PPMeowTravels – PPMeow!

Montreal, ci bon!

What did you do last weekend?

I did a 6-hr road trip with some dance friends to Montreal for the weekend! First trip of the year! 🙂

Next to Toronto, Montreal is the 2nd largest Canadian city and said to have a ton of tourist attractions, museums, cultural centres and historic landmarks.

camilien-houde-belvedere-lookout-mont-royal — From the lookout onto of Mount Royal, Montreal

Montreal is known for its mountain – Mount Royal. Lots of people often pack a lunch and head up to the catch the views for the top of it. You can get to the lookout by bus, car or simply by walking up Peel St.

That’s one of my favourite things about visiting here – it is a total pedestrian city!!!

This was the 2nd time I’ve visited this city as an adult. The 1st was this past Halloween for a fun Lindyhop Exchange.

halloween Montreal — Le Salon 1861 – The Church of Lindyhop – Halloween 2015, in Montreal

Since I was only there for a weekend – this time a blues dancing event – there really wasn’t time to explore any of the ‘typical tourist attractions’.

Although, I did manage to check out a few cool things this city had to offer. Here’s a recap of what I did …when I remembered to take pictures

A Walk up Saint-Denis St. & Saint-Laurent Blvd.

I explored the city on foot easily, specifically the area in and around Saint-Denis St. & Saint-Laurent Blvd (not too far from Parc Jean Mance).

If you’re looking to see Montreal at its hippest and most happening, these are the streets for you!

Montreal Saint-Laurent Blvd — Saint-Laurent is easily found, as it has a strings of lights zig-zagged along it.

Plus, there were tons of restaurants, boutiques, and vintage shops to tryout and poke around.

Maybe came home with a few treats for moi… 😉

New-to-me finds from the various vintage shops of Montreal’s Saint-Laurent Blvd.

It was a fabulous weather day ☀️ to have been exploring Montreal on foot. After the shopping and a brief stop for Ripples Ice Cream🍦… a friend and I found ourselves on a sunny patio and prepared to play a Fun Drinking Game I’ve invented called: Man Buns & Beards 🍻😎 #ppmeowTravels.

It seemed that this city is populated by hundreds of well dressed beautiful people, which meant the rules to my drinking game needed some modifications 😉 …

Drinking Game: Man Buns & Beards — UPDATE: drinking game adjusted to Newsie Boy Hat + Scaf + Beard combo. 👏🏾#Montreal #men

The Underground City

Did you know that there are more than 30+ km of underground shopping in Montreal!? 😮

Yep! It’s essential for blustery, frost-biting cold, wintery days this city gets. Which means shoppers can walk around the city during Winter without ever going outside.

There’s really no “entrance” to this underground shopping world. You kind of just happen upon it. You can pretty much find an entrance to the Underground City anywhere in downtown. Just about every building in downtown has a door that leads you to this place. There are information kiosks scattered throughout, so you can easily pick up a map and start navigating.

I believe I entered from the corner of St. Catherine and McGill (McGill stop on the metro)…after exploring the campus grounds a bit.

Screen Shot 2016-04-28 at 9.44.19 AM — Beautiful, sunny Spring afternoon on McGill University Campus, Montreal

There are LOTS of different shops and food courts. And few nice department stores, like SIMONS (one Toronto doesn’t have). Eaton Centre Montreal is very similar to Eaton Centre Toronto.. same stores.. same sales…

What I notice was that aside from AdditionElle and Pennington’s, the plus-sized boutiques and offerings were scarce. With extremely limited options within the many corridors of the Underground City.

Because of this fact, I was very well-behaved… only spending a little $$ on some sale items to help with Project: Apartment Refresh… stay tuned to the blog for that 😉 A set of fleece doggie pillowcases marked down to $4.99, from Simons.

And this terrific watermelon shower curtain marked down to $9.99 (also from Simons). Found some watermelon-esk green hand towels too (Winners $3.99). Now just need some sort of watermelon floor mat for my bathroom theme to be complete! 😉

Last, but certainly not least, my Montreal trip concluded with….

The Barbie Expo

Whilst exploring the Underground City… we stumped upon the most wonderful exhibition which featured more than 1,000 Barbies in designer clothes!! ❤ ❤ ❤The largest permanent, haute couture Barbie exposition in the world has taken roots in Les Cours Mont-Royal in Montreal!

There was even a special I Love Lucy feature for the show’s 65th anniversary, with Barbies dressed up in Lucy’s costumes from the most memorable episodes ❤

13062498_10153635735559072_8111382314170226173_n — Much photo love to the Barbies of the Motherland: India 🙂

This Barbie Expo had high-fashion Barbies, designer Barbies, and even celebrity Barbies!!!

Some dolls were wearing designs from Armani, Dior, Versace, Givenchy, Oscar de la Renta and many more notable names from the fashion industry. ❤

Needless to say I kinda lost my mind, and iPhone camera space 🙂 Are you following me on INSTAGRAM?

If so, you’ve likely seen a few more pics and video clips as I took them during my trip.

Search for the hashtag: PPMeowTravels to see more of my adventures there. Thanks for following and reading

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Oh, Ottawa!

Oooooo! This summer has been filled with mini travel adventures.

There was an excellent seat sale on Porter.ca … So I decided to spend a little over a week in Ottawa, Canada’s capital city over…

Canada Day Long Weekend!!

Here’s a recap of what I did AND what I wore …when I remembered to take pictures 🙂

Oh, Ottawa…. so many monuments, buildings, pretty views and beavertails to enjoy. For outfit deets in these pics…click here 🙂

Things To Do In Ottawa!

This may have been my first visit to this Big-Little City as an adult. And I have to say it is beautiful in the summer!!!

The first half of the week I stayed with friends right in The Byward Market. Within an area of roughly four blocks, you’ll find museums, cafés, specialty food shops, boutiques, galleries, restaurants, pubs, salons and more! Often there are musical buskers performing and so many patios to sample! I did my fair share of sampling a few afternoon pints and bites throughout my week there.

There was one spot that had a fabulous Brunch menu – called Lieutenants Pump Pub. For my food review click here.

Brunches were meant for mimosas, eggs benny, babies and old friends 🙂

And I finally got to wear my flamingo summer frock I picked up from Tatyana Boutique on WQW, Toronto.

It got oh-so many compliments from strangers all throughout the meal and beyond 😀

I found a delightful shop called Workshop Studio & Boutique – who had so many fab unique pieces!! I definitely wanted to support the local handmade loveliness.. ❤

Check out a few trinkets I picked up for myself 🙂 If only the frocks they carried were larger I would have spent a fortune in there. Le sigh… #plussizeplease

Oh Yeah those are flamingo ceramic earrings you’re looking at…and button earrings and pins…the cutest!

I had excellent summer weather the first half of my trip…which meant there needed to be a dedicated Lazy, Hazy, Beach Day!!! 🙂

Mooney’s Bay Park seemed to be a super popular summer destination for swimmers, rowers, and volleyball players.

The beach is located on the east shore of the Rideau River just south of Carleton University. There appeared to be a lots of set-up happening for Dragon Boat Racing when I was there too.

**Outfit deets:** Swim coverup, *Old Navy*; Hat picked up in my travels to Malaysia earlier this year.

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, then you know that I’ve been on A BABY TOUR the last few months.

Nearly all of my long-time friends have coupled off, started having babies and often moving far, far away.

Screen Shot 2015-08-19 at 6.19.55 PM — Baby Bonanza of a Summer!

The first half of my trip was spent catching up with a gf AND her adorable little fella ❤

Mornings were spent with Dora the Explorer. The Wiggles. Elmo & friends. Thomas the Tank Engine. Bubble Guppies.

Bubble Guppies…Bubble Bubble Guppies.

Oh yes…that tune was my jam … this song kept playing in my head all week and beyond friends. It’s so freakin’ catchy 🙂

And I was lucky enough to have him as my beach date!!

Look at him in his stylish swimwear and whale-printed matching sun hat ❤

OK…if you haven’t had one of these *PalmBay* frozen cocktails yet this summer…get yourself to a LCBO stat!!!! WARNING: Goes down way too easily **hiccup**

Swing Dancing. You know I needed to checkout the lindy hop scene in this city! There seems to be two big nights of swing dancing weekly in Ottawa:

FRIDAY NIGHT

Every friday the The Ottawa Swing Dance Society (OSDS) holds a Swing dance. Admission is $5 (unless there is a band) and it includes an introductory lesson. Social dancing till 12:30 am. No partner required For more details and events calendar please visit http://www.swingottawa.ca/_home.shtml

SATURDAY NIGHT

Hosted by Swing Dynamite, SNS features two lessons (an introductory lesson and a specialty lesson) and social dancing till 1:00 am. Doors open at 8:15 pm, lessons start at 8:30. Social dancing starts at 9:15 pm. For more info please visit http://www.saturdaynightswing.com/

This is what I wore for Friday night dancing, click here for outfit deets

10989222_10153136190530376_1715304315994143086_o — This is what I wore Saturday night dancing. **Outfit deets**: Dress from Old Navy , Jellyshoes from my Asia trip

Did you know that there are many FREE passes to various Ottawa sites and museums that can be checked out at the local library?

YUP!!! Its true. That’s how me and a gf explored the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum one afternoon.

Want the experience of flight but prefer to keep your feet on the ground? Here is your chance to sit at the controls of an aircraft without taking off! Friendly, knowledgeable Museum staff will assist you in boarding one of three cockpits:

the Tutor (CT-114)
the CF-18
the MIG-21

Don’t ask me which one is which. I have no clue. I just wanted to sit in as many cool planes as they’d let me!

**Outfit Deets:** Dress, *Forever21+;* Seafoam/Lepoard Scarf, *Winners;* Sandals, *Birkenstocks;* Purse, *Aldo*

We chose to explore the Museum’s amazing collection at our own pace and moved from aircraft and exhibitions as throughly as we wanted. Which meant we had plenty of time for cheesy tourist photo ops like the below shot 😉

You really do need an entire day there.

So maybe the below plane was in a roped off section … but I managed to sweet talk one of the volunteers to let us into the area 😉

I really, really, really wanted to sit in this wee plane.

Learn how an ejection seat can save a pilot’s life. Listen as the Museum’s enthusiastic guides describe the ups and downs of ejecting from a fighter jet.

Then, sit in an authentic ejection seat and learn how pilots use this essential piece of equipment. Like I did below 🙂It was pretty cool discovering Canada’s contributions to aviation from the days of early aviation to the jet age and on into space exploration.

I highly recommend visiting this museum if you get a chance!

Niner-niner. Charlie. Foxtrot. Bravo. Pew! Pew! Pew!

No “Irene vacation” is complete without a day-o-SHOPPING!!! 😉

With the Canadian Dollar doing so poorly these days, I’ve been avoiding my cross-boarder shopping trips.

But I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Ottawa has an outlet mall: Tanger Outlet

Now…the shops selection was decent, but there weren’t too many “deal-deals”, if you know what I mean.

But I did find a few gems that followed me home:

Fringed purse, with option cross-body strap was from *Aldo* for $20!!! BONUS: They shipped it to my home in Toronto for FREE!

These crisp white loafers with gold piping detail were from *Naturalizer,* for only $20!!!

CANADA DAY-o-Fun!

Oh man! As a proud Canadian…I was super excited to be spending Canada Day in my Nation’s Capital!!!! The crowds and crowds of people dressed in all kinds of patriotic get-ups ALL DAY LONG. The concerts on Parliment Hill. The close up fireworks! It really is something to see and be apart of ❤ ❤ ❤

Naturally, that meant there was outfit planning to be done…and here’s what I put together for my Canada Day look:

**Outfit deets:** T-shirt, *Old Navy*; Headbands and Moose Earrings, *Ardene*

Now….it should be noted that the below look lasted exactly 22-mins 😦

As soon as we got out of the car, picked up our Starbucks and began heading for Parliament Hill —- it began to POUR!!! Raining cats and dogs, and squirrels and raccoons and the like. It was madness.

We did our best to get ourselves back and hid under a giant patio umbrella, until my gf’s hubs could turn the car around and pick us up again. #wettshirtcontest

Did you know that on Canada Day, entry to museums are free? Thank goodness for that…cuz we needed somewhere to spend the day drying off so we could be ready for the evening fireworks!

So, our day was spent in the Canadian War Museum

Three proud patriotic, rained-on Canadians, ready to explore the War Museum on Canada Day

There was a special exhibition called: Gladiators and the Colosseum – Death and Glory.

What would you have seen at the gladiatorial games, nearly 2,000 years ago? Maybe you would have seen an emperor, a helmet, or a crocodile?

You can see it all in this special exhibition, complete with a guidebook to help you find all the stops along the way and collect the stamps to discover what you would have seen at these ancient games.

For dinner, we stopped for a proper Canadian dinner: POUTINE from Smoke’s Poutinerie

I splurged with the Prime Beef Deluxe Poutine …mmmmm

As dusk approached, we made our way to Parliament Hill, to be amongst the crowds …

We even got to watch a few musical performances Canada Day Concert on the Hill. Pretty good sightless, considering 🙂

And last but not least, there were fireworks and impromptu group singing of O’Canada ❤

11707484_10153021699059072_9058024047120018315_n — Happy Birthday Canada!! 148 Years Young!

Are you following me on INSTAGRAM? If so, you’ve likely seen a few more pics and video clips as I took them during my trip.

Search for the hashtag: PPMeowTravels to see more of my adventures there. Thanks for following and reading 🙂

What a pretty view…even with overcast skies. The Ottawa river’s Gatineau shore

If you’re planning a summer city getaway, hope you’ll check out this beautiful city!

Thanks for reading and re-living my trip with me!

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Hats & Horseshoes

Looking for something different to do on a gorgeous summer day?

Why not spend the day betting on the ponies at the track! 🙂

The Queen’s Plate is Canada’s oldest thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America. The race takes place each summer, in June or July, at Woodbine Racetrack in Etobicoke, ON.

For more history on the Queen’s Plate, click here.

Moi…en route to my first Hat’s & Horseshoes Event

Never placed a bet before? Not to worry, they had guests covered! Everyone got a $2 betting voucher with entrance and the Betting Impact team will be roaming the Hats & Horseshoes Party to teach you the Basics of Betting.

Sadly, I’m not very lucky and didn’t win on any of the horses I selected. Le sigh…

I did get a kick outta some of the horse names – my fave was Conquest Boogaloo. She’s she pretty?

One of the most compelling parts of attending this event was the excuse to wear a giant hat!

I decided to do my best “country club” look with my tiered floral maxi (Old Navy), platform black sandals (Coach) and beige sunhat with gold hardware & ribbon detail (Necessities).

Miss Jacquie, founder of the *Toronto Vintage Society*, and moi walking the red carpet at the 156th Anniversary of the Queens Plate. Isn’t her hat divine! ❤

Turns out our penchant for any excuse to wear large hats was a something many of us had in common 🙂 Ran into a few more Toronto Vintage Society gals at the event …dressed in lovely vintage summer frocks and purses, naturally.

It was an extremely hot day. There was very minimal shady covered spots at the track, and I was thankful to be wearing a sunhat. It was only while I was watching the gorgeous horses parading around close up that I started to wonder about their treatment. 😦

If you’re curious, click here to read more about the racetrack safety protocols followed by The Woodbine Racetrack.

Refined ladies eating hotdogs in the grass ... Classy! — Refined ladies eating hotdogs in the grass … Classy!

The only clip still on my phone ready for uploading to this post: Bag-pippers marching along doing what they do best.

Once we had enough wandering around the grassy grounds among the food trucks and beverage tents, and had our fill eyeing all the well-dressed men and women and their giant hats …

We headed to our $18 seats for a break. It was Race Time!