Bonjour! Parlez-vous... Poutine? Où a les toilettes?

The number 5 represents many things from my recent trip to Quebec;

The STARS I would give my trip!  (On a scale of 1-4)
The 5 phrases I learned in French while Hernando drove us north,
The 5 Canadian towns we chose to sleep in,
and The 5 pounds I gained in each of those 5 towns, totaling 25 fondue toting LBs I got to bring home as a souvenir. (PLUS SIDE: I did not have to claim them at Customs!)

Don't worry though, math is different in Canada so it was really only a few pounds I packed on.

Speaking of numbers, 100 Kilometers per hour is not as fast as it sounds...

Speaking of tickets*, we bought a couple of them and went to a fantastic wine tasting festival in the Eastern Townships.  There were ice wines, cider wines, pear wines, pear cider ice wines, whale wines**, etc.  You get the idea!

Speaking of whales, we saw a bunch!  There were belugas and another whale I can't name, though I know it had a fin and I did see a large black shape spurt water out of its blow hole.  We also saw dolphins and Hernando saw a walrus!

***

Speaking of walruses in water, it rained for 60% of the trip!  :(  But we made the most of it by seeing a TON of art and making use out of the poncho I bought in New Orleans.  Yes, it read, "New Orleans" in large letters all over which coincidentally translates in French as, "I am an American Tourist".  At least I stayed dry. 

Speaking of staying dry, I definitely did not!  And this marks my 5th time writing "Speaking of" just to stay with the theme of 5.

Our trip was wonderful and anyone looking for tips on Quebec travel, please reach out (to Hernando)!

The map below is my attempt at showing you our route.. :)  The second part continues the St. Lawrence River where my arrows leave off.  We went up the river, crossed over in a ferry (which you will see clearly marked on the map) and then back down the river.

Cities we stayed in (Not including several day stops in other places):
1. Montreal
2. Quebec City
3. Baie Saint Paul
4. Les Escoumins
5. Magog

A few places we visited:
1. Notre-Dame Basilica
2. Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré
3. Montmorency Falls
4. Poutine.****






*There were no speeding tickets!
**And no whale wine!
***This is not really a whale we saw.  It is Hernando in his beluga costume.  He takes it everywhere!
****Correction: Poutine visited us!

Disney Family Vacation (Minus the Kids!)

If I could use one word to describe my family's recent vacation to Disney World, it would have to be more of a picture than an actual word and it's the kind of picture that you have to ask permission to use, if you know what I mean, and I am almost sure that you don't know what I mean, because quite frankly, this picture is so amazing, it really can't be talked about and really should be shown only to an audience who can truly appreciate it.  So if you think you can appreciate it, please, please check out what my Dad did to my brother-in-law.

Highlights of the trip include, but are certainly not limited to:

*Pirate Night at the local restaurant.  'Free eye patches with your meal!'
*Bar hopping through Germany, Japan and England.
*Waking up before the sun to get to the parks and push small children out of our way when trying to be first in line for roller coasters. 
*Getting out of the ocean before the nippy, invisible creatures got us too badly.
*People watching at the Cracker Barrel- Lovely Folks.
*Dole Whip!  (A pineapple ice-cream delight that is served only in Hawaii and the Magic Kingdom)
*Quality Time with my Favorite people in the world!

My family certainly knows how to 'Do Disney'!  The fact that our youngest is 26 years old causes us no shame in going back year after year.  Each year is a new memory, and we'll capture that memory by getting a picture with Mickey every single trip- even if it means interrupting a kid's birthday party. 

He'll understand when he's older.  

People ask me all the time how I can stand going to the parks so much.  'The crowds, the lines, the heat, the children!' They exclaim.  These people have obviously never done Disney with my crew, or they would certainly change their tune.  (Perhaps to 'It's a Small World After All' since it might be in their heads.)

When asked what he thought of the Disney World parks after his recent trip with my family, Hernando* replied, much to my delight, "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." 

Tune = Changed.

And really, what more can you ask for? 

Well, I guess you could ask for this.


Until next year, Disney!  :)


*Name has been changed to protect the innocent





Don't forget to continue checking out my NEW DISCOVERIES!

J-FEST in NOLA

Jazzfest in New Orleans was a different kind of festival than I had been to in the past. I barely saw anyone on hallucinogenics and no one was holding up mushrooms as they walked by you. It was organized with different music tents labeled gospel, jazz, blues and several others and we even used a schedule to decide which shows to hear. I barely saw any dreadlocks and no patchwork pants. There weren't any hippies selling grilled cheese for a dollar, but instead tons and tons of food stands selling everything wonderfully fattening in the world! It was also different because I remember all of it..

Don't get me wrong- I enjoyed the hurricanes and all day partying- but I truly have a new respect for anyone who can drink for a day and then continue through the wee hours in morning. When I say respect -take it lightly.

Respect aside, I am glad I didn't stay up to hang out on Bourbon Street. I had heard stories and I knew it was a crazy place, but I was not prepared for what I saw when I stepped foot on the infamous street. Did I step right on it? No. There was a layer of vomit and liquid covering the floor. Did I see my sister get 'hit' with beads being flung at her? Yes. Did we turn off to take the path more traveled (by normal people) immediately? Yes, but not before creating a mental image album that won't leave me for awhile.

The festival itself was AMAZING! I had such a fantastic time hopping around from tent to tent filled with incredible talent. There were big names like Simon and Garfunkel, Allman Brothers and My Morning Jacket, but every single act, big or small, was better than the next. The food- fried shrimp po boys, delicious donut beignets, jambalaya, etoufee- was incredible! Nothing could get me down, not even the green line staining my forehead for 24 hours from the cheap green flowered lei my sister gave me! Because at a festival, you're never the weirdest person there!!

Beyond the festival, there were music acts at all hours in all the bars and on all the street corners of the French quarter. One of my favorite moments of the whole trip was the last night on the way to dinner. The four of us were starving and exhausted when we came across a smalltime band of misfits playing some great dancing music on the sidewalk. We joined the neighborhood drunks and danced, danced, danced- avoiding touching them as best we could. It was wonderful! (Even when that homeless woman hit me)

It's been a week since I left New Orleans, and I am finally starting to feel awake again and the heart burn is settling down. Thank goodness I have a whole year to recover because I'll definitely be back!

Who's coming with me?!?!

I'm Back (And on 'Roids!)

Have you ever gone to an island and burnt yourself to a crisp on the first day so badly that you literally cannot face the sun the rest of your vacation resulting in the purchase of an expensive and otherwise useless straw hat sold by a man who guarantees you a two year warranty (a year for each tooth, I'm assuming), and then you found pieces of straw intermittently strewn through your suitcase upon arrival home?

"Excuse me sir, I believe there was a two year warranty on this...."

"No habla ingles, ma'am"

Me too.

And thus began my journey to the DR.

The Doctor, you wonder?

Nope, that comes later in the story. I am talking about the Dominican Republic.

Sunny, beautiful Dominican Republic. It really was. We had a great time. Despite being so toasted that we moaned putting on sunscreen, we were still able to lay on the beach. The huge umbrella that we paid for under the table allowed us to be outside enjoying the beach, and avoiding the death rays. And, when we wanted to go in the water, and would be exposed to the rays, we wore shirts and hats in. What? You would have, too.

Nights on the island were fun, too. We were sleeping above a nightclub that pumped a special Domincan beat- in the word's of the great Lional Richie, "All Night Long".  Luckily, we were so tired from the sun, it barely woke us up. Niether did the earthquake that occured. (It was my first!) Another great thing about the night was that there were barely any bugs on the island! This was especially exciting to me as one of my least favorite parts of summer is the unbearable amount of misquito bites I get after the sun goes down. They love me so much that people use me as bug repellant. 

'Do you need bug spray?'

'Oh, no, I'm fine, I'm sitting next to Sally.'

True story.

So, in the D.R. I wore flowery smelling lotions and perfumes without a worry that any bug would find me. When we stepped out for dinner, I did not have to cover my legs and arms and it was fantastic!  It wasn't until I got on the plane home and the pressure from the cabin somehow found some bugbites (1-see foot note) and swelled them up to the width of a tennis ball on two parts of my forearm, that I realized everything was not fine.

Being the disciplined person I am, I resisted scratching the bumps.

I'm kidding. Of course I scratched them! I ended up with huge, swollen, red, horrible bumps all over my arms and as if things couldn't get worse, one popped up right between my eyes. RIGHT BETWEEN MY EYES!

It was around the time a bump formed BETWEEN MY EYES that I went to the doctor, who perscribed me steroids. Great, I thought, anything to get rid of these bumps. Steriods seem like a really neat idea.... (this is what I like to call foreshadowing).

Now, I am a generally happy person, so when the 'roids took me to the happy place, the giggly, on top of the world elation that comes only from drugs, I won't lie, I kind of liked it. It seemed fine, no big deal. However, when it took me down to the burst out crying at dinner, barely controlable rage from reading an email place, I knew something was wrong.

Then I made the mistake of reading about it on the internet.

Suddenly, I was sure I had every symptom possible affiliated with steroid use; neseau, anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, euphoria, false feelings of being mistreated, weakness in muscles, extreme fatigue, etc., etc., etc.. And I won't even get into the withdrawal symtoms once you come off it.. I was reading stories about long-time and life-long users and comparing my measly few days with their troubles. The people closest to me got the worst of it as I tried to remain as quiet and alone as possible in public. Steroids affect everyone differently, but personally I have found that they are not my friend!!

As of yesterday I am off the 'roids and starting to feel better.

Meanwhile, I'm not sure if anyone caught yesterday's edition of MuscleMadnessMagazine...

"Sensitive Sal has canceled her plans to compete in the upcoming MuscleMa'am competition in Daytona Beach, FL this June. She had just signed up this week. When asked for a comment, Sal's manager said she would be dedicating her extra time to Adventures with a Sensitive Sally."

Live from CT, it's Sensitive Sal!!  I'm back, baby!

1 They were not bug bites, but some kind of freak allergic reaction to the sun (2-see other footnote)

2 Either the sun or some bug bite...

Home, and Older.

I am finally home from my two week US adventure and it feels pretty nice.

Since we last spoke, me and you, I was just leaving Arizona to meet up with Hernando* in San Francisco.  As usual my boyfriend took me on the most fabulous vacation ever.  We spent three night in Point Reyes, a California state park an hour north of San Fran.  The cabin we stayed in was charming to say the least.  It was called, "Annie's Place".  We quickly learned Annie was a dog, judging from the framed picture, dog bed and dog printed sheets. 

Our adventures in and around Annie's Place included, but were not limited to, lazy rainy days, foggy hikes to see enormous elephant seals, more cow and deer sightings then I have seen in the past ten years combined, hikes up mountains to gorgeous ocean views, beach cliffs, bush whacking, flying kites on the beach, weather changing drastically in minutes, stinky french cheeses and amazing jasmine infused chocolates and a hummingbird "trapped" in the house, repeatedly hitting itself against our glass window pane trying to get to his soul mate just outside the window.  Eventually, after many failed attempts at gentle coercing, Hernando picked up this little, tiny, precious bird, whose neck turned red in the sunlight and body beamed green when it flew, and gently set him free to fly off with his lover, only to return minutes later.  Luckily we knew now to shut our door.

Later our friends came up to meet us and we played frisbee, a pick up soccer game and hiked some more before we all headed back to the city.

Have you been to San Francisco?  Have you seen these hills?  On every street you walk straight up or straight down, with incredible inclines.  It would be impossible to be fat in this city! 

My great friend, Amanda, took me on a tour of downtown and to a wonderful farmer's market.  I met her amazing friends and had a complete blast checking out her life in Cali.. Kind of makes me want to move there...

To top it off, Hernando decided we would celebrate my upcoming birthday on Saturday night, our last night of vacation.  He and his friends went out without me knowing, got me a birthday cake, and filled the room with balloons.  I may have only known two of the 15 people in the room well, but it still felt great to have people sing happy birthday to me! :)  Amanda also brought champagne over, Hernando's friend made homemade pizzas for us and the night was great!

I should also mention that Hernando, DG and Matt (the two friend's of Hernando's that we stayed with) made me Crab cake Eggs Florentine for breakfast and put a birthday candle in it that morning. :)

So, after getting home last night around 11 PM, I felt like my vacation couldn't have been better!  Until we got a flat tire five minutes from the airport.  Thank goodness for AAA...

At midnight, freezing, surrounded by the snow banks I had avoided the last two weeks, I sat in Hernando's broken down car just off highway 91 and entered my mid to late twenties.

And it felt great. :)



*Name has been changed to protect the innocent

East, West, West, East, West, East

My traveling continued from Chicago to warm, sunny Arizona.  Did I say warm?  My mistake!  It was barely 60 degrees for the three days I was there.  Normally this time of year it is around 75 and totally awesome, and about three weeks ago it was a whopping 95 degrees, but no, not this week, not for ol' Sal.  Oh well, coming from Connecticut and just barely making it on a flight out of Chicago missing a snowstorm by about an hour- 60 degrees and sunny worked for me.  It made me giggle watching the born and bred Arizonians bundle up in winter coats, scarfs and mittens- especially when I spoke with my parents in CT and heard about the six inches of snow we were currently getting there.

Despite the bitter cold, I pushed on in AZ.  My Aunt and Uncle and my cousins, Jason and Stacey, showed me a great time complete with touring Scottsdale, checking out U of A in Tucson and a Phoenix Suns Basketball game!

Now I'm back east for the weekend, preparing for my next trip.  I board the plane tomorrow night..more to come!

Stay warm!! ;)

Traveling Has Begun..

Hi All, Sensitive Sal here.  I missed you, too!!! :)

I am just leaving my sister's condo in Chicago after spending three great days here including a day out with my Aunt Ellen braving the windy cold going to a Christmas market, and the Sears tower, which is now called Willis Tower because someone bought something and stepped out on the glass ledge with a glass ceiling, glass walls and glass FLOOR a mere 103 floors above the ground!

No, this is not me and Ellen, but we did break down and buy the very expensive photo they offered us. :-)

In Chicago, I also met my sister's great friend Kelly.  Kelly, I know you are reading this.  Feel free to comment!  Otherwise, it was just sister time, which was fantastic, as we all know how I feel about Becky!

Anyway, off to catch my flight to Arizona.  More details soon.  Hope everyone is having a great holiday season!!!

No Sleep 'til Connecticut!

It has been a whole week since I last blogged, and you guys really let me have it.  The letters that came in demanding more writing have taken over my kitchen counter, the postman is giving me dirty looks now and curious neighbors who seem to think I am important are asking for my autograph.  The phone calls, and drop-in visits to make sure I am alive are truly appreciated, but the fruit baskets and electronics were wholly unnecessary.  Most of all the amount of comments I received on my blog itself, were so overwhelming the blog king called me personally and asked A.) What my secret was and B.) If I could cut down the greatness, just slightly, so as to make room for the other bloggers and give them a chance!

The above paragraph is entirely false.  At this point I will explain my absence by distracting you with a story about stomach issues in the fine borough of New York City, Brooklyn.

The Beastie Boys once said,

"No Sleep 'til Brooklyn,"

and I often ask my friends who live there if they find this to be true.  Trying to remember their answer now and coming up with nothing leaves me to believe they probably ignore me when I say it.  Meanwhile, I did find it to be true this weekend.  The details follow below;

We arrived in Brooklyn on Friday afternoon.  That night my group ventured out to Manhattan for an amazing concert and also spotted Bill Murray, which happens to top my list of celebrity sightings just winning over Ian Zeiring, classically known as "Steve" from the original 90210 and a reality star named "Frenchie" who once aspired to date Brett Michaels. 

After the show we ate tapas at a great Spanish restaurant, stopped in a bar for drinks and crawled our way back home in the wee morning hours to our weekend bed where we found sleep (In Brooklyn!)  The boys might be beastie, but they are also correct.

Saturday began slowly, waking up late, rinsing off subway grim and finally finding coffee.  We ate breakfast out, window shopped while drinking spicy Mexican hot chocolate, which if you have not tried, you should soon, and went into American Apparel, a clothing store located only in large cities across the world.  Among the neon leotards and animal striped spandex pants, there are really nice clothes to be found in this store, which again if you have not gone to, go to it soon.  I found an amazing green scarf/belt/hair-hat ribbon/blindfold for a reasonable price and absolutely could not wait to put it on.  Back at the Brooklyn safe/sleep zone, I put on my new scarf/belt/hair-hat ribbon/blindfold, opting for the mid waist belt look- after an unsuccessful blindfold attempt- another story in itself.  Wearing it, I felt very "New York", at least as much as a born and bred Connecticuteer could feel. 
So, off we went back into the jungle called Manhattan.  Our first stop was a Samurai exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was where I first felt my stomach pain.  I doubted it was the Sangria pitchers I had the night before, or the beer and sausage and cheese dinner plate.  It certainly could not have been the various tapas at 1AM, ranging from octopus and mussels to fried cheese balls and pork.  Or, the spicy Mexican hot chocolate? 

Mmm, Definitely not.

In any case, I pushed on.  I looked at the swords ranging from the 10th to the 16th century.  It is certainly interesting that each one looked exactly the same except for one tiny difference in the sharpness, or the length, or was it the dust coverage?- I am not sure.  I am sure that there were about 75 swords, which is super neat, if you are into that kind of thing.  Although, all I could think about was each sword being stabbed through my stomach, because it kind of felt that way. 

After the Met, we took the subway, which seemed particularly smelly and awful that night, to the east village where we put our name in to eat at Momofuku, a trendy restaurant my other half had been raving about.  There was an hour and twenty minute wait before we could sit.  This was no problem, as I wanted my stomach to settle anyway.  To kill our time we went into a nice looking Japanese restaurant where we ordered a pre-dinner of sushi and maki.  Oh, and saki and beer.  This was when I began to notice the amazing belt I had tied on was really tight on my stomach.  I loosened it slightly after finishing my beer and felt immediate relief.  How silly am I, trying to be trendy and hurting my stomach in the process.  Ridiculous. 

Following pre-dinner, we went on to the main course at Momofuku, which was amazing, and if you have not been, you should go soon.  We ate pork dumplings, which may have been the greasiest thing I have ever put in my mouth and a pork raman noodle bowl.  Oh, and more beer.  At this point I had loosened my belt entirely and it no longer looked fashionable, but more like a limp hula-hoop.  But, my stomach still hurt a bit.  We had plans to go meet my friend from high school for a drink after dinner.  My stomach shouted "no!", but the noise was drowned out by Manhattan's mumbles of car horns and shouting, so we went.
Since I was going to see someone new I made sure my hula-hoop transformed back into a belt by tightening it despite discomfort.  I even drank a beer.  It was great to see my friend, but at this point I was dreaming of sleep in Brooklyn.  Two subways and some walking later, we made it home to the safe haven, where the streets murmurs were just slightly softer.  As I took off my scarf/belt/hair-hat ribbon/blindfold I felt complete bliss, utter happiness, sheer release and the faint sounds of the Beastie Boys playing in the background.

Unfortunately, this did not last.  I am not going to the get into the details of my stomach issues that ensued this fateful Saturday night/Sunday's wee morning hours, but I am going to tell you that I was certainly glad when it was over.  Maybe it was the food, maybe it was the alcohol.  Maybe it was running around non-stop, or maybe it was my beautiful and wonderful new belt.  My best guess is a combination of the four.  I cannot bring myself to throw out the scarf/belt/hair-hat ribbon/blindfold, as I love it very much and there are other uses for it than just to torment my stomach.  However, I will hide it from myself for a bit, so I can forget about the pain. 

Meanwhile, I am back home, safe and sound in Connecticut where there are less amazing food options and torture chambers (tight clothing).  The bars close by 2AM, late night diners are few and far between and I find this all very comforting. 
Even after all of my stomach troubles, I still love New York City with all my heart-but, my new line is officially,

"No sleep 'til CT".

I think I will have T-shirts made up.  If you want one, simply stick a check in with the comment you were already planning on leaving on my blog! :)

BREAKING NEWS

As you are strolling along on the path of life
feeling kind of bad about yourself
getting a ton of sympathy

The road ahead is long and empty
looking to be filled with whatever you could possibly imagine
though it is getting harder and harder to stay positive
You have found the perfect negative and sarcastic tone for your blog
and maybe your life
and then all of a sudden...



You get a job!!!



That does not start for two months..
But, you are still getting severance from your old company!!!

If you know me, you might expect me to exclaim, "I'm going to Disney World!" and have it be completely true.  However, that family trip will be later in 2010.  For now, I am just going somewhere!





Let me know if there is room on your couch and I will see you soon. ;-)