March 2015 – We accompanied our friend on her search for her perfect wedding shoes in Calgary. Me knowing that they might take the whole day window shopping and I having nothing to buy on mind, I just told them that I will just walk around downtown and take some pictures.
Meet Kabuki (yellow) and Sadko (red)Kabuki and Sadko – screw inspired art installation in Downtown Calgary“Wonderland” – a 12-meter sculpture in front of The BowThe BowStephen Avenue WalkThe “Trees” of Stephen Avenue WalkCalgary TowerThe “Trees” and Towers of Calgary
Hungry from my downtown stroll and their never ending shoe fitting, we headed for our dinner at Gaucho.
Gaucho
Gaucho is a haven for meat lovers in Calgary. It is a rodizio or a steakhouse that serves all-you-can-eat meat and is located at 5920 Macleod Trail SW. Be sure you’re ready and hungry before you go here because there will be lots of food… I mean LOTS!
Gaucho Brazilian BarbecueThese cutleries will be in for a battle at Gaucho.
To start, there is a buffet where you can choose from some freshly baked bread, healthy green salads, crispy breaded seafood, rice and more sides.
Gaucho’s Buffet
Then, there goes the show. A double sided cow-shaped card will help you guide the servers whether you want more meat (green side) or you still want to enjoy the meat that you still have (red side).
Yes, please.No, thanks.
One after the other, you’ll be offered with huge assortment of meat, all rotisseried perfectly. The amount served will be according to your liking. You can choose from a selection of sausages, top sirloin, rump steak, chicken wings, beef ribs, pork loin, lamb, and “meat sushi” – chicken wrapped in bacon. They also have grilled cheese that melts in your mouth. Awesome!
The rotisserieGerlie @ GauchoAnother good use for a wheel.Vic @ GauchoJade @ GauchoA cool reminder for the staff!Awesome dinner at Gaucho
Definitely, Gaucho will bring out the inner carnivore in you! LOL! The best Brazilian barbecue experience in Calgary!
February 2015 – Mini-trips while preparing for the bigger trip are always fun. I usually have a long weekend from work after working 3 weeks of varying schedules. This time, we are preparing for our Japan trip and we have to get our Japanese Visas. Gerlie has to get hers in Calgary and I have to get mine in Vancouver since we live in different provinces in Canada.
Not prepared for the cold weather, we did not plan any outdoor activities. Good thing there’s an indoor park in the heart of Downtown Calgary, it’s the Devonian Gardens.
Devonian Gardens is the only indoor public park in Calgary and is maintained by the City of Calgary Parks. I’m amazed by the patience and hardwork of the lady maintaining the park as she is removing the dry leaves one by one! No wonder this park is so beautiful! Awesome.
You’ll find this park inside The Core Shopping Centre in downtown Calgary.
The Core Shopping Centre – Calgary.
At the other end of the top floor is the Devonian Gardens and you’ll be surprised with the vibrant tropical colors from the different plants and flowers.
Vic #thetravelboyAnthuriums.Lots of trees!
Several wood carvings are installed all around the park.
Wood carvings together with the plants.A wooden wall artwork.More wall installations
It’s also relaxing just to watch the kois swim and enjoy the beauty of the plants being reflected by the ponds.
Fountain at the koi pond.Just some of the palm trees. There are 18 kinds of them here.A koi swimming calmly in the pond.Orchids in the middle of the pond.
Here’s something that the kids will enjoy. A playground and a mini wall climb. And check out who enjoyed it! (Good that we visited near closing time and there are no more kids! LOL)
Children’s playgroundA mini wall climb for kids! Here’s Gerlie. #thetravelgirl =)
Indeed, this is great way to be indoors in Calgary!!! Beautiful!
The moment we arrived in Cambridge, the city where my aunt lives, we asked one another the question: “Are you hungry?”
Well, the obvious answer for that is a big, fat YES!!! After more than 24 hours of travelling from Prince George in British Columbia flying to Calgary, then to Edmonton, then to London and driving all the way to Cambridge… we are hungry!!!
So from their house, we drove down to the city centre. We had a mini tour with my aunt and uncle as tour guides. We’ve passed through some parts of the University of Cambridge and they showed us where we’ll be punting, the English version of the gondola river ride in Venice, which we will be doing the next day.
We then parked at the nearby mall wherein there’s a greater chance of having a parking space as compared to the streets, then walked to the restaurant. We chose Wagamama, a Japanese-inspired restaurant that has branches all over UK. Finally, we’ll be able to eat! =)
Gerlie had Chicken Raisukaree which has stir-fried chicken and vegetables in a curry sauce. And she liked it… because it is a curry dish. LOL
For me, I ordered Chicken + Prawn Cha Han – stir-fried rice with chicken and prawns. This a good one!
My aunt had Teriyaki Salmon Soba – grilled teriyaki salmon, soba noodles and vegetables. The grilled salmon on top looks yummy to me but she said that she can cook the noodles better. hahaha! I’ll grade this dish as OK.
She also had these tender pork ribs glazed with barbeque sauce and topped with mixed sesame seeds which she liked this time.
My uncle had a different type of soba. He had the Teriyaki Beef Soba – grilled teriyaki beef, soba noodles and vegetebles. And he liked it.
Based on our orders, I’ll give this restaurant 4 out of 5!!!
September 7, 2014 – The engagement day has finally arrived. It is the first day of the Paris leg of our 2-week vacation.
We arrived in Paris at Gare du Nord, the station where Eurostar trains from London arrive. We took a taxi going to the place we rented. With the limited French words that I have, I told the driver, “Bonjour! Deux deux Rue de Monttessuy.” (22 Monttessuy Rd) I didn’t know that it should be vingt-deux. I said deux twice so I told myself it should be fine. So when we arrived in the area, the taxi dropped us off at 2 Rue de Monttessuy which is around 10 apartment buildings away. Great! We have to walk to the place with our heavy luggages. BUT… I didn’t mind the walk, we have an excellent view ahead.
The Eiffel Tower from Rue de Monttessuy
With that view, I told myself that this location, is indeed, a good one.
Later that evening, we will be having dinner at the Eiffel Tower.
The evening has arrived, everything is set: the ring, the gopro camera, and the phone (where my proposal video is saved), the SLR camera. The food is good, the view is great, the people are well dressed and so are we. We had conversations with the couple on our left and on our right.
It started when I was asked by the lady on our right which I think is on her mid-50s. She asked, “How old are you? You look young.”
We told her our age. I told her, “I’m 27.”
She was suprised and said, “Oh, you must be working in the I.T industry because you’re young and can afford to have dinner here. I can’t afford to eat here when I’m still 27.”
I replied, “No, we’re not. We’re from the healthcare field.” And that’s when she introduced herself as a nurse and her husband as an Internal Medicine doctor. Also, the guy from our left butted in and introduced himself as a pulmonologist. And there you go, you have a medical team seating beside each other talking about whooping cough outbreak. hahaha!
Then, the conversation went back to us. The nurse asked us how long have we been married. I answered, “No, we’re not married yet.”
And she replied, “Oh, there might be something happening tonight!” This was agreed upon by the pulmonologist and the six of us laughed. The conversation then lead into whose paying the bill, etc. She’s a funny lady and we’re all having a good time.
So the nurse and her husband finished their dinner. While they are getting ready to leave, said to the girlfriend, “Be ready for the big question later!” And we all laughed again. They then said their goodbyes and told us to enjoy our vacation.
After a few minutes, the pulmonologist on our left finished their dinner and left too.
We then finished our desserts and decided to have some green tea. The tea that they served us was extraordinary, almost magical, because we are not expecting a tea to be this good! We asked our server if it is commercially available and where to get them. She happily showed us where and even gave us some samples of her favorites (which are also available in the restaurant).
So, I then decided to show her the video that I prepared for the past month. In this video, I compiled the pictures and clips from our travels and made it into a video.
After letting her watch the video, I showed her the blue box, handed it to her, let her open the ribbon, and asked her to hand me back the ring box. I then went near her on the side of the table, knelt on my knee, opened the box with the ring in it and popped the question.
the TRAVEL pill 