On Christmas morning, Liam came back over around 10am and we opened presents. Somehow the only photo taken was this of me wearing my new dry robe – a robe with a fluffy towel like inside for warming up after a cold water dip. Also included in the gift bag…

John and I both had Dec 22 off work and decided to check out the grand avenue design / vintage shops. Salvage one was particularly impressive, with huge spaces that are also rented out for events and generally so much massive scale! Liam has talked about needing a coat rack…

Last weekend we hopped on a bright and mild moment and went to Northerly Island for a walk. After walking on the official path the southernmost tip of the island (ummm, peninsula) we noticed that there’s a really sturdy walkway along the harbor side headed back north. Great views of…

On Saturday we went out to the national museum of Mexican art in pilsen. It was a really nice sunny day and not too cold, and we first walked up and down 18th street, stopped for coffee and treats at a coffee shop, then went to the museum. We then…

We had a lovely thanksgiving celebration at Debbie, Jeff and Maddie’s place in Naperville. We were 11 people total, with Bronwyn and her sister Kaylee joining us this year. We had a great time chatting, playing Nintendo switch sports, eating the salmon, turkey and many yummy side dishes. After dinner…

On our last full day in Quebec, we decided to walk near the ramparts or old city wall, and also visit the Jean-Baptiste neighborhood. Back to the map! See the red circle where we stayed? The walls are a shaded area just to the left of that, following around the…

On Monday afternoon we took an Uber out to Siberia Spa in the forested mountain area outside of Quebec City. It was so nice – with many features like previous spas, like a series of buildings and pools all outdoors, and you can stay as long as you like, going…

On Monday, we set out to explore the Petit-Champlain neighborhood. A quick description from the tourist office describes the neighborhood as having picturesque pedestrian streets (confirmed!) and as being the first permanent French settlement in North America, over 400 years ago. It’s a lively area to stroll around, day or…

There are no direct flights from Chicago to Quebec City this time of year, so we flew by way of Toronto. Here’s our maple-leafed air Canada wing over Lake Ontario as we approached for a landing. Love flying over the great lakes! And also thought we’d start off with a…

We tried out the new Guinness open gate bar in the Fulton market area. Our analysis was that it has a fun vibe, cool design and really good Guinness and food. It’s very table based though so felt more like a restaurant than pub, interesting that it was set up…