Flashback: Quebec

Naughty Monkey! 

During the Spring, Monkey enjoyed a lovely trip to Quebec. The Old City was very charming - filled with beautiful stone buildings, tasty pastry shops, and beautiful views. Monkey got to see many things and get in a little mischief by using the cat stairs.

Plains of Abraham - Quebec

Monkey with His Backpack 

Monkey took a nice walk throughout the Plains of Abraham.



Penguin Orchestra - Plains of Abraham 


Fountain - Plains of Abraham 

Sunset Over the St Lawrence River

Sunset across the St Lawrence River 

Dufferin Terrace - Quebec

Monkey Will Be Home for Christmas

Monkey on the Bus 

Monkey and I had to take the bus home for Christmas this year. I have always said that there is a Weirdness Quota for every bus and if you look around and can't find the freak, it's you. I suppose that photographing your traveling companion, who happens to be a stuffed monkey, could easily land me as the bus weirdo. But in this case, I was running dead last for that title. There was the middle-aged guy who had Christmas Carols blaring on his headphones loud enough for all to hear and was speaking to no one in particular. Then there was the man across from me who was sleeping with his shirt both untucked and completely unbuttoned but was polite enough to redo it for each of his many trips to the bathroom. There were others as well. I suspect the high number of crazies was needed to keep the percentage of weirdness even on a packed holiday-weekend bus.

Once home, Monkey quite enjoyed the Christmas tree.


Monkey is the Star 


The Tree In Question 

Monkey Relaxing in New Jersey 

Monkey Wants to Share..

but his visit to New Jersey will have wait because Hello is acting up
.

Having a Torrid Affair

There are many different styles of travel. Some like to travel in luxury, others like to rough it. Some people like to have a Whitman's Sampler of a vacation, others more of a six-course feast. I like to have a brief, hot and heavy affair with a new city. Not a superficial, shallow one - just one where the knowledge that it isn't forever makes it all the more enjoyable.

Like in a passionate fling, you can get a lot more out of a vacation if you just abandon yourself to the city. Do what the locals do, or do what the locals find totally lame - go to a small homestyle eatery and order the most ethnic dish you can find, ask how best to eat it, make friends with your server or other patrons because it's not weird to talk to strangers if they speak another language. Then go to the most tourist trap club or attraction or historical site. Worry about embarrassing yourself by being rude or ignoring local customs, not by pulling out a map in the middle of the street and identifying yourself as gasp a tourist. Do things you'd never do at home - take the bus, eat red meat, sing karaoke.

Another advantage to approaching a trip in this way is that it makes everything more charming. Much like your honey's habit of singing off-key to every song on the radio, things that might annoy you in the long term can be at least tolerated and at best actually enjoyed. The metro "just doesn't stop there" today? No problem, get off somewhere else and have a new adventure or get in a long walk. Feel like the waiter is studiously ignoring you? Take advantage of the fact that you can sit at the table, converse, and consult your guidebook as long as you want without paying for more than a cup of coffee.

Bearing in mind that your visit isn't the beginning of a serious commitment, you can focus on just what you want without guilt. You wouldn't feel like you had to attend family Thanksgiving with a brief liaison, so if that famous art gallery or music venue just isn't your scene, don't feel pressure to go.

That's how I like to vacation. The best part is that, even though your mother warned you that sort of hanky-panky never led anywhere, you might accidentally fall in love with your new city.