Isabel's Blog

Tag: travel

Whaaat, I had a blog?!

March 31, 2016 / / 0 Comments

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Oh blog, I’d forgotten about you! So much has happened since! A whole year, in fact! 2015 was such a big year! We went to Hawaii with Laura & Danbo, Laura & Kevin got engaged, I sadly quit my job at Gilbert’s to do freelance and then started doing illustration, Dave got certified at the velodrome, I learned to carve wooden spoons, Janice moved back to Toronto, we did a road trip with Amy & Keb to Detroit, I went on a trip with my family to the UK and we saw Stonehenge, B moved to NYC, I started working at Thought Café, we watched Neal & Nil get married, I went to NYC, Dan turned 30 and we all went to a cottage, Sam & Mike got married, we put a bid on a house and were outbid by $200k, Dave got a job in Hong Kong so we up and moved to Asia, we’ve met so many new people and explored all around HK, I met my cousin Mandy’s son for the first time, we did a day trip (visa run) to Macau, we went to Vietnam and Cambodia for Christmas! And in 2016 we did hikes for our birthdays, we went to Japan with Amy & Keb, Dave went to Spain and Taiwan for bike trips, and we had a bunch of visitors!

What an time to be alive!

Drove to Chicago

July 3, 2014 / / 1 Comment

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Because Dave and I are such patriotic Canadians, we went and spent the Canada Day long weekend in Chicago (I accidentally wore my red and white on June 30th, thinking it was July 1st). Also we love seeing Janice via road-trip as much as we can every summer.  Here are some snaps from the trip!

Since we’d done some of the more touristy stuff last year (though we had to see the bean again, despite the heat), we had a lot more time to explore the suburbs like Andersonville, Pilsen and Logan Square (which was where our Airbnb host was located). We also had a lot more time to eat. So there will be a follow-up food post to come.

PGH

May 8, 2014 / / 0 Comments

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Some photos from our road trip last weekend!

Dave and I peaced outta work at midday, drove the five hours to Pittsburg, and had a fun weekend visiting PA. We stayed at an Airbnb in the neighbourhood of East Liberty and walked to the downtown area for the Jays games, so we got to see a fair bit of the city (for such a short stay). I really liked the working-class feel of the ‘Burgh. The locals were generally very friendly, even though we were repping blue instead of black and gold (we did get chirped a few times though).

I particularly liked Saturday morning, where we got coffee at Cafe Voluto, walked down Penn Ave, through Allegheny Cemetery, then made our way to The Strip (where we had brunch* at Bar Marco and donuts at Peace Love and Little Donuts), and visited the Andy Warhol Museum (more on that later), and finally to PNC Park.

We saw Jays lose the first night and win the next. It was a great weekend, just like old times when Dave and I used to take road trips all the time.

 

* I hate brunch but Bar Marco was good

Dragon’s Back

April 3, 2014 / / 0 Comments

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While we were on vacation over the Christmas holidays last year, Dave and I decided to explore the less touristy / expected parts of Hong Kong. We went on a few “hikes” (in quotes because they weren’t very strenuous). One of these hikes was on our penultimate day of the trip, to Dragon’s Back in Shek O. Named ‘Best Urban Hiking Trail in Asia’ by Time Asia, Dragon’s Back is part of the 50 km Hong Kong Trail that connects five country parks.

The weather was gorgeous that day, and the path is pretty popular. There were lots of folks walking the paths with us. Dave and I had hiking boots on, which came in handy as some of the paths were surprisingly steep and rugged, considering there were children and old Chinese grannies hiking along with us. At the first peak we snapped a whole bunch of photos, because the weather was nice and the view was even better. We made our way to Shek O Peak and then back down to the bus route (less scenic than the way up) because we’d only left for the hike late in the day and the sun was starting to set. We didn’t make it all the way to Tai Long Wan  (Big Wave Bay) so maybe the next time we’re back in Hong Kong we’ll get to explore more.

Looking back

February 27, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Machu Picchu

At the end of 2013, my husband Dave and I were in Hong Kong visiting my family. I was having a lot of anxiety about the new year and my upcoming thirtieth birthday. Now it’s February and birthdays have come and gone, and I did not spend the last day of my twenties clinging to the guardrail of my condo balcony crying. Instead I spent it like a grown-up: wearing a leopard print Snuggie at work and later eating Japanese food with my closest friends.

So I guess the first part of this year hasn’t been as scary horrible as I feared. But I still think 2014 will be a year of big change.

I was going to review my 2013, but I’d stopped writing—the longest I’ve gone since I first started keeping a blog when I was thirteen and had discovered what the internet was—so maybe that says enough about how I felt about last year. But as part of my 2014 resolutions (see next post), I plan to be more positive and make healthy choices for myself.

Here were the highlights of my 2013:

  • I’m still at the graphic design studio I’ve been at since November 2011. The book I’d been working on since I started here finally went to print in December! It is exciting to hold a book you worked on in your hands
  • I started exercising in earnest for the first time in my life (sadly, not exaggerating). This was in preparation for a trip to Peru where my childhood friend GY, his friend LK, LK’s sister, Dave and I hiked the four-day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. And I did not die. In fact, we hiked the trail in three days, and got to see the Machu Picchu ruins at sunset and sunrise. Also not exaggerating when I say the sights were stunning(!) and the whole thing was a trip of a lifetime
  • Also spent a few days in May in Chicago (Hi Janice!), August in Montreal, and December in New York City. We spent Christmas in Hong Kong and Taiwan

Other notes:

  • As you might have noticed with our jet-set lifestyle, we spent a bit too much money last year. 2013 was the year of YOLO-ing too hard. Will need to be more responsible in 2014. Though our financial advisor tells us that we are doing pretty good in the liquid assets department
  • I started off the year with my hair down to my midriff. Now it’s above my chin. Snip snip, chop chop!
  • In April, I won a free ticket to FITC from RGD. I vowed to step outside my comfort zone and talk to at least one person. Now I have a new friend
  • My obsession with donuts
  • Went to dozens of Jays games
  • My ex-boyfriend and I are buds again (which makes me happy)
  • I can do one pull-up
  • My coworker and I started a side project, though we have yet to finish anything