JBR - Lager With A Scary Story

Beer: Ghost Bride 

Type: Lager

Date Tried: Saturday October 17, 2020 

Location: Vermillion Room, Fairmount Banff Springs Hotel

Meal: An amazing steak dinner!
General thoughts from Jason, when asked for his review: "I don't know, fine." 

Another Custom Brew: This beer was also a limited edition made specifically for the hotel by Big Rock Brewery.
Editor's note: We heard the story last night during the Ghost Tour of the hotel.

JBR - But It Was Special

Beer: Banff Spring Lager, Big Rock Brewery, Calgary, Alberta
Date Tried: Friday October 16, 2020 during the bar's 'Rush Hour' so it was only $6, I ordered it for him while he was in the washroom
Location: Rundle Lounge, Fairmount Banff Springs Hotel
General thoughts from Jason, when asked for his review: "Nothing special." 

Why It Was Special: Even though Big Rock now has a bottle shop and dining hall in Liberty Village, Toronto and does brewing out of Vancouver and Etobicoke, as well as, Calgary - this beer was obviously a limited edition made specifically for the hotel.
Editor's note: My drink came in a monkey! A 'zero proof' cocktail that was very tasty.

Let's Go To Virginia, Real Quick

So this past weekend brought a snow storm to Toronto (and the surrounding area). I got a call on Sunday that Steph was trapped at the airport downtown. (Toronto Island Airport that was originally just Porter but now a few other carriers use it too. Also, you used to only be able to get to it using a ferry but now there is a tunnel to walk under the water.) Steph was trying to get to Virginia for a photography conference.

Upon reviewing her options she called to see if she could stay overnight and then figure out a way home to Ottawa the following day - since everything in Toronto was basically shut down with the snow (even though it had basically stopped snowing at this point.) I decided to do one better and offered to drive her down to Virginia so she didn't have to miss out on the conference, or the styled shoot she had scheduled on location as well.

It took 10 hours to drive to Charlottesville and we arrived at her hotel at 4am on Monday morning. I was going to drive her to the shoot but then decided I wanted to sleep and just lent her the car for the day while I hung out at the hotel. When she got back that evening (and how she worked a full day, I have no idea) I drove her up to the Washington, DC airport (where she was originally going to fly in) so that she could grab her rental car and continue onto the conference. Then I drove home overnight from Monday to Tuesday.

It was great to spend time catching up but now I need to catch up on some sleep!

WALK, Bike, Swim In Budapest

We really filled up Friday! The hotel Jason found for us had amazing breakfast brought to our room each morning, so we enjoyed that in bed. (brie and bacon on a bagel, which ended up having cream cheese, fig jam, and micro greens to, plus macaroons, croissants, lattes, freshly squeezed orange juice and more - you pick from a menu the day before.)

A small group of us went to the large church near by to catch a free walking tour. Now that I think of it, since I am writing this a few days later while in Romania, I had wanted to return to the church to see inside but never got to. Oh well, next time I am in Budapest I will need to remember to visit  St. Stephen's Basilica and check out the thousand-year-old mummified hand they have on display (supposed to have belonged to Saint Stephen I of Hungary and is an important religious relic.)

The walking tour was great, I love those free ones where you tip at the end. Though Teri accidentally told them when we went to check in that we had more people added into our group and they charged us in advance instead. However, the 'cost' was still less then we probably would have tipped.

Our guide took us through the Jewish Quarter, main square, to the river, over The Chain Bridge to the Castle District, then up the hill passed the Royal Palace and President's House, over to the Matthias Church. So the tour was book-ended but the cities two famous churches. Matthias Church, or Church of Our Lady of Buda is very impressive and very old. It is hard to wrap my head around the age of things hear - it is an issue every time I visit Europe but things seem even older here than usual.

After the tour we stopped at a restaurant for lunch, Jason tried Goulash soup and I got Foie Gras:
Hungary is the world's second-largest foie gras producer and the largest exporter. France is the principal market for Hungarian foie gras – mainly exported raw. Approximately 30,000 Hungarian goose farmers are dependent on the foie gras industry. French food companies spice, process, and cook the foie gras so it may be sold as a French product in its domestic and export markets. - Wikipedia
I did find the Hungarian version to be different than the French, they don't add spices, it is much smoother, creamier, and apparently cooked in it's own fat (instead of in a dish or pan). The Hungarian cuisine is, according to our walking tour guide, "not friendly to vegetarians, very heavy with many meats." I have been loving it!!

The group split apart soon after lunch, as Jason and I went to the Buda Castle Labyrinth to walk through the complex of caves and cellars underneath Castle Hill. Apparently there is over 10km of pathways, though only about 1.5km is open to the public. It is a really strange attraction, a combination or incredible history, urban legends, tacky exhibits, and confusing maze. It was dark (scary) and cool (nice in this heat). The caves themselves are obviously millions of years old and over the centuries parts have been reinforced with stone, brick and concrete. In the Middle Ages as a shelter, a prison and even as Turkish harem in the 16th century. The underground tunnel system also served as a hospital during the WWII. And despite some claims, while it was a prison at some points, it never housed Vlad the Impaler.

Trying to make our way south from the Castle District to visit the Gellert baths, on the far side of Gellert hill, led us to explore some of the castle walls and grounds. Lots of walking, lots of beautiful buildings and interesting history.

Staying Awake In Budapest

After we landed, we took a bus/van into the city from the airport - this gave me the opportunity to test out the cost sharing app that we are going to be using to manage various joint expenses during the road trip next week.

We checked into our hotels; most people were at the recommended hotel for the wedding but Teri and Greg wanted a separate room for the baby and Jason apparently went on a hunt for a bathtub for me so we were away from the group. However, it turned out that the 'baby apartment' and the hotel that Jason hoped would have a bathtub (it didn't but it was an awesome hotel anyway) were right around the corner from each other - so we ended up being our own little group, often meeting up before walking to the larger gathering together.

I feel like Thursday was basically spent trying to stay awake. The larger flight group met up for a late lunch at a restaurant, suggested by Greg, I have learned through many trips that his research pays off and the places picked are always awesome. This place was a wonderful start to our time in Budapest! Called Mazel Tov, serving Israeli-inspired food in a gorgeous courtyard space, see photo on the right.

The hotels are in the Jewish Quarter of the city and is the main place for restaurants, bars and general nightlife. We wandered the area, popped in and out of "ruin bars" having drinks and snacks. Everyone ended up down by the waterfront and a few other people in town for the wedding joined us.

A Watery Weekend

Had a great time at Great Wolf Lodge with Jason's family this past weekend. I love playing in waterparks! Totally exhausted today and jealous that Jason gets to work from home. The damp heat of an indoor waterpark along with hiking up tons of staircases to do the waterslides, add in running after and carrying children -- I am pretty worn out.

I also did The Wolf Tail slide, which is the same design as one of the slides at West Edmonton Mall. Jason and I went to the waterpark there with ERin and Matt last Christmas.

Another Extra One

Nothing was scheduled for Monday on the tour since it was the day that everyone flies home, and the flights all leave at different times. For example, Kristen and Noah had a 7pm flight out of Johannesburg and later on Mom, Jason, Tessa, and I had to catch a plane at midnight. It did mean that all of us had pretty much a full day to fill. Here's what everyone decided to do:

-- Jason and Tessa went to the spa next to the hotel for massages, and spent time by the pool

-- Kristen and Noah went to The Cradle of Humanity to the the caves and museum

-- Mom and I decided to do another extra safari, we went to Pilanesberg National Park

So Soon, So Unbelievable

I can't believe my trip to Africa starts tomorrow! In fact, for Kristen and Noah the adventure has already begun. As I mentioned back when we booked the tour, there are 6 of us going together. Kristen, Noah, Tessa, Jason, myself, and my mom for 12 days in South Africa with game drives and everything.

Always Standing will be buzzing! I have pre-scheduled posts that detail each day on the itinerary. I hope to load pictures and posts throughout the trip as well - we are staying in nice hotels that should have good wifi.

You should also follow along with Vicarious Travelling, which is my mom's blog - set up in a more 'travel diary' style. (Link on the left)

Sulphur Stew - Sunday In The Azores

We were scheduled to go sailing today but when we arrived at the marina the captain suggested postponing the trip and waiting for better weather. It was pretty chilly and very grey, also apparently quite windy out on the water. We appreciated him giving us a chance to come back on a nicer day and we agreed on a Tuesday trip. That will be the day before we leave so it is cutting it a bit close, but the forecast is good for that day.

Both the captain and first mate highly suggested that we go to Furnas, pretty much everyone we talked to had mentioned this place. It is also the main destination for tourists when cruise ships come to port for the day. Basically it is the one big unique attraction. But the whole island is amazing, I didn't understand why everyone kept going on about this small part of it.

We decided to go because it was crappy weather and that is recommended. The first stop was in the main place for geothermal, volcanic activity. A conservation area with geysers and boiling mud and all that awesome stuff. We had seen some of it before at Caldeira Velha but this was at a much larger and more intense scale. As you can see from the short film from my phone HERE, I am not a good videographer. I also really like boiling mud!

In that video you can see piles of dirt with posted restaurant names, this is for a dish called cozido and it is another main reason to visit the Furnas area. It was recommended by a lot of people because it is very unique to the area - seeing that it is a stew cooked in the ground using geothermal heat it does lend itself to being pretty unique.

When we went into town Jason got the stew, though admittedly not at a very appropriate location. The stew is made from hearty and root vegetables, various cuts of meat, and types of sausage. It really would be best enjoyed in a very casual setting. However, we had lunch at a fine dining restaurant in a luxury hotel, see my photo of Jason on the right eating the stew with white table cloth.

The reason were at such a fancy place was that the hotel owns these beautiful gardens and hot springs and if you eat lunch there than the admission is included. The admission on its own is surprisingly high, especially as we just ended up walking around - I didn't think the hot springs would be a good idea for me. The gardens were spectacular though, they were started in the 1700s so some of the trees are huge and everything is very exotic and magical.

We drove home along the north-west coast which is a fairly remote area with gorgeous scenery, jagged cliffs and rough seas. So beautiful. (I only feel asleep for a short period of time in the passenger seat.)

Wedding Lost And Found

We have some items from the wedding that weren't ours. We hadn't started to figure out whose they were because we thought maybe we could add it as a little note on the Thank Yous asking people, but thought I would post about it here. With almost 150 guests on Toronto Island it would be difficult to check with everyone. Also, this weekend we figured out two of them!!

Wedding Weekend Lost And Found

Found items had been left on Toronto Island:

Item Found: Two, very nice, black travel thermos/water bottles
Claimed by: Faye and David

Item Found: Tortoise-shell style reading glasses
Claimed by: Faye

Item Found: Two-sided make-up mirror on a stand
Claimed by: The hotel's. Ended up at our house by mistake.

Item Found: Interesting grey folding square wheelie cart
Claimed by: STILL OUTSTANDING

---

Item Lost: Jason's iPod
Last Place He Remembers: Media area in the AIA Clubhouse
Found: Taken by Aunt Dan by mistake and returned.

Item Lost: Two of Jason's, very nice, long stick umbrellas
Last Place He Remembers: Mum's hotel room

Watkins Glen State Park

It was such a full day yesterday that we wanted to take advantage of the sunshine but also take it easy. We slept in and then headed down the far (east) side of Seneca Lake. The main focus of the day was a visit to Watkins Glen State Park to do a hike through the gorge.

Jason and I by a Bridge

Watkins Glen State Park, NY - 2016

Photo by Jason

We stopped by Ponderosa for an early buffet dinner on our way back up the west-side of the lake. I had to be really careful with what, and how much, I ate, but was happy that we got to go since it is one of my favourite places. We got back to the hotel in time to catch the Blue Jays game and have a quiet night in.

45 Days

I am awake at 5am because I am somehow very aware of the fact that it is only 45 days until Jason and my wedding. Suddenly all the recent questions and concerns from friends and family - about timelines, what to wear, hotels, where to go - make sense. It isn't that far away anymore! Luckily most of our weekends are less busy now so hopefully all the remaining planning will start coming together quickly (and smoothly).

Be Smile

I enjoy running across badly translated English. I saw the following on a website for a hotel in China:

Join us NOW!

Be surprised.

Be satisfied.

Be smile!

At work we are in the process of doing the opposite. We are getting ready to launch the Chinese version of our website, hopefully we get the translation edited properly. Ideally we will not make mistakes in Mandarin that end up reading like the section quoted above. However, I like the idea of "Be smile!" it is a good goal or life motto.

Getting There And Getting Home

Colouring And Kindle

Cruz Del Sur Bus Station - Lima, Peru

December 2015

Photo by ME

I made use of one of my Christmas presents, an 'adult' colouring book, during down time while travelling to Peru. I coloured on planes and during layovers, while I did try during the bus ride I ended up agreeing with Jason that it was "extreme colouring" and that I would end up going outside the lines with all the bumps. The Kindle that I got Jason for his birthday this year never seems to need to be recharged, he plugs it in once a month or so!

Our travel to Peru from Toronto, in an attempt to keep the trip costs as low as possible, was a lengthy and complicated ordeal. An overnight flight to Mexico City led to a full day layover; so, we put our heavy carry on luggage in a locker and took the subway to the historic district to explore. Another overnight flight to Lima meant that we had enough time to make our way to the bus station and find some food before the late afternoon start for the 22 hour bus ride over the mountains to Cusco. The same happened in reverse - but we spent the day in Mexico City booked into a hotel trying to catch up on sleep.

I don't regret the lengthy and difficult travel choices. Even though we could have paid more for shorter layovers or a more direct route or even flown straight to Cusco, financially the cost savings of doing it the hard way still matter on a tight 'house-buying' budget. I enjoyed the adventure of our route and I won't pretend that this method wasn't exhausting and at times frustrating; but I never want to stop travelling. I am willing to make sacrifices in order to save money and continue to explore the world.

Finally Saw The Bean

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

For a long time I didn't know where Stonehenge was. This was because I visited England between Grades 5 and 6 for over month with my family, and we never saw it. We saw so many sites in England the idea that my parents didn't take us to this Wonder of the World was unfathomable to me, so I spent all of high school and most of university thinking that was somewhere else. When Steph finished at Carlton, we celebrated by going on a trip to London and she wanted to see Stonehenge, we actually fraught a bit about it being in the country (and Steph is obsessed with Stonehenge so I have no idea why I argued.) We ended up seeing it and now I obviously know what country it is in.

I had been having a similar experience with The Bean. It can't be in Chicago, cause if it was, why hadn't my dad and I visited it when we came in 1994?

As I mentioned before, the only other time that I had visited Chicago was when I came with my parents over 20 years ago. My mom had a conference to attend, which meant that my dad and I hung out together during the day. We stayed at the Blackstone Hotel (some of The Untouchables was filmed there), which is next to the Hilton where my mom's conference was. These hotels are on South Michigan Avenue, just across from the big park area on Chicago's waterfront, we walked along the lake when it wasn't too cold or windy.

The only major attraction we visited here was the big aquarium, besides that we just went to all the free art galleries. Dad loved this because they were free and he has a certain cursory interest in art. Also, because I was young, we probably were moving through them in at a good pace. So, with this emphasis on art, visits to the waterfront parkland, and desire to see things that didn't cost anything, how come I never saw The Bean (which I hear K is pretty obsessed with and likes to visit it multiple times when she visits the city.)?

Turns out it wasn't even there! The planning for Millennium Park didn't start until 1997, and Cloud Gate (The Bean) wasn't added until 2006.

Travel Diary - Friday August 7, 2015

Date: Friday August 7, 2015
Theme/Title: California Girls
Overview: I woke up early to go to a free yoga class offered at the hotel - there were just two of us and it was very enjoyable. We had breakfast at the healthy cafe next to the hotel. Teri and I drove to La Jolla for a kayaking tour we had booked online. It had been cheaper to get a double kayak instead of two individual ones, so Teri and I shared. I was in the back 'steering' since I am heaver. Our tour featured the 7 Caves and the guides were amazing, we learnt a lot about the local culture, history, geology, and marine life. We even saw Dr. Seuss' house. The kayaks fit in the last of the seven caves and the guides took us in a few at a time. There were so many sea lions!! They were jumping in and out of the water, rolling around, playing everywhere, even really close to people swimming and snorkeling nearby - we were so close I was scared of accidentally hitting one with my paddle. Unlike elephant seals, the California Sea Lion is small and super cute. On our way back to shore, Ter and I tipped in the shallows from the waves. Besides getting ourselves soaked, Teri's SLR also got wet but luckily the case kept it dry enough. Ter and I had both assumed that the kayaks would be the covered type but they were not. I got a terrible burn on my shins since I skipped the sunscreen there, assuming my legs would be tucked under plastic. After the tour we spent the rest of the afternoon lying on the beach. Teri helped me with math problems from my GMAT book and we read - it was so sunny, warm, and beautiful. In the early evening we drove for a bit around the shoreline looking for seals but didn't see any. We went to the Old Town for dinner and had Mexican again. Back at the hotel we finished the Scientology documentary before bed.
Woke-up: 8:30am for free yoga at The Sofia Hotel
Transportation/Distance: 2 hours kayaking. Minimal driving.
Meals: The Power Bowl from Tender Greens. Frozen yogurt on the beach. Burrito at Los Locos in Old Town.
Highlight of the Day: Seeing the sea lions was so much fun!
Lesson Learnt: That the 'J' in La Jolla is pronounced as an 'H' and the double 'L' is a 'Y' sound. So instead of La Jolla it is pronounced La Hoy-a.
Quote of the Day: Me (driving) to Teri (navigating) "Oh, so Juan like J-U-A-N? Yeah, we have passed that street like 5 times. Sorry I had been looking for W-A-N-D. When I kept seeing J-U-A-N, I thought that was Jew-An Street. Grrrr, Spanish."
Night's Accommodation: The Sofia Hotel, San Diego

The Pacific Ocean

For most of the Californian Coast, the ocean itself has not been particularly accessible. The shoreline in the north has water that is too rough to swim in and cliffs that prevent you reaching the water anyway. Even the recent drive through Big Sur featured large cliffs with very infrequent access points to beaches or coves. When we visited Mendocino and walked in the cove, we could have dipped our feet in the water but chose to keep our shoes on since it was windy and a bit cold. However, this morning the weather is warmer and the Pacific is now on our level:

Our Morning View

All the rooms in our hotel look out to a beach and the local towns feature boardwalks to protect the small dunes. The waves can be heard at all times, but they are small and soft. The only problem with the swimming places is that seaweed seems to have a major presence on the sand and in the water. Big long pieces of kelp looking like plastic or rubber but somehow gross and natural. It didn't stop us though, Teri and I wanted to finally actually touch the ocean for the first time this trip:

Feet in the Pacific

It was worth the sand in our toes and wet pant cuffs. Teri is on the Right with blue toenail polish and I am at the top of the photo with purple. The waves did come up and touch me. I sprinted up and away from others that were too big.

Both photos above taken by ME with my phone

San Simeon, California, USA

Travel Diary - Monday August 3, 2015

Vernal Falls

Yosemite National Park, California, USA

Taken by Jason with his phone

Date: Monday August 3, 2015
Theme/Title: Hike Up A California Hill (aka A Mountain)
Overview: An early wake up to drive to Yosemite. (Morning person, Greg, drove.) I think the rest of us may have slept in the car - I did for sure. Visited the welcome centre at the Valley Village to get some hiking suggestions and food. They have a great system of shuttle buses which brought us to the trail. Did the Vernal Fall hike. It was HARD. Stopped to see the Tunnel View as our last good-bye to the park before driving to our hotel. Enjoyed a nice dinner at the diner style restaurant at the hotel. Swim in the pool and soak in the hot tub to ease our muscles from the hike. We played Euchure before bed.
Woke-up: 5:30am
Transportation/Distance: Driving: 320km  Hiking: 2.7 miles (4.7km) with an elevation gain of 1,500 feet (460m) that included over 600 stairs!
Highlight of the Day: The hike was amazing, it was great to be able to complete a 'strenuous' difficulty one, and almost keep up with the others. (I had Teri, Greg, and Jason go on ahead of me and wait at the waterfall or if the trail split.)
Lesson Learnt: Teri is still on a losing streak with Euchure.
Song of the Day: Wonderwall by Oasis, "All the roads that lead us there are winding..."
Quote of the Day: "Wahoo, I did it! I am really proud of myself." Me, when I thought we were done climbing since we had reached the waterfall (ended up climbing another 500 feet in elevation before we started back down.)
Night's Accommodation: Best Western Plus Sonora Oaks

Travel Diary - Saturday August 1, 2015

Date: Saturday August 1, 2015
Theme/Title: Focus on Food
Overview: Brunch at Foreign Cinema, Were running late for a free city walk at Palace of Fine Arts (which was mainly ended up being focused on EXPO 1915) so we took a Lyft and got a very helpful driver. Wandered over to The Tonga Room in the basement of the San Francisco Fairmont. Then headed to Hawker Fare for dinner, an Asian inspired place that Greg had found. Jason and I went back to the hotel and the others went out for drinks.
Woke-up: 9:30am
Transportation/Distance: A few kilometers walking and a few on buses.
Meals: Amazing egg scramble at Foreign Cinema, a 'hipster' place suggested by Matt. Fun fruity drinks at Tonga Room with some shared snacks. Jason and I split a beef and broccoli dish at Hawker Fare.
Highlight of the Day: Brunch!
Lesson Learnt: The Fresh Rice Paper Spring Rolls at The Tonga Room are not good value for the price, but the Mahe'e is (a big pile of crispy calamari).
Quote of the Day: "Where are we going?" asked by F many many times as he tried to comprehend why we were planning our day around eating at various notable places.
Night's Accommodation: 'The fun room' (with the king bed) shared with Jason

Travel Diary - Thursday July 30, 2015

Date: Thursday July 30, 2015
Theme/Title: The Boys Are In Town
Overview: Woke up early, had big omelette at Omelette Express in Santa Rosa. We got to the San Francisco airport in time, but The Boys' flight was delayed. After Jason and Greg got all their stuff (not much) added to our stuff (lots) in the trunk, we drove around Silicon Valley (Google, Facebook, Apple). We checked-in to our room at The Clift, a hotel that includes bike rentals (if the four bikes they have are available. We went for a short bike ride to Golden Gate Park, and caught a view of city at Alamo Square. The four of us had dinner at Reverb. Jason and Teri went to pick up Monica and F at the airport, I went to bed.
Woke-up: 6:30am in the Tiny House
Transportation/Distance: 240km driving. 14km biking.
Meals: Egg white and cheese omelette. Salad in Silicon Valley, then a visit to Philz Coffee. Beat Salad and some drinks at Reverb.
Highlight of the Day: Biking "The Wiggle"
Lesson Learnt: How to light a gas stove (with a BBQ lighter). Teri guided me through it at The Tiny House so we could boil water to make coffee in the french press.
Night's Accommodation: Shared double room with Teri and Greg at The Clift.