Rossi you see at cocktail bars so much in the US, but all different flavor profiles and shades.

Vermouth comes in tiny glasses that look like half a rocks glass, usually with ice.

A few of the more interesting cocktails we tried – I’m not even going to try to remember the names and locations on these:

 

We took two day trips. The first one, to Segovia, was on the bullet train, which cost 22 euros per person round trip, and brought us to Segovia very quickly at a speed of 130 miles per hour. When we arrived it was rainy and cold, but once it dried up and warmed up, we were able to appreciate the beautiful architecture of the city.

The famed Aqueducto de Segovia

A spiral staircase in the alcazar

Our other day trip was to Cercedilla, which we took an hour-long bus ride to. It’s a small, rural mountain town with a walking trail around the perimeter. The trail overlooks farms, villages, and a mountain view.

 

Honestly this is just a small fraction of all the experiences Chris and I had in Spain. There is just so much to see and do in and around Madrid I could not possibly fit it into a blog post without it becoming a novella. Honestly though – it was one of my favorite cities I have ever visited. Like, I keep fantasizing about moving there. And the flight from Logan was only around $360 RT. Go!

Road Trip Part 4: Toronto and Ithaca

Onto the fourth (and final) installment of my road trip. The day after Pitchfork we packed up and left Chicago early in the morning. The drive to Toronto was quite long – longer than we expected – and it didn’t help that we got rather lost once we were in the city. Not having 4G available makes travel a bit harder (and I certainly wasn’t paying $30/mb for internet access). Eventually we found our way and worked all of the travel-related kinks out and survived. Although the very confusing public transport did not help.

That’s not to say there was nothing cool to do in Toronto. We went to the Museum of Modern Canadian Art (MOCCA) which is free of charge to visit. There was an exhibition on the LGBT movement, including work by Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. It was a small but well-curated museum.

Keith Haring

A part of an audiovisual work by a Canadian artist whose name I cannot remember.

We also checked out Chinatown and Kensington Market. The latter is a neighborhood containing a variety of vintage clothing shops and restaurants. Unfortunately it took us quite a while to find it (no 4g and not enough maps!) so most of the shops closed before we were finished looking, but it was still a nice excursion.

After that, it was onto our last stop, Ithaca. To get there, you pretty much have to drive by Niagara Falls, so I figured we should make the stop. It was pretty touristy but it was a nice break from driving, and the Canadian falls are quite spectacular (I have heard the US side described as “sad”).

I really enjoyed Ithaca. We camped at Buttermilk Falls State Park, which had a beautiful waterfall and a trail to the top of the cascade. We hiked about 3 miles total along the river.

A small part of the network of falls making up Buttermilk Falls.

It just so happens that Ithaca is also a vegetarian Mecca. It is home to the well-known Moosewood restaurant, a long-standing and well-known vegetarian restaurant. We did not actually end up eating there (though we do own an edition of the cookbook!). When we got to Ithaca, we went to Waffle Frolic, which you might have deduced is a waffle restaurant. They had a vegan/gluten free waffle as well as several other types, and a selection of toppings. I had almond butter and fried bananas. I might have been better off picking something a little less sticky than almond butter, as it was a bit dry, but it was a satisfying meal. We also went to a Vietnamese restaurant which served vegan Pho. I had never had Pho, since it usually contains fish sauce. My favorite, though, was a small cafe in a used bookshop called the Crow’s Nest Cafe. The man working at the counter was very friendly, and made us up two delicious sandwiches and two fruit smoothies. I had a vegan BLT, another thing I had never had before.

Speaking of vegetarian, we also took a drive to see Farm Sanctuary, a farm animal rescue that has been influential in passing laws and policies to improve farm animal welfare. They have three sanctuaries. The one we went to was in Watkins Glen, NY. We went on a tour of the facility during which we got to meet many of the animals living at the sanctuary.

There were all different kinds of animals, including pigs, goats, cows, birds, and even some cats. They also gave a lot of good information about the conditions that many of these animals suffer while still keeping the tour upbeat and focused on the animals they have been able to help.

The next day, it was time to drive home. We stopped at Secret Caverns and toured the cave on the way home. I love caves – they are so fascinating! This cave had a 100-foot waterfall in it, which was very cool. I took a picture, but as is often the case, it was much more impressive in person.

And with that, our trip came to a close! Too soon, of course, but at the same time it was good to be home and back to my normal routine. I have no idea when I will be able to travel again, as it depends on what I do after graduation, but I hope it is soon….there are a ton of other places I’d like to see!

Road Trip Pt. 2: Columbus, OH

Columbus, OH was the first real city on the trip. We stayed a few blocks from Ohio State, one of the largest universities in the country. The first thing we were told by our host was that we MUST do was visit Buckeye Donuts, which he claimed to be the holy grail of breakfast for Ohio State students. We went and indeed, one of the donuts at Buckeye Donuts is a literal buckeye donut: A glazed donut with chocolate frosting and a lump of peanut butter in the hole. Usually I don’t even eat donuts at all but it was so delicious!

Actually, the food in Columbus overall was pretty delicious. When we arrived fairly late in the evening, we walked down the street to Z Pizza, a pizza place which served vegan pizza. I am usually quite skeptical of vegan cheeses, but Z Pizza had great ratings online, so I tried it. I was not disappointed. The best part was, it wasn’t even that expensive (although I guess I am judging by Connecticut standards). Z Pizza was located in the Short North Arts District, which is full of galleries, boutiques, cafes, and shops. It made for a very nice walk, especially on a sunny day (which we were lucky to have almost every day of our vacation).

A comic book mural I photographed in Short North.

Speaking of arts, Ohio State’s Wexner Center for the Arts had an exhibit on Daniel Clowes, one of Peter’s favorite cartoonists. His work includes The Death Ray, a copy of which sits on our living room table. The exhibit included a full gallery of Clowes’ work and provided stools on which visitors could sit and read the comics. It also featured a collection of comics picked out by the artist himself, which ranged from Peanuts to superheroes.

At the gift store, Peter was pleased to find that there was a sale on vinyls. He found Julia Holter’s album Ekstasis for $12 and purchased it to add to his collection.

Proudly displaying his vinyl and the exhibit info sign.

We found that there were a number of record shops in Short North, as well as vintage shops, which I was quite interested in. One of them even had an adorable dog to greet customers, which of course sucked me right in.

The next day we left early in the morning for our drive to Chicago – the Pitchfork Music Festival, which was our primary destination, started at 3pm that day. I will save that for my next post, but first I will leave you with the one and only photo we took in Indiana, of the only thing we saw of even mild interest: a gigantic fire in a field.

Welcome to Indiana!

Road Trip Part 1: The Adirondacks

Whew! I just returned from my long-time-in-the-works two-week road trip this past weekend. The main destination of the trip was the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, but we made several other stops along the way. Our first stop was in the Adirondacks for two nights, one of which was spent camping. We camped at Meadowbrook Campground in Ray Brook, NY.

Our little campsite.

Getting acquainted with the wildlife.

The following day we climbed Mount Ampersand. It was harder than I expected but so exciting when we made it to the top! We had brought sandwiches to eat at the top, which was excellent because the hike was pretty tough. We got the sandwiches from this little local natural foods place called Nori’s. They had all kinds of interesting vegan and vegetarian wraps.

The view from the top including Middle Saranac Lake (I believe?)

For our second night, we stayed at Sunday Pond Bed and Breakfast in Saranac Lake, NY. I stayed there with my family once when I was in elementary school, and my dad has stayed a couple of times since on kayaking trips, so I booked a night in one of their lean-to’s. The lean-to was charming and comfortable, and we got breakfast in the morning which was convenient.

There was also one called “Town Hall.”

The next morning, packed up and drove to Rochester to visit a friend, who goes to RIT. She showed us around her school and brought us to dinner. She also had an adorable kitten, which was a fun bonus! I hadn’t seen her in quite a while so it was nice to catch up.

The downside of our time in New York: I have never seen such terrible driving in my entire life as I did in New York State! Lots of dangerous and illegal passing, cut-offs, and reckless driving. It was nerve-wracking to say the least.

Next up: Columbus, OH and Ohio State University….stay tuned for more adventures!

New Hampshire Weekend

My boyfriend and four of our friends went up to the New Hampshire cabin last weekend for our annual fall cabin weekend and had a lovely time. The weather at this time is perfect for a weekend in the woods. It was in the low 70s all weekend, and sunny. We went on a nice, long woods walk:

 

And we built a lovely campfire.

We found gigantic marshmallows at the general store in town and roasted them! We also bought pizza from a place that didn’t take credit cards…so we had to drive back to get our cash. The owner was nice enough to let us take the pie with us and come back to pay! Yes, we did return and pay what was owed.

 

 

Mt. Tom State Reservation and Northampton

Earlier this month, a few friends and I went for a hike at Mt. Tom, which is in Easthampton, MA. It was a great hike – we started by hiking to an observation tower, and concluded our hike at the ruins of a hotel on the mountaintop. The views were fantastic:

 

After our hike, we drove up to Northampton, MA, to eat and go shopping for a little while. We had Tibetan at one of our favorite NoHo restaurants, the Lhasa Cafe. Apparently, earlier that day there was a sidewalk chalk art contest, so we got to see some amazing sidewalk illustrations!

Truro, MA Vacation

Ever since I was little, my family has taken vacations every few years to Truro, in Cape Cod, MA. Year after year we’ve stayed in Cabin One at Pilgrim Beach Village, which is located in North Truro. It’s biking distance from Provincetown, which, in addition to being a beautiful seaside location and tourist hotspot, also has the highest concentration of LGBT households in the United States. Provincetown is home to theaters, art studios, shopping, beaches, fishing, and a national seashore. It’s one of my favorite places to vacation.

This year, I went with my boyfriend Peter as well as my parents. It took a long time to get there, considering the relatively short distance. There is always a lot of traffic in the Cape, even though we started out early. But it’s always totally worth it. For instance, here is the view from our cabin’s patio:

The weather was perfect for swimming:

We also saw some wildlife, primarily the wildlife that was lounging on the dock at our beach. Usually, there were at least a few cormorants drying themselves on it.

On the last day, we also saw a seal. He was pretty adorable.

Our first night at Cape Cod, we went to see a band called the David Wax Museum at the Payomet Center in North Truro. It was a really fun show, and held in a circus-type tent. The band played a mixture of modern indie-rock type songs as well as Mexican folk songs.

We went on a whale watch during the week as well. In past years, we have always seen many whales, breaching near the bow and stern and swimming beneath the boat. We’ve had very up-close views of the humpback whales near Provincetown. Unfortunately, we weren’t quite as lucky this year – we only saw a few whales – but we still got some good views of whales. We saw a minke whale, a humpback, and a finn whale. We also had a nice few hours out on the water. We went with the Dolphin Fleet whale watch, which we have every year we’ve gone.

As usual, the main street in Provincetown was lively. Incidentally, it was Family Pride Week, so the street was decked out with rainbow flags as well as many happy families.

As I do on every vacation, I sought out the area thrift shops. The best one was Ruthie’s Boutique, one I had also visited the last time I was in P-Town. I picked up a gigantic pair of seersucker shorts, which had such a great fabric that I had to buy them! They were had rainbow stripes on a white background. I have since turned them into a pair of shorts that actually fits me. My boyfriend Peter bought himself a flannel and a couple of skinny ties. This was his first-ever stroke of thrift-store luck.

The most prominent landmark in Provincetown is the Pilgrim Monument, a large granite tower far taller than any other structure on the shoreline. Visitors are able to climb to the top of the tower to check out the rather spectacular view.

My favorite place we visited, though, was the Provincelands Trail at the Cape Cod National Seashore. Provincelands is a paved biking trail through the dunes of the outer Cape which leads through a beautiful beech forest and comes out at Race Point, the “end” of the Cape.

We were well-fed, too. We had ice cream at the Sweet Escape, an ice cream place in Truro that my dad LOVES because it’s the only place he’s ever found that serves pomegranite dark chocolate flavored ice cream. It has a lot of interesting flavors. I had avocado one night; Ryder Beach Rubble; fluffernutter; and coffee cheesecake, to name a few.

We also ate breakfast at a place called Chach in Provincetown. It was away from Commercial Street, the main tourist area, and it was delicious. Unfortunately, on the way there we got caught in a rainstorm on our bikes, which was kind of miserable, but the blueberry pancakes we had were great.

Every time I go to Cape Cod it’s a different experience. When I was little, just exploring the area around the cabin was an adventure.  Now, an adult, I can explore a greater area, so I find new and interesting things to do every time I visit. Like many Northeasterners, Cape Cod is one of my favorite places to visit because of its coastal beauty. Though it is a tad touristy, it’s worth the hassle and extra expense.

Gilsum, NH

One of the places I travel to fairly frequently is Gilsum, New Hampshire. Gilsum is a tiny town near Keene with a population of about 800. My boyfriend’s family owns a cabin in the woods there, and we try to go with friends at least once a year. It’s a relaxing, secluded place to hang out, hike, and take a break from everyday life.

Usually, on the way to the cabin, we also stop in Northampton, MA. Northampton is a college town near Smith College, not far from UMass Amherst. Its downtown has an eclectic mix of shops – used book stores, head shops, ethnic restaurants, vintage shops, cafes, and more. This time we took a look in The Hempest, which is a store that sells items made from hemp; Turn It Up, a used records stores; Shop Therapy, a Provincetown-based store that mostly sells hippie tchotchkes; and Oh My, a woman-run adult boutique. Then, we got dinner at the Lhasa Cafe, a Tibetan restaurant. I would highly recommend it – I got a vegetable curry, Bocha tea, and a dessert made with cheese, barley pasta, and brown sugar, all of which were delicious.

After this dinner break, we drove the rest of the way to Gilsum. On the way up the driveway, we saw something exciting – a bear ran across the driveway! It was a big black bear and it was the first bear any of us had ever seen in the wild.

We spent the next couple of days taking walks around the logging trails and dirt roads surrounding the cabin.

 

We saw a little snake too, he was cute.

And we built a lovely campfire! Although we didn’t actually get any pictures of it post-lighting…

Indeed, we are drinking from sippy cups. They were a dollar at Big Y. Irene and I couldn’t resist.

Anyway, after our few days holed up in the woods with no internet or cell phone reception (trust me, it was great to disconnect!) we drove into Keene for a bit to eat lunch at Lindy’s Diner. I ordered a delicious falafel sandwich and we ordered sweet potato fries for the table. Keene is a smaller college town than Northampton but it has a couple of nice shops. We went to a record store that sold mostly used records, and also walked into a store where we could watch the owner blow glass pipes right in front of our eyes! It was cool to see. I wish I could blow glass, although I hear it’s rather dangerous. Weirdly, we also ran into a friend of ours in Keene who was helping his girlfriend, who attends Keene State,  move into her new apartment – then we saw them again driving by on the way home to Connecticut.

I really enjoy going to Gilsum because it gives me time to relax and enjoy a weekend away from school. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to go to Peter’s cabin and that his parents let us use it. We will probably go back again in the fall – it’s very pretty in early fall, when the air is crisp and we keep warm by building fires in the woodstove.

 

 

 

Montreal, QC

In January, I visited Montreal with my boyfriend Peter for a few days, but then didn’t blog about it because I’m just the worst. Since my summer job involves lots of free time at a desk, I figure I should blog about it now. I have plenty of time. So, here’s the complete saga of my trip to Montreal.

The drive to Montreal from where I live in Connecticut is about 5 to 6 hours. So, to split that up, we decided to stop in Burlington, VT on the way there, which is a cute little college town. Several friends had recommended eating lunch at The Skinny Pancake, which is a crepe shop, so we did. It was excellent! Just for the atmosphere alone I’d give it 5 stars – I am a sucker for places that boast natural foods and play cool music. In addition, the variety of crepes available was amazing. They had gluten free, vegan, and regular crepes, with an incredible assortment of toppings. I chose the brie and apple crepes and I was not disappointed.

After crepes we went to a record store. Peter has a collection of vinyls and he’s always looking to expand it. He loves to visit local record stores, which can be hard to come by. The store we went to was called Pure Pop Records. He purchased a Shabazz Palaces record there. I think he liked it, based on the happy face he is making in this photo:

After this, we drove the rest of the way to Montreal. We had arranged accommodations on Air BnB prior to visiting. We found a room for rent in the city for only $30 a night. Originally, we had planned on using Couchsurfing for someplace to stay in Montreal; however most of the people we talked to asked us to contact them again a week or two before our trip, which made me nervous. After all, this was technically an international trip – we had to plan it well in advance. Thus, we decided Couchsurfing would be a better choice for us. For those not familiar with Air BnB, it is a website on which people who wish to rent out rooms, apartments, or houses to travelers. Many people will rent out spare rooms at very reasonable rates to supplement their income. The woman whose room we rented works for an airline part-time, and spends the rest of her time traveling the world using the discount she gets at her job. She rents out two rooms in her apartment to help cover the rent. It was a great way to travel as a student – cheap and comfortable.

One of the major attractions in Montreal is the Biodome, and this was a short walk from where we were staying. It is housed in a building used for the Montreal Olympics in 1976 and is situated next to the Olympic stadium building. It’s really an interesting building:

Inside the biodome are a series of mini-ecosystems, featuring the native plants and animals to that habitat. It was amazing – much more so than I was expecting. There was a tropical section, a decidious forest, a marine wildlife section, and polar exhibits.

 

We also spent some time walking around the city taking pictures:

We also went to a few museums, including the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art, which was discounted because one of the galleries was undergoing renovation, and the Canadian Center for Architecture. We went on a guided tour of the museum and our tour guide was great! The exhibit we saw was a collection of art about the city of Montreal, which was being done in three installations. I loved it! The artwork was original and beautiful, and our tour guide was very knowledgeable. After the tour, we took a look at the permanent collection in the museum.

We ate a lot of great food in Montreal, too! We went to a few vegetarian restaurants, since I don’t eat meat. My favorite was Bonnys Vegetarian and Organic Cuisine. I got potato and leek soup and tabbouli. It was the best tabbouli I’ve ever had! Everything was vegetarian and there were a lot of vegan options as well. At one point we went to a bar called Korova, and while I’m not a huge fan of bars (they’re so expensive!) this was a pretty good one. The music they played was good and the atmosphere was fine, although it was a bit crowded. We also went to a place called La Banquise, which had about a billion different kinds of Poutine. Poutine is a French Canadian specialty, consisting of French Fries, gravy, and cheese curds. Luckily for me, La Banquise had a vegetarian Poutine, which I shared with Peter! I have no idea what the vegetarian gravy was made of but the whole thing was delicious – although I’m not sure how appetizing the photo looks. Just trust me on this.

We went to two live performances while we were there. The first one was to see the band Purity Ring live, who I had been dying to see for months. When I found out they’d be in Montreal at the same time as I planned to travel there, I was thrilled! They played at a medium sized venue called Le National. It was a beautiful theater.  We had balcony seats, which is great for me because I can’t deal with floor concerts. They tend to make my back start to hurt by the end of the opening act. So, it was nice to have seats. Incidentally, I got my first legal drink at the show as well – a glass of wine! The drinking age in Montreal is 19 (or 18? Can’t remember) so I was old enough, although I was disappointed that they didn’t even card me. At any rate, the wine was alright and the show was great! Purity Ring puts on a great performance, it turns out.

The second show we went to was a last-minute decision. We saw that the Centaur Theatre, a local English language theater, was having an avant-garde theater festival, so we decided to go to one of the performances. We decided to go to the one called A Day in the Life of Miss Hiccup. The play had no words at all and only one actress; it was performed in dancing, actions, noises, and music. It was funny, unexpected, and adorable. At the end, I got a photo with Miss Hiccup, and told her I loved her show!

Montreal was a fantastic place to visit. I went  in the winter, which was cold, but it was the only time I could go since I work a full-time summer job and go to school during the rest of the year. However, I’ve heard that during Montreal’s relatively short summers, there are music festivals, fairs, and celebrations almost every day in different parts of the city. In addition, I am sure the city is beautiful when the trees are green and the flowers are blooming. If you go, I’d recommend learning to say “I don’t speak French, sorry” and “Do you speak English?” in French, but being an English speaker wasn’t really a problem for me. Almost everyone there speaks English as well as French. It was a good first experience in a non-English-speaking area. Montreal was a really nice city, and seemed like it would be a nice place to live. When it came time to leave, I was sad to go, and I am looking forward to visiting again one day.