Quebec City {the views + the skiing}

Yesterday I posted all about the food in Quebec City (so good!). Today I'll show more photos of some of the beautiful scenery we saw while we were there. To start, we checked into our hotel (The Hilton Quebec City) located beside Parliament and just outside of the walled "Vieux Quebec".

View of Parliament from our hotel room

We went skiing at Le Massif the second day we were there - conditions were amazing and we made it to the mountain for "first tracks". The moutain is really unique in that most skiiers will start at the summit - you arrive, put your equipment on and off you go - no waiting for lifts until you ski to the bottom! That said, there was really good flow on the moutain and it never seemed too busy.

One of the other best parts of Le Massif is that it's like you're skiing into the fleuve (Fleuve St Laurent).

We spent the rest of our time in the city wandering and exploring...our usual travel approach :) And yes, there was TONS of snow (and it was COLD! We picked a great day for skiing, around -10C, but the next day was -25C with the wind!). If you haven't been to Quebec City I highly recommend it, it was great to do a winter vacation in a place where winter is what it's all about.

Quebec City {the food}

The Mr. and I escaped to Quebec City over the holidays. Neither of us had been, which is surprising since we both grew up in Ottawa. It definitely met our expectations and we loved the little sense of Europe it gave (the closest you can get within driving distance!).

The food in Quebec City was delicious! We enjoyed a lovely dinner at Le Pain Beni - their menu is focused on gourmet local winter comfort food (and I'm not talking poutine). The Mr. had deer and I had lamb - both were phenomenal. We also went to the Bar St Laurent in the Chateau Frontenac for a drink (a must-do in the city).

 1 - Le Pain Beni; 2 - Le Petit Cochon Dingue; 3 - Chez L'Autre; 4 - Le Petit Cochon Dingue; 5 - Chez L'Autre

Another food highlight was the little cafe we found - Le Petit Cochon Dingue (The Crazy Little Pig). The first morning we went there (yes, we went twice in 3 days) we got pain au chocolats (aka chocolatines aka chocolate croissants) directly out of the oven. They were heaven.

After a hard day of skiing, we rewarded ourselves with this (followed by a dinner at St Hubert! Not everything needs to be high class to be good :) )

For dinner on our last night we went to Chez L'Autre, a snazzy little place we saw while walking around. We had classic steak frites and the meal did not disappoint!

Check back tomorrow for more photos from Quebec City and our ski adventure at Le Massif!

Guest Post | Beautiful BC (Kerry from First TIme Fancy)

Today I have Kerry from First Time Fancy guest posting. I met Kerry at my first blog meet and greet, but felt as though I knew her long before that from reading her blog. She is super sweet and also SO good at responding to people when they comment on  posts - I love that! Kerry did an amazing job renovating and updating her Toronto home and she has since moved out to B.C. to a new place to apply her project skills! Make sure to check out her blog for all of her latest adventures and projects!

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Hi there Interior Groupie readers. I'm Kerry from First Time Fancy, and I'm so happy to be taking over for the lovely Heather today. Normally, I would love to share with you one of the many projects we've worked on for our new rental on the West Coast, however, we haven't really worked on too many projects lately, as we've been far too busy exploring our new surroundings. With that being said, today I wanted to share with you some of the beautiful places we've experienced out here on Canada's West Coast, so why not come and explore with us?...

When we moved back in April, we were anxious to get out and start taking in the sights and first on our list was Whistler. How could it not be? Only about 2 hours from where we were living, it was high on our to-do list, so early one Saturday we packed into the car and made the trek out there. Even with the weather not being the best, the Sea to Sky Highway did not disappoint...

And neither did the sights at Whistler resort, or the marine parks on the drive back home...

Seriously, how did we get so lucky to live somewhere so beautiful!? That's not even the tip of the iceberg, either! We've spent a good amount of time exploring, and showing visitors around Vancouver - visiting Stanley Park, Granville Island, Cypress Mountain and the Vancouver Aquarium (just to name a few places)...

Our favourite adventures are still in the great outdoors, and of course there is a ton of that to see out here. Not too far from home we've taken the time to explore the beautiful town of White Rock, and have only just started to scratch the surface of the majestic Golden Ears Park...

Other adventures have taken us further, like the day we spent out near Hope, visiting Hell's Gate and the Othello Tunnels. Thankfully, the rainy weather will never deter us from exploring somewhere new...

Having the opportunity to live and explore the West Coast is more than we ever expected, but we are loving every second of it! Have you ever visited the West Coast? Where should we go next? What are some of your travel tips for B.C., Alberta and Washington State? I'd love to get some great suggestions from other travellers!

Thanks Heather, for having me stop by and share our travel adventures with your readers! It's always a pleasure to stop by. 

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends and readers...and to people not in Canada? Raise a glass and cheers Canada for us today :)

It's ANOTHER glorious weekend (if you're not having a good summer move to Toronto...or anywhere else in Ontario...I'll pretty much guarantee you sun and fun :) ). We're heading to a BBQ with friends this afternoon, and have already hit the beach on Friday and a Blue Jays game yesterday - good little weekend we have going on.

I hope everyone has a great Canada Day wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Oh, and for all my readers in or visiting Ottawa - you're in the best place in the world for July 1.

via Martha Stewart