Moncton: First Impressions

Allô tout le monde,

After sleeping the entire cab ride, we've made in to Moncton: home of Université de Moncton and Explore 2013!

We're a day early, so the campus is pretty deserted still.

Even though the French-only rule isn't being enforced yet, I still feel nervous! Luckily, Paris and I are right down the hall from each other on floor 10 of LaFrance.

The rooms are awesome.

Spacious,

...with lots of storage,

...and a cute little kitchen!

The view from my window is great too.

So far so good!

Fredericton: Day Five

Salut mes amis,

Today was bittersweet, as it was our last morning in Fredericton with our friends. They have made such an impression on us in quite short period of time, but I know we'll get to see them again!

Bright an early, we met the guys for breakfast at The Coffee Mill. Though some were too hung over to eat, it was still great to sit and relax together one last time...

Next, we headed over to the Farmer's Market, where we met Gillian.

I was really impressed with the variety of goods available!

Plus, it was refreshing to feel the energy of an entire population gathered in one place. Everyone seemed wide awake, and glad to be surrounded by their friends and family.

Not to mention, everything smelled so amazing!

                                   

After some peer pressure from the guys, Paris and I split a spicy chicken samosa. Yum!

Gill and I also split some homemade fudge!

When we got home, it was time to see Ryan off. Then shortly after, we were driven to the airport to catch our cab to Moncton. Unfortunately, all we got was one cruddy pic with Gillian before we left! Hopefully, though, we'll be back before we head home to the states.

Thank you Gillian and Jeramy for being such amazing hosts, and for letting us into your lives! This leg of the trip was greater than I could have ever hoped! XOXOXO

Until next time,

Fredericton: Day Four

Bonjour mes amis,

Today's post will be pretty light, being as I slacked off with taking pictures! Anyways, here's day 4 in a nutshell:

Sleeping with the window open got a little too breezy last night, and I woke up without my voice! Quel dommage, because I talk all. the. time...

Regardless, today is was our last full day and night in Fredericton, and we definitely made the most of it! Well, after we packed our bags and sulked a little bit.

We ran to some errands in search of cough drops, party stuffs and more mussels. I found this beauty while we were at it: a whole monk fish.

Later, because so many people were leaving for the summer, include us and the adorably charming Ryan, we all got together for one last cookout and a hilarious night of shenanigans.

Everything was so perfect and fun that I really do hate to leave...

Fredericton: Day Three

Hey everyone!

I hope your week has shaped up as well as mine has! Here's a rundown of our 3rd day in Freddie:

The weather was kind of cruddy today, so we mostly stayed in. However, before breakfast, we ran down to The Happy Baker to see about picking up some goodies. Nothing really struck us, except a pack of ciabatta bread for just $1! What a deal!

Afterwards, we headed home and made some really tasty veggie and cheese omelets as a makeshift family. Jeramy, of course, made us deliciously creamy lattés.

  

Next, Paris and I got started on a batch of French Macarons. She had never made them before, and it was super fun to work together to successfully create such a complex and tasty dessert, even if we I did get almond flour in her keyboard!

In honor of the upcoming Canada Day holiday, we filled them with fresh and tangy homemade strawberry cream and decorated them with feuille d'érable sprinkles that we picked up at Bulk Barn for $0.08!!! I love that store...

For lunch, Jeramy and I rocked out some excellent ciabatta chicken sandwiches with honey mustard, Swiss cheese, avocado, tomato and lettuce. I'm really going to miss sharing a kitchen with him!

After some relaxing, a friend of Jer's made a pot of mussels for dinner. It was my first time having them, and I'm happy to say that they were one of the simplest and most tasty foods I have ever tried. 

I'm almost scared to move into the dorms and have nothing but a microwave to cook with!

All in all it was a great day, filled with food and friends. I'll really miss Fredericton when we go!

Ta ta for now...

Fredericton: Day Two

Salut à tous! 

This has been day two here Fredericton. Here's how it went:

First, our awesome host Jeramy made us vanilla cappuccinos and peach cornmeal pancakes. 

It was a great start to our morning, er, afternoon.

 

Plus, we got to use homemade maple syrup that was made with trees grown on Jeramy's family's property! It's much better tasting, and runnier, than prepackaged syrup.

Then, we headed down to the St. Johns River, which we completely walked parallel to and couldn't find  yesterday. Whoops...

However, it was pretty cold and yucky out.

...and windy too!

But the sights were totally worth the weather.

    

Jeramy is actually a photographer. Hopefully I can get some of his shots from today.

Say cheese, Paris!

Myeah, I'm pale...

When we got home we barbecued again. 

The guys made some monster burgers!

For the rest of the evening I just plan on writing. I've loved this trip so far!

Have a great night!

Fredericton: Day One

Hey everyone!

Paris and I have been having such a great time here in Fredericton! Here's a recap of day one:

When we woke up (at 12ish...) we took a walk to downtown through a pretty cool little graveyard. 

It was really scenic, and all the gravestones are old and worn.

Then, we stopped at 'The Happy Baker', an awesome little café and bakery for brunch.

I ordered a cup of cream of broccoli soup, which was more like broccoli cheddar with big whole pieces of broccoli, and a piece of fresh whole-wheat bread. Paris had a great looking roast beef and swiss ciabatta sandwich that they toasted on the spot. 

Also, we got to sample their delicious flavored balsamic vinegars. I WILL be bring a bottle of raspberry back to the states... To read my review of 'The Happy Baker', click here!

We ate everything on the sweet little indoor patio...

Funny story: after we left, we went across the way to a convenience store to eliminate some of our change by buying a bottle of water. We asked if we could buy it in coins, and payed in mostly pennies, but the cashier seemed so disappointed as we counted it out on the counter and didn't even care if we had the exact amount. Plus, ever since we landed we've been awkwardly waiting for our few cents of change any time something comes to $1.87, but no change...

As it turns out, Canada has actually stopped using pennies and has started rounding their prices up and down!

It sucked to play the part of "ignorant American", but now we know: no pennies ever!

For the rest of the afternoon we walked around and soaked up our new surroundings.

Then we went to a little mall to hit the ATM and grab a bubble tea smoothie from 'Mimizawa'. It was so good I didn't even get a picture!

Plus we went to a rock and mineral shop and picked up some good vibes from the eclectic shopkeeper.

On the way back, we met some interesting guys who were giving out free kisses and serenading passersby. No worries, we didn't stick around!

We did paint a picture with a nice gal who worked for a charity organization, though.

We sat right on the sidewalk and painted away!

 Here's Paris's butterfly masterpiece

 

And here's my little moon!

It was nice to have a rest and talk to such a friendly person.

When we got back, we ran to the store with Jeramy, our host, to pick up food for a bbq. We got salmon fillets and shrimp skewers. Everything turned out so good!

Next, he took us out to a local pub to hangout with his friends who were all awesomely funny.

I honestly couldn't get enough of their accents. So cool...

For a late-night snack, we had Poutine from 'Smoke's'! 

Essentially, it's fries smothered in chicken-based gravy and cheese curds. A local delicacy, and heaven in a tray!

I hope you enjoyed reliving our day with us!

Thanks for reading!