Flight Itinerary

YXU > YQR > YYJ

Point A: London, Ontario

We celebrated the Irish chef's birthday and Thanksgiving in Ontario with family and friends before leaving. We tried out a mystery escape room and it was pretty cool: http://www.lostcityescape.com/. The girls went into one room and the boys into another and when our time was out, both groups were on the verge of breaking free!!! It was fun and challenging and we could hear the boys trying to escape, so we weren't completely segregated. Afterwards, our friends hosted the birthday party at their place and we celebrated with drinks, great people some awesome food!

Thanksgiving:

 The turkey, in all his/her glory!

 The pies we picked up were sold at the farmer's market at the Western Fair grounds (Saturday market: http://www.londonsfarmersmarket.ca/), and sold by The Pie Pantry (http://piepantry.ca/). They were AMAZING! Featured: Apple crumble pie

 My favourite: Pumpkin pie

 While helping out at Wally's Cafe (https://www.facebook.com/Wallys-Coffee-1458949661090902/), my friend wanted to promote local businesses, and I was MORE than happy to learn of STUFFING BREAD that was featured around at The Artisan Bakery (http://www.theartisanbakery.ca/) around Thanksgiving! It was what I used in our stuffing!

By far my favourite dish to make: cranberry sauce. I think it's the sound the cranberries make as the pop! Then, the red becomes so saturated and dyes everything it lands on!

Irish chef's birthday:

 The spread...Only part of it, lol!

 Continuing to stay away from the boys (I really don't know what prompted us to do this!)

 Sorry for the red eyes, boys!

Happy 40th to the Irish chef!

Espresso tiramisu (left), Chocolate fudge cake (centre), Pumpkin cheese cake (right)

Point B: Regina, Saskatchewan

For some reason, I don't have ANY pictures from Regina. It was much cooler there than in London, but no rain-yay!  However, I can now attest that it is a place where you can watch your dog run away for x days!!! Beautiful stretches of sky surrounded us, and we were met by the Irish chef's amazing family who warmly welcomed me! I love them. They're the kind of people you can be yourself around :)  We only stayed a few days, but I wish we would have stayed a few more. I would like to return to Saskatchewan and explore it more! I want to try Saskatoon berries, mmmmm!!!

Point C: Victoria, British Columbia

After too many years, I returned to my old "hometown" of Victoria. I attended the University of Victoria too many years ago. After my master's defense, I left and never looked back. The rain and bone-chilling cold were enough to deter me from returning. However, if you read my previous post you'll know that I thought that coming to BC would give me better work opportunities. Unfortunately, although our time here has been amazing, it has led to zero job opportunities. In December, I resorted to applying to businesses all over Canada, including little ol' London, Ontario. It was all in vain. Nothing's happened. We have, however, enjoyed our time on the left coast! The Irish chef has LOVED Vancouver. It's a shame we aren't staying. I've finally gotten used to the weather...That's not true. I've been taking vitamin D and it's helped immensely! LOL!!! Next step: happy lamp!

The Irish chef and I wanted to go for a scenic drive, so we drove down Dallas Road and stopped at McNeill Bay (Shoal Bay). Although it was a gloomy day, it created an incredible ambiance:

 The cool breeze off the water was chilly, but sooo gorgeous!

 The fog was so heavy we couldn't even see the smaller islands close by.

 I LOVE how pet-friendly Victoria is :)

A lonely otter off in the distance. Can you see it???

Catching up with my dancing friends (Lindy Hop & Balboa) on a Sunday afternoon: We first went to the Wild Mushroom Show and then over to my old friend Goody's place for hot toddy's and mulled wine and great conversation!

 I can't believe I went to this, lol! It was probably one of the most uncharacteristic things I've done, BUT I do love mushrooms!

 The sign that greeted us at the entrance.

 THIS guy! Awesome. Anyone who pulls off a toadstool hat with no fear of being laughed at is awesome in my books!

 What? Mushrooms can be gilled?!?

 There were SO MANY mushrooms there (regional) that it was overwhelming! A shocking amount of people in Victoria have a ton of knowledge about mushrooms.

 This was pretty interesting to see. I learned about what makes truffles so expensive.

I'm not going to lie, the jelly funghi was the coolest form to me. Look at the translucent ones attached to the branch! They reminded me of konnyaku (http://www.shakespeare-w.com/english/konnyaku/whatis.html).

American Thanksgiving: We were kindly invited to celebrate American Thanksgiving with friends of mine who are Canadian Americans. We accepted, and boy am I thankful we did! There was American-style stuffing, which is called 'dressing' and it was phenomenal! Even though I'm not a fan of bread, this was by far one of my favourite dishes!

 The dressing!!! Savoury yams were also awesome!

 I made my maple glazed carrots. Yummy!

I only made it through one plate of food (T _ T)

We settled nicely into Victoria and I began looking for a job immediately. Nothing's come. Not surprising, and if you read my post Generation Jobless, then you'll know that unemployment rate in Canada is at almost 7.2%...Not good. I've been offered a position in Oman and I've accepted. I leave next month. Before that though, food in Victoria!!! Ohhh, yeah!!!