Pride Weekend in SF
Sunday morning we woke up nice and early to beat the brunch lines.
To preemptively burn off the bad mistakes we were about the make, we took the hilliest route to Brunch and climbed Vertical Death, otherwise known as the Lyon Street Steps.
The view from the top is amazing, but at what cost?!
By the time we made it to Sweet Maple, the line had already formed. It was pretty quick and we were seated within 30 minutes – lightning speed!
Like any good brunch, ours started with Mimosas.
Instead of branching out and trying new things, we went with old favourites.
Breakfast Tacos,
Deep Fried French Toast,
And of course, Millionaire’s Bacon.
Bacon baked with brown sugar, cayenne, red and black pepper. It’s sweet, it’s spicy, it’s delicious.
After breakfast we made our way downtown to check out the Pride Parade, and on the way we stopped at Philz to get a Mint Mojito Iced Coffee.
Between these and the Black Ties from Peet’s, I planned on being verrrry caffeinated on this trip!
It was the perfect day for the parade. We didn’t go last year as we’d just gotten Jobin, so we were excited to get to go this year!
Apple was definitely one of the largest and most colourful groups in the parade.
Wow, a Storm Trooper!
We got lots of swag, but Chipotle definitely had the best!
We had some time before our dinner plans, so we took the long route back to the hotel through Hayes Valley and stopped at Miette!
The Old Fashioned Cupcake is the best thing ever. The full-sized cake version is also my favourite cake!
We walked back to the hotel to have a quick nap then made our way to dinner.
We decided on Memphis Minnie’s, with friends from Toronto who now live in San Francisco.
Cobi and I had eaten Memphis Minnie’s BBQ many times, but we had never actually been to the location (two thumbs up for delivery).
We got a smorgasbord of meat by the pound – Rib Tips, Brisket, Smoked Pork, and Fried Chicken.
We also got some sides – Coleslaw, Baked Beans, and Mac & Cheese!
One of the BBQ sauces they use is Mustard-based, and it’s the best stuff ever so we were sure to pick up a bottle to bring home with us.
The first weekend in SF was fun and delicious, we couldn’t wait for the rest of the week!
I Left My Heart in San Francisco
I had been away from San Francisco for 6 months, and it was time to go back.
Cobi’s cousin was getting married in SF, so we decided to turn it into a week-long trip celebrating with family and seeing old friends!
We left Toronto at 6am Saturday morning, arriving in San Francisco just before 9am. We dropped our things off at our hotel in the Marina, and walked along Chestnut Street to run a few errands before getting the day started.
We were having a picnic with friends at Fort Mason later, but we were hungry so we stopped for a quick lunch at Blue Barn, sharing a BBQ Chicken & Bacon sandwich. Their sandwiches and salads are amazing!
After our lunch I got my hands on some sweet, sweet Peet’s Black Tie Iced Coffee.
It feels so good when it touches my lips…
After I was thoroughly caffeinated Cobi and I made our way to Safeway to pick up some snacks and beers for the picnic. My first stop (as always) was to the cookie aisle to check out all the Oreos we can’t get back home!
I went with S’mores and Cinnamon Bun Oreos – the perfect way to start a picnic!
And the weather was perfect for a picnic! Sunny and warm, and Karl the Fog was nice enough to take the day off.
Along with the beers and Oreos from Safeway, I had brought all my favourite Canadian treats for my American pals to try.
Felicia was pretty stoked, and immediately put the Smarties in her bag so she didn’t have to share.
This is why Felicia and I are friends.
It was Pride Weekend in SF and people were celebrating in all the best ways – this group set up a huge rainbow Slip & Slide! I did not partake, but it was fun to watch.
And while I was watching I got to play with these two adorable parrots who were out enjoying the weather!
Because the wind was so strong, it didn’t feel super hot and I forgot for a second that I am made of porcelain. As soon as I remembered, I put on a long sleeved shirt and covered the holes in my jeans with paper towels.
Unfortunately, I didn’t do this quick enough…
Every year I forget that I’m not made for sunshine.
After a full day getting sunburned with friends in the park, a few of us went to Shanghai Dumpling King, one of my favourite restaurants in the city.
If you ever go, I highly recommend the Spicy Wontons, Pork Buns, Soup Dumplings and basically every single thing on the menu. It’s all so good.
After we stuffed our faces with all the deliciousness we could handle, we rolled home and started making plans for what we were going to eat for the rest of the week… 😀
Museums, Macarons, & High Tea in Paris
Bonjour, Paris!
After a 2.5 hour high-speed train ride from Luxembourg, we made it to our hotel in the early afternoon.
It was pretty grey and rainy, so we grabbed our umbrellas and rain boots and hit the streets.
Our hotel was in the 9th arrondissement and we wandered along aimlessly until we came to Rue Saint Honoré.
There were lots of pretty little shops in the area, including a Maille boutique. We went in and sampled a few mustards we can’t get back home, and the best by far was the Mustard with Rosemary Honey. We decided to buy a little bottle of it to take back home with us.
Next stop – macarons! The Ladurée store is so pretty and their Macarons are delicious.
Me in my happy place.
So good.
At this point the rain had stopped and the clouds were starting to dissipate.
All of a sudden, the skies opened up and it started pouring! Cobi and I got instantly soaked and we took cover in a little cafe by the Louvre.
Coffee & Macarons in the rain in Paris. Can’t complain.
That evening we went to a cocktail bar called Le Mary Celeste. It was unbelievable – by far the best meal we’d had on the trip, and we’d eaten some pretty amazing things. We sat at the bar and had a great conversation with one of the bartenders. He recommended the must-try dishes and made us some amazing cocktails, and gave us some recommendations on where else we had to eat while in Paris.
The next morning we were up early and started our touring, starting at the Moulin Rouge.
We stopped for breakfast at a little cafe and had the ‘breakfast special’, which included cappuccinos, madeleines, brioche, croissants, and freshly squeezed OJ.
Nothing like a good carb load before a day of touristing.
We had another day ahead of us with nothing in particular planned. Cobi had never been to Paris before so we really just wanted to walk around everywhere and see as much of the city as we could.
We walked over to the Arc de Triomphe, then along the Champs Élysées looking at all the beautiful shops.
We received a recommendation from a friend to check out Pierre Hermé macarons, and we were not disappointed!
The packaging was super cute.
And the macarons were like little clouds.
After our snack we decided to head to the Louvre and check out some art.
It was the first time I had ever been and it was so beautiful.
Oh, hey Lisa!
The crowd in front of the Mona Lisa was pretty crazy. One of the museum employees stood in front of the painting trying to block people taking photos with selfie sticks. Note to tourists – Selfie Sticks are not allowed in the Louvre!
The art was beautiful, and it was pretty cool seeing famous paintings and statues up close.
After we’d soaked up all the culture we could, we made our way to dinner. Cobi had done an awesome job picking out the cocktail bar the night before, so he was in charge of choosing another restaurant. We went to a place called Le Barav which was a wine bar. We ate Croque Monsieur, Honey Brie and Charcuterie. And wine – lots of wine.
We had been walking a LOT this trip and both of us were feeling a little worn out, so we decided to spend the next morning at the spa. We made appointments at the spa at the Saint James Albany for massages, and it was a pretty great way to start our last full day in Paris! We steamed, we sauna’d, we swam, we relaxed. I would have stayed there forever, but we had High Tea to get to!
Last time I was in Paris my Mom and I went to the George V for High Tea and it was amazing, so Cobi and I decided to check it out.
The flowers at the George V are insane. They are so beautiful and they are everywhere! Our server told us there are 5 people on staff who’s only job is to attend to the flowers.
We started off with glasses of champagne because why not.
Tea Time!!
The selection looked amazing.
The finger sandwiches were all really good – Tuna and Chicken and Ham and Smoked Salmon.
The pastries were also amazing. My favourite was the Passionfruit one that looked like BB8!
The top plate was the best by far. The scones and the madeleines were unbelievable.
We were both so stuffed at this point, so we decided to walk the long way back to the hotel from the George V to try to digest. We needed to fit in one more meal before leaving Paris!
After a long walk and more touristing we decided to go back to Le Mary Celeste because it was so amazing.
We got some of the same dishes again, and tried some new ones – including a Pineapple cocktail that came in a pretty cool cup!
I really want a pineapple cup like this…
Even though we were pretty stuffed from High Tea & dinner, we hadn’t yet been to Amorino Gelato and I NEEDED to go before we left. I got Nutella, Dulce de Leche and Stracciatella and they were all so amazing.
Pretty sweet final day in Paris!
This had been one of the most amazing trips ever, starting with a beautiful wedding with some of my favourite people. Thank you Sophie & Steve for giving us an excuse to go on an incredible European Adventure!!
Did You Know They Speak Luxembourgish?
The train ride to Luxembourg was beautiful!
When we were planning our trip, neither Cobi or I had any real desire to visit Luxembourg, but after doing some research we came across MANY recommendations that convinced us to add it to our list.
I’m so glad we did. It ended up being one of my favourite places that we visited.
The trip started off with an adventure… The little B&B we were staying in, La Pipistrelle was super cute, just 4 floors with one room on every floor. There was no elevator and the staircase leading up to the second floor was pretty narrow, which was fun to climb with our big suitcases.
Then it got more exciting.
The staircase leading to the 3rd and 4th floor was a super narrow spiralled staircase!
I managed to drag my suitcase up one flight of spirals, but I needed Cobi to help me with the final flight.
The landing at the top of the staircase was tiny. Hardly room for two people, let alone two people and two bags!
I figured when we had to check out a few days later I’d just throw my bag down the stairs and let gravity do the work…
Our little room was perfect, with a pretty view of the town.
And the mini bar was top notch!
It was another beautiful, hot sunny day so we put on our sunscreen and went off exploring.
The whole town was so beautiful.
We walked around aimlessly for a bit then found a 5km scenic trail called the Wenzel Circular Walk that took us all around the city.
Along the path we encountered the huge wall surrounding the city, so we decided to check it out.
The fortified castle, called the Casemates, surrounded the city and had hollowed-out tunnels that you can explore and see how the city was protected in 963.
The sign by the entrance said ‘Do not take tour if you are claustrophobic or suffer from heart problems’.
This was going to be fun.
Some of the tunnels were nice and open and some were horribly narrow. We went through all 17km, even the parts where you had to turn sideways to slide through.
It was really, really cool and I highly recommend checking it out.
Seeing the wall from the outside gave us a good sense of just how incredible the interior path system was.
As much as we enjoyed the cold, dark tunnels, it was nice coming back out into the sun!
The sun was setting as we were finishing up our walk along the Wenzel train so we made our way into town to grab some dinner.
We found an outdoor patio that had room for us and we were serenaded by an orchestra while we enjoyed our dinner.
After a day of travelling and touring we needed to replenish our sugars. For dessert Cobi had a Dame Blanche (a fancy european way of saying Ice Cream Sundae)
And I of course had a brownie.
We were pretty pooped so we made our way back to the hotel, climbed the crazy stairs and passed out.
The next morning we enjoyed the Breakfast part of the B&B.
The hotel manager was lovely, making us whatever kind of eggs we wanted and gave us some recommendations on what to do that day. We told her we wanted to do a hike to see the castles just outside the city and she recommended we take the bus to Echternach and walk the Mullerthal Trail.
We started with a 6km trail that took us from Echternach to the town of Berdorf.
The trail was amazing.
We wove in and out of huge rock walls, and there were crazy alcoves everywhere that you could squeeze into and explore.
We eventually made it to Berdorf and it was a teeny tiny little town with nothing going on, so we decided to get back on the path and walk another 10km to Beaufort, a larger town with an old castle that we wanted to check out.
Along the walk we stumbled across a theatre built into the rocks – there was even orchestra seating to the left and right! Very cool.
Some of the explorable crevices were super creepy – this one was an old rickety ladder that led deep down into a pit and to get out you had to walk through a really narrow crevice that was only passable if you hunched right down.
We hardly ran into anyone on the hike but thankfully there were a few other groups around when we went through. I wanted to be able to call for help if I got lodged between two rocks!!
The whole trail system was really impressive – beautifully maintained with walking and biking trails spanning over 100km. I wish we could have explored more but our little legs were turning into lead.
Aha! A Castle!
The castle was very cool, but unfortunately we were too late to take a tour.
Disappointing, but not terrible as both Cobi and I were pretty ready to call it a day!
We found the bus back to Luxembourg and we promptly passed out.
When we got back to Luxembourg we had a quick shower to clean off and wake up then went out for a well deserved dinner. I inhaled my Pulled Pork Sandwich before I could take a photo. I’m not sure if it was because we had walked a total of 30km that day, but it was the best sandwich I had ever had in my life.
The brownie for dessert wasn’t too shabby either!
The next morning we had our final breakfast in Luxembourg (seriously – Nutella really should be a part of every breakfast at home), packed our bags, and made our way to the train station to get to our final destination.
Final stop – Paris!
Hide Yo’ Waffles, Hide Yo’ Fries
Has anyone seen the movie ‘In Bruges’? I have. And it’s 100% the reason Cobi and I added Bruges to our trip. It was going to be just as beautiful, with a lot less hit men.
The train ride from Amsterdam was pretty quick, even though we had to transfer twice.
The walk from the train station to our hotel wasn’t far, and it was a beautiful day so we decided to walk. Pulling luggage along a cobblestone street wasn’t ideal, and I hadn’t packed clothing for warm weather and I was already regretting it!
Our hotel was really cool. We stayed at the Hotel Montanus and it had a beautiful interior courtyard.
It got so hot while we were in Bruges that Cobi and I were both tempted to jump in the water at one point or another…
After we dropped off our luggage and changed into some weather appropriate clothing we went off to explore Bruges. Namely – their chocolate shops!
It seemed like every other storefront was a chocolate shop.
Each one had crazier chocolates than the last!
We were feeling pretty peckish at this point so we stopped for beers and a snack.
We were planning on just sharing an order of Moules-Frites, but the server wouldn’t let us share a dish because then it ‘wouldn’t be worth serving us’… Interesting. But if that means ordering some Cheese Croquets then I can’t complain!
After our snack we did some walking around the town, checking out the canals and beautiful old buildings.
We had no specific plans for Bruges – other than eating our weight in fries and waffles.
Sassy residents of Bruges.
We stumbled across a fairground that we meandered through, watching kids on rides that spin around and around in a sickening way. At the end of the grounds was a huge ferris wheel.
It was sponsored by Veuve Clicquot so for €40 you could take a spin in the ferris wheel with a glass of Veuve.
Fancy European ferris wheels…
As we were walking along we found a really pretty park on a river, and decided it would be a nice place to have a picnic the next day.
We stopped off at a cool bar right along the river for a few beers while we decided where to go for dinner.
Because we are adults and make great adult decisions, we decided to have fries and mayo for dinner.
We ate the fries by a beautiful church to ensure we remained very cultured.
And because we were in Belgium we couldn’t NOT have a waffle for dessert!!
This one was covered in Chocolate & Bananas and we just inhaled it.
We were pretty exhausted from a day of travelling (and our highly nutritious dinner of waffles & fries) so we made our way back to our hotel to pass out.
The next morning we decided to continue our healthy eating choices by having a caramel waffle for breakfast!
We couldn’t resist – we walked past a place called Chez Albert which is apparently known to have the best waffles in Bruges. It would have been ridiculous if we DIDN’T have waffles for breakfast…
While we were eating our Breakfast Waffle we noticed a place right across the street called Go.fre that made Waffles on a Stick… We decided to go in and check it out. There were tons of different options to choose from, with Dark, Milk and White Chocolate and any topping you can think of (sprinkles, Smarties, almonds etc).
Then we noticed a station by the cash register where they had fresh-made waffles, and you could choose any chocolate and any toppings you wanted!!
How could we say no?
So for Second Breakfast we had a stick waffle covered in Caramel Chocolate Sauce and Smarties.
Great start to the day.
Fries Museum?! Absolutely.
It was the funniest little museum. Totally kitschy, with big billboards on the wall outlining the history of the potato and the history of the fry.
My favourite part of the museum was the section detailing the importance of Fries as a part of a healthy diet.
It outlined the benefits of salt, potatoes and oils – you don’t need to convince me to eat fries!!
Do you know how hard it is to take a selfie in one of these things?
Of course the Fry Museum had fries for sale at the end of the tour. And you can’t NOT get fries in the Fry Museum.
At this point it was still pretty early in the day so we decided to go to a few shops and pick up the necessary items for our picnic.
While we were at a corner store picking up beer we noticed these ‘Classic Burger’ chips.
Definitely wish we had picked up a bag to try.
After we got a few cold beers we stopped at a tiny little cheese shop for some Truffle Brie, prosciutto, and fresh bread.
We picked out a spot in the shade and laid out our picnic.
I had to go buy a dress earlier in the day because it was SO hot and my jeans just weren’t cutting it. Sitting by the water with our beer and cheese we had never been happier!
After our delicious picnic lunch we found a 5k train that circled Bruges that we decided to walk along. Thank goodness for all the walking, as there were lots more things we wanted to eat and we needed to build our appetites back up.
Throughout the day we had picked up lots of tasty treats – chocolates, homemade Nutella, soft vanilla-filled stroopwafels and chocolate florentines. Some of which we bought to bring home as gifts for people, others we bought to eat all to ourselves.
There were an insane number of Michelin starred restaurants in Bruges, but they were all slightly out of our price range.
We found a place called Bistro Refter that looked great (and wasn’t crazy expensive) that we decided to go to. The restaurant was linked to a 3-star Michelin restaurant called Karmeliet so we had high hopes! My meal of Asparagus Salad to start, Steak Tartare Main and a Baked Apple for dessert was amazing. Cobi loved his Fried Pork Belly starter but wasn’t a huge fan of his Steak or Creme Brûlée. It was the first meal the we had that wasn’t totally outstanding. But it was still pretty good!
We spent our last night in Bruges walking around the town a little, checking out the areas we hadn’t been to yet. We were so full of Fries & Waffles & Beer & Chocolate, I’d say the visit was a great success.
The next morning we had a quick breakfast of pastries and coffee at the hotel, then walked back to the station to catch our train to Luxembourg.
Goodbye Bruges, you were absolutely delicious.
Next stop: Luxembourg!
Eating Our Way Through Amsterdam
After the most amazing 4 days in Liverpool with some of the loveliest, kindest people I’ve ever met, it was time to catch our flight to Amsterdam.
We landed in Amsterdam just after 7pm, and after dropping our bags off at our hostel we hit the streets for some touristing.
If this sweater of my new favourite treat wasn’t €70 I would have bought it in a heartbeat!
Photo courtesy of Trip Advisor
We were ready to get our foodie on, so Cobi found a place called Cafe de Klos where we ate some of the best ribs I’ve ever had.
Photo Courtesy of https://www.wanderable.com/hm/wingandglory
If you ever go – be sure to get the baked potato as well. The garlic butter was a thing of dreams.
We walked around after dinner to digest our ribs, and saw lots of people with Churros… After finding out where they were coming from we had to get some for ourselves.
My favourite part of the whole experience was definitely the Nutella stools. If only my luggage was big enough to take one home!
Mmm is there anything better than Churros straight out of the deep fryer and doused in Nutella??
At this point we were sufficiently stuffed and decided to make our way back to the hostel and call it a night.
The next morning we slept in slightly and had breakfast at Filter, the cafe attached to our hostel.
I wasn’t feeling well (apparently drinking non-stop for 4 days can make you sick), so I had some sort of ‘Immune Booster’ drink. It was sugary and fruity and I loved every drop.
Cobi had a breakfast sandwich and I had toast with Peanut Butter & Bananas – Elvis would be proud.
The bike lanes in Amsterdam are incredible (come on, Toronto – get your shit together) so we decided to rent a couple of bikes and see as much of the city as we possibly could.
We had to stop in a grocery store at one point to pick up some meds for me, and I spent some time checking out the amazing treat aisles.
Sprinkle Donut Capt’n Crunch?? Yes please!!
Exactly what Froot Loops needs – Marshmallows.
I didn’t buy either of these cereals and I have never regretted anything more.
Photo courtesy of http://www.amsterdamshortstayapartments.com/amsterdam-travel-guide/amsterdam-museums-guide/anne-frank-house/
After a morning of some solid biking we made our way to the Anne Frank house as we had tickets for the 3:15pm tour. We tried booking tickets a few weeks in advance but they were all sold out – luckily they opened up a few more the day of, and we managed to snag a pair. The tour was incredible, I’m glad we were able to go.
Cobi had done a good job so far finding us amazing places to eat, so after the tour we biked to a restaurant called Blauw for dinner. Everything on the menu looked delicious, so we both went with the tasting menu.
They brought out at least 20 little dishes of food – rice, chicken/fish/goat satays, fried bananas, stir fried veggies, veggies in peanut sauce, and a million more.
Everything was so amazing. And even though the dessert menu looked incredible, Cobi and I could barely roll ourselves out of the restaurants and back onto our bikes!
We had yet to eat anything sub-par on this trip.
At this point in the evening it had started to get pretty dark, so we dropped the bikes off and decided to continue our adventures on foot.
After a fair amount of post-dinner biking and walking we were ready for dessert!
We stopped outside a crepe place that did insane-looking waffles and sundaes and crepes. We decided to go for some sort of chocolate cookie crunch thing topped with caramel sauce. It was amazing.
The next morning we accidentally slept in a little later than planned (food comas are a dangerous thing), so we got ready quickly to start our day.
I wanted to get some pannenoeken for breakfast, so Cobi found the tiniest little pancake house called ‘Pannenkoekenhuis Upstairs‘.
It boasts being the tiniest restaurant in Europe, and the ‘upstairs’ part was no joke.
The stairway was hilarious. So steep and so narrow. I get vertigo just thinking of it.
It was the cutest place! There were four tables, three of which sat four people and one sat two. The ceiling was covered with the coolest and craziest teapots, and the kitchen was the size of a small closet.
Picking our breakfast was tough. Everything looked amazing!
I ended up going for pear, egg nog, chocolate sauce & cream. The Egg Nog tasted like Christmas – but with a HUGE punch.
Cobi got apple, raisin & currants which was also amazing.
We continued our museum-ing with the Amsterdam Museum (if anyone wants to know how Amsterdam could possibly exist – the Amsterdam Museum is a good way to go) and a tour of the ‘Our Lord In The Attic’ house. The attic of this house concealed a secret Catholic church where Catholics would go to worship after they had lost their right to worship in their own way.
We had to wear funny little slippers during the tour and Cobi loved making fun of me for wearing them (even though he had to wear them too…)
The house was really cool. The lower levels were where the house owner actually lived, and in the attic was a huge, ornate, 3 storey church.
The tour was very cool. We had headsets and could listen to details of every aspect of the house and church. Definitely recommend checking it out!
The view from the top of the museum was a nice added bonus.
After all the culture from the day we were famished. I would move to Europe just for the fries and mayo.
These fries were from Vlaams Friteshuis Vleminckx and had ‘Belgian Mayo’ and it was amazing, so were were super excited for our next destination!
And nothing rounds out a solid meal of French Fries quite like a super chocolatey brownie.
Normally I’d say that nuts have NO place in treats, but I didn’t mind them here.
The next morning we had breakfast at Filter again, before making our way to the train station.
They asked if I wanted fruit or a ‘surprise’ with my breakfast, and I asked for a surprise. Turns out the ‘surprise’ was a hard boiled egg with a surprised face drawn on! Amazing.
After breakfast we grabbed our bags and walked to the train station. Amsterdam was amazing – the food was delicious, the sights were beautiful, and the museums were so interesting. Definitely one of my favourite cities ever.
Next stop: Bruges! Bring on the Belgian Mayo.
Weddings, Karaoke & Pub Crawls in Liverpool
Cobi and I have just returned from a 14 day EuroTrip spanning Liverpool, Amsterdam, Bruges, Luxembourg and Paris. In true Cosbi form we ate our way through each destination, arriving back home full and happy.
The start of any good trip begins with a gourmet meal… Unfortunately, we were flying Air Canada.
It was a nice surprise learning that booze is free on long haul international Air Canada flights! They redeemed themselves with grace and dignity. And rum.
Our first stop was Liverpool to see my favourite Brits (Sophie & Steve) get hitched. Sophie and I met 5 years ago when we worked together at Restoration Hardware, and I was SO excited to see her walk down the aisle.
We took the redeye on Friday night, landing in Liverpool at 9am Saturday morning. Sophie’s brother Liam and his fiancée Cass were kind enough to let us (and the other Torontonians Ashley & Derek) crash at their place while we were in town – Thanks again Cass & Liam!! After dropping our stuff off at their place and having a bite to eat we set out to explore Liverpool. First stop, of course, was checking out all things Beatles.
Mmmm delicious Jelly Bean Beatles.
And the place where the Beatles got their start!
We were thinking of going in for a drink but the line was pretty crazy.
After touristing a little, the boys and girls split up – each off to have their own pre-wedding fun.
All the ladies went out for a super fun dinner (with ample drinks!)
No surprise, the dessert was my favourite part.
Portable S’mores – is there anything better?!
Sunday was an exciting day. Cass, Ashley and I woke up early to get our hair done, and spent the morning getting ready and helping the dudes get fancified.
I was so excited for the wedding!!
Of course, the entire wedding was beautiful, but this was by far my favourite part!!
If only Ethel could have been there!
But then beautiful bride walked down the aisle with her brother Liam and I had a real hard time keeping it together for the rest of the ceremony.
I managed to make it through my reading without bursting into tears (or tripping in my heels) – but it was not easy. Especially the heels part.
After the I Do’s were Did it was time to party.
Cobi, Ashley, Derek & I were ready to represent Canada in style.
We were seated at the British Columbia table, and had Union Jack/Maple Leaf pins at our place settings – Thanks again Deb!!
Dinner was great, dessert was better.
It’s like Sophie & Steve knew I loved Sticky Toffee Pudding and picked it just for me!*
(*This is not what happened)
I had my eye one the cake right from the start, but I was too busy getting my dance on all night and didn’t get any!!
Even though I didn’t get any cake, it was a pretty spectacular night with my favourite lady.
The best part was definitely letting my hair down… I was finding bobby pins the whole next day!
Because the Brits are crazy, they thought it would be a good idea to do a pub crawl the day after the wedding…
I wasn’t so sure until I saw the Tuk Tuk pull up outside the first bar – a Karaoke cart taking the girls for a tour around Liverpool!!
I was so in.
We sang all the hits – Dolly Parton, Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys. It was the best thing EVER.
The Tuk Tuk took us to a really cool bar where we met up with the boys.
Somehow I managed to drink a little more…
Tuesday afternoon we were flying to our next destination, so before we made our way to the airport we stopped for fish & chips! There was no way I was leaving the UK without having fish & chips.
We ate by the water, and walked along the beach to see the Gormley’s.
Even though it wasn’t warm, we couldn’t help stopping for ice cream.
Who can say no to Soft Serve & a Flake?!
Thank you Sophie & Steve for letting us join in on your celebrations, and thanks to your entire family for making us feel so welcome!
Next stop: Amsterdam!
