Puerto Rico – April 2013 – Day 7 & End

Our last, full day in Puerto Rico.

Breakfast was actually muffins and a banana we had snuck away at the last breakfast buffet – hooray for in-room mini fridges. But we were still hungry so she shared a bagel and cream cheese from Starbucks. That Starbucks in the lobby sure comes in handy, doesn’t it?

Breakfast on the beach! Déjeuner sur la plage!

Enjoying our last day on the beach. On profite de notre dernière journée sur la plage.

Salem soaking up the sun. Salem se fait bronzer au soleil.

We spent the whole day on the beach, grabbed lunch from Subway (a block away and cheap) and ran back to the beach to eat it. I was able to grab some pictures of some of the fish hanging around at the beach. Hint: they like to hang out underneath the 2 floating platforms. There are so many of them and I love it!

The hotel also has a lookout where there are plenty of fish but you can’t swim there unless you like turbulent water and getting bashed up against rocks and coral. Your only option: look down into the water and do some major fish spotting.

Look! FISH! Yay, des poissons!

More FISH! Il y en a d’autres!

Supper was at Il Giardinieri (a restaurant at the hotel). I had some passion fruit juice and they were out of coconut shrimp so we had the calamari. Salem ordered a steak with plantain chips/gallettes and I ordered lasagna (and they actually confirmed there was only beef in there – woohoo!). The service was good and the price decent for what we had.

Salem had steak and plantain “galettes”. Salem a pris le steak et des galettes aux plantains.

Lasagna, how I have missed you! La lasagne, comme tu m’as manqué!

Later on, we had smoothies and a chocolate treat from Starbucks. And with that, we ended our last full day in Puerto Rico.

Heading on home
There isn’t much to write about concerning our trip home.

Warning: We were actually charged for a few things we never ordered. The clerk at the front desk never checked with Salem, but thankfully Salem looked before leaving. He went back and got a refund. Honestly – always review the bill with your customer!

We got to look like mad people when we had to dig things out of our bags because they were overweight. Thankfully, the staff at the airport were nice about it – I guess they’re used to it. I still felt a bit embarrassed – where did all this stuff come from?

And we had to run, but RUN, to our connecting flight – I think we had 5 minutes to spare before the flight took off. Our arriving flight was late, it takes forever to taxi to the gate (JFK) and then everyone wants to get off immediately. How about letting the people with a connecting flight go first? No, of course not!

Missing luggage: we came back rather empty handed – We ran to the plane but our bags couldn’t. After a lengthy wait to submit the paperwork at Trudeau Airport, we went home (thanks for the ride, Dad) and got our luggage the next day. Alhamdullilah, nothing was missing. 🙂

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Puerto Rico – April 2013 – Day 6

Back to Old San Juan for a day full of fortresses and some shopping!

Morning

Today was our highly anticipated day back to Old San Juan! We were up at 8 (that’s early for us, when on vacation), dressed, out the door and driven to Plaza Colon by 9 am. We decided to try out Café Berlin for breakfast (I had heard good reviews about one of their morning drinks). We sat on the terrace in order to enjoy the nice weather and do some people-watching.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, any style (Caro = sunny-side up, Salem = scrambled) for $2.50. 2 orders of tomato-basil bread ($2.00) – Oh my was this bread ever something to write home about! One coffee, one americano and their famous breakfast juice (zucchini, mint, lemon). The coffee was great, the breakfast juice was amazing. Honestly, we wish we could’ve gone back again to experience breakfast all over again! Great service too, all for less than $20. Woot woot!

On the terrace at Café Berlin. La terrasse au Café Berlin.

Café Berlin’s tasty breakfast drink. Le fameux breuvage-matin au Café Berlin.

Breakfast is served! Le déjeuner est servi!

Salem enjoying his coffee. Salem profite de son café.

Castillo San Cristobal

Our tour started around 10:30 at the Castillo San Cristobal about 100m away. We were lucky – it was some sort of federal park day so entrance was free. Salem’s co-workers had said it would only take an hour to visit. Right… It took us over 2 hours, but then again, we like history and reading the information plaques and taking pictures, etc.

Let me share a bit of history with you: The fortress was originally built in 1634 to defend (Spanish) Puerto Rico and the Americas from attacks by other European powers (ie: English, Dutch, French) as well as other entities in the Caribbean sea.

Drawings on the dungeon wall. Des dessins sur un mur du dongeon.

More dungeon drawings. Un autre dessin dans le dongeon.

Tunnels inside the fortress. Les tunnels de la forteresse.

A Spanish boat. Un navire espagnol.

Salem + musket = happy Salem. Salem + musquet = Salem est très content.

Thankfully, the musket isn’t loaded. Dieu merci, le musquet n’a pas de balles!

Cannon balls – I can’t imagine the weight of these. Des balles de cannon. Je ne peux m’imaginer du poids de celles-ci.

Very nice views of the sea and city are offered and the fortress itself is very well maintained and offers a lot of information. Admission is $3.00 for this fortress alone or you can do a combo of Castillo San Cristobal and Castillo El Morro for $5.00.

On the roof of Castillo San Cristobal. Sur le toît du Castillo San Cristobal.

C&S posing inside the castillo. Below if the way to El Morro. C&S font une pose dans le castillo. An arrière-plan; le chemin pour se rendre à El Morro.

Caro peeking out. Caro regarde par une grosse fenêtre.

Looking east. Apperçu vers l’est.

Salem, Old San Juan and the port below. Salem, le vieux San Juan et le port en arrière-plan.

Up on the rooooooof! Sur le toît.

View from a WWII lookout, towards the east. La vue à partir d’un poste de guet datant de la 2e guerre mondiale. Vue vers l’est.

There’s a shuttle between San Cristobal and El Morro which is included in your entrance fee. Or, you can do like us and walk the 1.5-2 km stretch from one to the other. If you’re going to do the walk along the fortification walls, I would suggest you stay just south of the wall (as many are advised on Trip Advisor forums) otherwise you might end up in La Perla, which is supposed to be a bit of a rougher neighbourhood. it’s a 15 minute walk which felt like longer because we had a backpack, it was hot and the sun was at its zenith. Woops! Thankfully, we had plenty of water, sunscreen and snacks.

On our way to El Morro. En route vers El Morro.

Castillo El Morro

There’s El Morro in the background. El Morro à l’horizon!

We finally made it to the gates of El Morro! Ça y est! Nous sommes arrivés à El Morro!

El Morro is a bit more of a maze and is larger than Castillo San Cristobal and it is also older (construction started in 1529 but expansions continued over the next 400 years). It spans 6 different levels (you start on level 5). We went to the 6th level for some amazing views and went down to the 4th level but we gave up after that because it was so hot (stone fortress + full sun + humidity + not much air circulation in most areas). Either way, it was almost 2 pm and we were getting hungry. This too offers great views of the sea and historical info.

Canon aimed at the beach? Un cannon qui vise la plage?

I guess that explains why it’s pointed at the beach! Ça explique pourquoi il vise la plage!

Salem looking out at El Morro. Salem scrute l’horizon à El Morro.

A look into the center of El Morro. On voit le centre d’El Morro ici.

The fortress walls, coast and the ocean to the east. Les murs de la forteresse, la côte et l’océan vers l’est.

Salem and the northern cost of El Morro. Salem et la côte nord d’El Morro.

Lizards also like tourism. Les lézards aiment aussi les visites touristiques.

Salem posing on the south side of El Morro. LOL! Salem pose du côté sud d’El Morro. LOL!

The 4th level of El Morro – it’s hot here! Le 4e niveau d’El Morro; il fait très chaud ici!

We took the free shuttle back to the more central part of Old San Juan and made our way to Barrachina (104 Calle Fortaleza) as I had heard some good reviews about it. You can either sit indoors or in a “courtyard”. Of course, we picked the courtyard. I ordered the shrimp mofongo in a tomato sauce over cassava, Salem ordered the combo mofongo (chicken, beef, shrimp) in a slightly different tomato sauce over a plantain base. Very tasty. We also had 2 virgin Pina Coladas which were just what we needed! Unfortunately, the only dessert available at the time was rhum cake. 😦 Total was $54 + tip. The service was very friendly so we tipped accordingly.

Pina Colada!

Courtyard at Barrachina. La cour intérieure au Barrachina.

Happy Pina Colada!

Salem’s mofongo combo – beef, chicken, shrimp. Le combo mofongo de Salem: boeuf, poulet et crevettes.

Caro’s shrimp mofongo. Le mofongo aux crevettes de Caro.

Refuelled and ready to go! Rechargés et prêts à continuer!

After refueling, we went souvenir shopping. I’m trying my best to stay away from “junk” souvenir stores in order to support more local artists – and Puerto Rico has lots of artists. Thankfully, Salem was agreed with me given what was available. So, less volume as far as souvenirs go, pay a bit more, but get something authentic and locally-made.

We purchased from the following stores:
– Puerto Rican Arts & Crafts (204 Calle Fortaleza)
– Mundo Taino (Calle San José)
– The Handcraft Store (208 Calle Fortaleza)

Unfortunately, the backpack was getting very heavy and giving Salem problems. So we decided to take a coffee break at Café Cola’o. Can I just repeat how great their coffee is? This must’ve been one of the best cups of coffee I have ever had. That, and the barista made some nice art with the foam – I loved it! PS You can buy coffee beans there!

I love you Café Cola’o! Que je t’aime Café Cola’o!

Caro gets to enjoy her coffee. C’est au tour de Caro de savourer son café.

We took a taxi back in the early evening and just had a quiet night eating supplier-sponsored cheese and crackers on our balcony, enjoying Starbucks coffee from the lobby.

Puerto Rico – April 2013 – Day 5

The day everyone left.

Morning

Our last breakfast buffet with and paid by Salem’s work. People were leaving at various times in the day so we were still running into people until the early afternoon.

A view of the beach from our room. La plage à partir de notre chambre.

We spent most of the day on the beach and, to our surprise, it got rather crowded. My guess: the hotel may be selling day passes to locals on Sundays. I wonder how much that costs! There was a public beach right next door, it had a lot more people and kids but there is a division to keep both beaches apart. I have mixed feelings about the division…

We also had a non-human local come and sun himself with us. Some of the female guests were freaked out – I thought he was pretty cool and rather cute!

This local would like to borrow Salem’s goggles. Ce gars du coin voulait emprunter les lunettes de natation de Salem.

A local tanning. Le gars du coin en train de se faire bronzer.

For lunch, we made our way to the beach grill. I was hoping to get a kosher hot-dog (advertised as so on their menu) – I haven’t had a hot-dog in years! I would love to get a good “steamy” but God knows what is in those things! Thankfully, Salem asked an employee what was in the hot-dog. Their answer a mix of either chicken or beef and pork! How is that kosher? No thanks. Now the big question: is this false advertising on the Hilton’s behalf or a mistake on the employee’s behalf? Either one is not a good thing!

We decided to enjoy the beach a bit longer and go back to our room in the late afternoon. We did a little tour of the hotel grounds and found this cute garden with some resident pets! I wouldn’t suggest you try and pet them though.

Duck and a rooster! Un canard et un coq!

Turkey in mid gobble. Dinde en plein milieu de son glou-glou.

2 swans. 2 cignes.

Supper was at the Pina Colada Club (part of the hotel). We had the same thing as last time – Caro = fish tacos (I had been dreaming about them) Salem = chicken wrap.

Back to the Pina Colada Club! YUM! De retour au Pina Colada Club!

Prepping for our walk! Prête à marcher!

Evening in Condado

After that, we made our way across the bridge to Condado – it’s a nice walk (10 minutes from our hotel) – it seems this is where most American tourists hang out. There are quite a few American restaurants and chains, some stores, green spaces, beach access, etc along Ashford Avenue. Be prepared as it’s rather busy with cars, pedestrians and cyclists. Yes, cyclists – lots of them. But they don’t seem to be psychotic like Montréal cyclists even though you do have to have your wits about you – you do share the sidewalk with them. I also noticed that they seem to have this sense of pride with their bikes – really colourful, new, mostly mountain bikes (or at least with a heavier frame). It was actually kinda nice to see.

On the bridge to Condado. Sur le pont. Destination: Condado!

I love this Miami-style architecture. J’adore l’architecture style Miami.

Beach access! L’accès à la plage.

Condado green space between hotels. Espace vert entre les hôtels à Condado.

Salem along a rocky part of the beach. Salem posé en avant d’une partie rocheuse de la plage.

Upon later discussion, Ashford avenue felt like a bit of a mix between Ste-Catherine and St-Laurent with a bit of beach added to it. Rather nice.

Ashford Avenue in the evening. L’avenue Ashford en soirée.

Bridge on the walk back to the hotel from Condado. Le pont lors de notre retour de notre sortie à Condado.

We grabbed a coffee and slit a piece of chocolate cake at the Starbucks in the lobby. We were tired so bedtime wasn’t too late – I blame it on the sun and fresh, beach air!

Puerto Rico – April 2013 – Day 4

The last full day with the team from my husband’s work.

Morning
After the breakfast buffet and a quick meeting for my husband, many people from the Montréal team decided to get together to go and visit Old San Juan. We commandeered a few taxi vans and headed off there en masse. The 10-15 minute taxi ride for about 5 people cost us $24 USD. We broke up into smaller groups as some people had kids and everyone had their own list of things they wanted to see. We were about 6 people to our group. We were all to meet for lunch at Café Puerto Rico near Plaza Colôn.

Our walk wasn’t very structured and we tended to just go where the wind took us. We started down Calle O’Donnel to Tetuan then onto Fortaleza where there are many arts & crafts stores. Looking for outlet stores? Head to Del Cristo for Guess and Coach stores that offer amazing prices. There are more stores but I think most of my readers, who know me personally, are fully aware that I don’t really care about brand names.

Caro, the damn tourist, is ready! Caro, la maudite touriste, est prête!

Calle O’Donnell.

Salem, the port and a battleship in the distance. Salem, le port et un navire de guerre à quelque distance.

Now, please take note! I do not condone alcohol consumption – I think we all know that. That being said, what others do is their own business. And I’m fully aware of what people like to do when they are on vacation. But please, please – if you are going to drink while on vacation, do it responsibly! Going for a day-long walking tour when it’s sunny and about 30+ degrees C plus humidity? Maybe, just maybe, you might not want to down half that 40oz bottle of rhum by 10:30 am. Perhaps you should consider bringing actual water to drink, rather than more straight-up rhum while on your walking tour. I’m just putting this out there for more health-related reasons. I’m not even going to go into a long spiel about altered behaviour while drinking such quantities of alcohol. I think it’s quite clear how I feel about that! 😉 ‘nough said!

Now, back to the fun at hand! after some shopping, we had to rush back to our starting point in order to make it fashionably late to our lunch meetup. What awesomeness did we encounter along the way? FREE HUGS!! Yes, those people that stand around, in large groups, with t-shirts saying “Free hugs!” and actually dispensing them to anyone who happens to pass by and want one. Of course, I stuck to the women, but I must say, it really is fun and quite contageous. Salem wasn’t too keep on the idea but was still suckered into a few. One of his co-workers went a little berserk and started offering some to complete strangers not even part of the group. It was actually quite funny and I think we could all use a little positivity and hugs in our lives.

Old San Juan and its artistic touches. Le vieux San Juan rajoute ses touches artistiques.

Why so serious, Salem? Pourquoi si sérieux, Salem?

FREE HUGS! Des calins GRATUITS!

Pigeons flying around a boy in a plaza. Des pigeons volent alentours d’un garçon dans une plaza.

It’s lunch time!
Café Puerto Rico is a 2-floor, wooden-furniture adorned restaurant that also has a terrace. Our group of about 12 people was seated upstairs. Having read up on local cuisine before we came, I had Salem and I try the mofongo – a typical Puerto Rican dish. Salem’s dish: a shrimp mofongo in a garlic sauce with a cassava (or yukka) base. I ordered the vegetarian one (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower) also in a garlic sauce with a green/sweet plantain base. Comes with salad and rice. The slightly crispy base is hollowed out a bit to make space for the filling. Mine was very good, but Salem’s was AMAZING! With tax and tip, lunch for the 2 of us was $34 USD.

It’s lunch time! C’est l’heure du dîner!

Shrimp mofongo from Café Puerto Rico – THE BEST! Mofongo aux crevettes du Café Puerto Rico; c’est LE meilleur!

Vegetarian mofongo from Café Puerto Rico. Mofongo végétarien du Café Puerto Rico.

Afternoon
We spent the rest of the afternoon doing a bit more shopping and sight seeing.

I’ll take this opportunity to say a few things about San Juan.
1- Wow!
2- Salem and I could easily move there.
3- It made me feel even worse about things in Cuba.

Why? The buildings are (for the majority) well maintained. Of course, there are a few here and there that are a little worse for wear, but you can see that just about anywhere. The architectural style is so nice, the colours are plentiful. The people are nice, you don’t get harassed, you feel safe. I was out in full-on “tourist” mode with my camera around my neck, snapping pictures all over the place, and not once did anyone even get close to me.

What Caro looked like for most of the day. Caro a passé 80% de sa journée dans une position semblable.

Colourful cobblestone road. Rue en pavé en plusieurs teintes de bleu.

Local cats. Les matous du coin.

Lovely, colourful buildings. De jolis édifices de toutes couleurs.

Details, details. Les détails font la photo!

Old buildings, new cars. Vieux édifices, nouvelles voitures.

An example of colour used to highlight architectural detail. Comment utiliser la couleur pour mettre en valeur l’architecture.

It never ends! Ça ne fini pas!

Can you even find tiling like this anymore? Est-il possible de trouver des tuiles de ce genre de nos jours?

Secret garden. Jardin secret.

Iron work can also be light and dainty. Le fer peut aussi prendre une apparence jolie et délicate.

Just enjoy the picture! Chut!

C&S by a seaside old city wall with one of the many symbols of Puerto Rico. C&S en avant d’un mur de la vieille ville et un des symboles les plus reconnus de Puerto Rico.

Yes, we did see a few downtrodden people, again, you’ll encounter that just about anywhere you go. And yes, I am certain that there are lots of destitute people in Puerto Rico and that poverty exists, it’s just been either relegated to non-touristy areas of the country (or less touristic). But, like I said, I felt safe and no one approached me. And here’s where I’m going to come in with Cuba – Salem and I were both saddened by what we saw when we visited Havana. I think Salem may have interpreted it a bit differently than I did given the places he’s been and lived. In one sentence, I’ll sum up about how I see San Juan (or perhaps Puerto Rico) in comparison to Havana (or Cuba):
“San Juan is what Havana could’ve been”
Now, that being said, I could be totally wrong in comparing the 2 – they do have very different recent histories! But, they did have very similar histories up until a certain point and then they both went in 2 different directions. It all boils down to alliances, politics and opportunities. I won’t get into anything political (although I may have already), but I just cannot help but compare one city to the other given their striking similarities and history, but their completely different realities. And while I felt bad after visiting Havana, I felt even worse about the situation in Cuba after having seen Old San Juan.

Yes, poverty does exist. This man was talking to himself and writing something in the sky. I still wonder what he was writing. Oui, la pauvreté existe. Cet homme se parlait et écrivait quelque chose dans le ciel. Je me demande toujours ce qu’il écrivait.

Now, to move onto brighter things…

Salem and a warship – of course! Salem et un navire de guerre… quoi d’autre?

We topped it off with a visit to a place I hard heard about on Pier #2 – Café Cola’o. 2 double espressos and an iced coffee came out to $8 USD. Let me tell you, Puerto Ricans know coffee! My espresso was so strong that I had to add sugar twice and then a bit of my iced coffee to finish it up. Oh, and the iced coffee – that’s not milk! That’s cream! Real cream! What a treat that was.

Double-espresso that will knock your socks off! Un double-espresso qui fesse en ‘ti pépère!

Café Cola’o – how I miss you! Café Cola’o; que tu me manques!

But we couldn’t stay very late as we had the “Goodbye dinner” to get ready for. On our way back, we shared a cab with the CEO of the company and his wife – very nice people!

Evening
What was going to be a beach party turned out to be indoors given to the so-so weather forecast. That’s ok! We still had lots of fun dancing to the live band and eating from the buffet: mixed salad, tomato and boconccini salad, shrimp & crab salad, cheese platter (you know I love cheese), cold cuts (ix-nay!), asparagus salad, jerk chicken, vegetable and soy fried rice, mahi mahi, etc. Good food! And then there was dessert! Chocolate mousse, chocolate cake, pineapple coconut tarts, vanilla cake.

Foooood! C’est le temps de bouffer!

Salem even had a dance-off with a co-worker and we got to enjoy a performance by a traditional Puerto-Rican group. Unfortunately, the party was shut down at 10 pm – just as I was getting into it – and everyone headed off to the lobby bar to continue the party – or so we were told. I guess to some, party = sit and drink. Boring! WE went for a walk outside and ended up doing a 2-person dabké practice on the very windy beach. We went to bed around 1-2 am.

C&S at the dinner party. C&S prêts à faire la fête.

Changements à la charte des droits et liberté au Québec – La charte “des valeurs québecoises”

Bon, je ne suis pas certaine si je vais traduire le tout que j’ai écris hier en anglais; ce n’est pas mon meilleur texte et j’ai les émotions qui courent un peu partout. Que ressens-je en ce moment? Je suis triste, déçue, fâchée, même enragée par temps… D’un sens, je me sens aussi trahie par certaines personnes dans mon peuple, la culture dans laquelle j’ai été élevée. Bref, j’ai le cœur brisé…

C’est drôle, mes parents m’ont toujours dit d’être tolérante et ils m’ont élevés avec un esprit curieux, ouvert. Ils ne m’ont jamais montré comment différer entre une personne ou une autre basé sur la couleur de leur peau, la manière dont il(elle) se vêtit, leur pays d’origine, leur religion ou leur langue maternelle. Non, on m’a encouragée d’apprendre à connaitre et apprécier le monde basé sur leur caractère, leur personnalité, leurs valeurs.

Certains dirons peut-être que je suis naïve, mais j’essaie toujours de vivre ma vie de cette manière, de percevoir le monde à travers cette philosophie. Je ne peux m’imaginer à quel point ma vie serait limitée et vide si mes parents m’auraient inculqués avec une vision intolérante et fermée d’esprit.

Alhamdullillahi rabbil ‘alamin! (Louange à Allah, Seigneur de l’univers) En grande part, c’est grâce à eux et à la manière dont ils m’ont élevés que j’ai retrouvé mon chemin vers Dieu, que j’ai trouvé l’homme de ma vie, que j’ai eu la chance de m’entourer de gens magnifiques. Même si j’ai le cœur brisé avec ce qu’il se passe au Québec, je leurs suis infiniment reconnaissante de m’avoir appris que tout ce que je sais, y incluant que tout le monde est égal et que nous avons tous des droits; peu importe notre nom, sexe, origine, langue, foie, mode de vie, etc.!

Un positif dans toute cette situation; il semblerait que l’île de Montréal ferait une demande d’exemption pour cette nouvelle charte. Ceci m’a tellement remonté le moral. Toutes les municipalités et la grande Ville elle même, toute l’île, à l’unanimité s’oppose à la charte! Subhan’Allah! Voir l’article dans La Presse.

Je vais terminer ceci avec un lien vers un manifeste en français, écrit par un groupe surnommé Québec Inclusif. C’est un long texte mais ça vaut le temps de lecture.
Lien vers le manifeste
Et si vous aimez ce qu’ils ont à dire, je vous encourage à signer leur manifeste en cliquant ici.

Merci.

Ramadan 2013 – Videos I like to watch on YouTube

Assalamu alaikum everyone! So, as always, I have failed to post as often as I would like to. But that’s ok, I was busy doing the things I should be really concentrating on during Ramadan – that is faith, worship, increasing knowledge, etc. Woohoo!

While I missed socializing at lunch time with co-workers, I did enjoy the videos I watched during that time. I’ll share some of the videos with you as I feel they are worth listening to and will probably return to some of them throughout the year.

Qur’anic Gems by Qur’an Weekly
I had this one video series I would listen to every day. Why? Not because I am obsessed, but because the people at Qur’an Weekly would put out a video every day during Ramadan. The series was entitled “Qur’anic Gems”. The topic? Picking one passage from the Qur’an every day (as part of our recommended daily reading – see this post which mentions it) and explains it. I have learned so much from these videos. They not only teach you more about Islam and the Qur’an but also about yourself. It’s a great series to watch if you’re looking to better yourself (not only as a Muslim, but as a person).

A link to the playlist:Qur’anic Gems playlist
And a link to their main YouTube page where they have many other videos:Qur’an Weekly YouTube page
Notable mention to the Superstars series: The one about Khadija had me crying.

Nye Armstrong
These videos are much more light-hearted. While they can be informative, they are much more about personal experience. Sister Nye Armstrong, who puts up the videos, is an American convert (or revert, whichever you prefer). She is often joined by another convert friend of hers, Rebecca. Together, they really make a great team and the friendship they have is something so beautiful. Honestly, on days where I wasn’t feeling the most positive, I would load up one of sister Nye’s videos and feel better instantly. The only downside to watching the videos was the realizing (even more than before) that I don’t have that much of any friendship with another sister. Now, this is not to discount what I do have, I know a few other Muslim females that I get along with and talk to, but nothing that is a really close friendship, where you see one another on a regular basis. It probably doesn’t help that I have yet to really feel this whole “sisterhood” thing I keep hearing about. I am very active on pages and message boards online, but in person… Lets just say I get nervous just getting dressed to go to the masjid. That is another post all on it’s own.

But yes, I do really enjoy the videos though and it makes me feel a little less lonely sometimes, like they’re almost there talking to me. Sounds crazy, I know! But I think you’ll get it if you watch a few of their videos.

A recent video of theirs – What is Ramadan?
One of their most viewed videos – Parents not Muslim… But you are?
A short video that sister Nye put together about what Muslims experience, especially converts – Blind Hate

Bayyinah Institute
These videos are a bit more advanced – they are mainly about the interpretation and explanation of the Qur’an and its passages (ayat). This process if called Tafseer. I have just recently started up on listening to these kinds of lectures and while they are really interesting, eye opening and informative, I wouldn’t suggest it for general consumption. I actually need to keep a pad of paper and pen when I listen to these in order to take notes.

Link to Bayyinah Institute’s YouTube Channel
Link to Bayyinah Institute’s Podcast (this is how I usually access the tafseer lectures)

Qalam Institute
The Qalam Institute is putting out an amazing series on the life of Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wasalam – Peace and blessings be upon him). This is called the Seerah. I will admit that I have always felt a bit of a hard time connecting to our Prophet for some reason. My possible explanation: Prophets were always the subjects in stories when I grew up, almost mythical. So I guess it’s hard to get close to or relate to them. But this series is meant to bring you closer to Prophet Muhammad through explaining his life story. The series is ongoing, currently at 50 lectures and increasing, but I am only at lecture 20. It’s a very long series but, so far, I am loving it! The lecturer really goes into the history and details, and you really get to see the human side of the Prophet (SAWS), his childhood, people in his life, struggles, outlooks, etc. And it’s all chronological too.

A link to their Podcast page.

For all of these different groups, all I have to say is SubhanAllah (glory be to God) – they put so much time and effort into these projects, it’s really amazing. And I really do hope they continue because they are teaching many Muslims (and non-Muslims) about our wonderful religion. If not making us better Muslims, then at least sharing knowledge and informing. This is in and of itself a beautiful gift. Jazaahum Allaahu khayran/Jazaahunna Allaahu khayran (may Allah reward them with good) to all these groups.

Alhamdullilah, 3 things I am grateful for today:
1- My parents accepting my Ramadan dinner invitation for last Saturday.
2- Having the means to put food on the table (with guests or just Salem and I).
3- The love my family has for me. Insha’allah (God willing), they know just how much I love them too.

*********

Assalamu alaikum tout le monde! Comme de fait, je n’ai pas été capable de publier des articles aussi souvent que je l’aurai voulu. Mais c’est rien de sérieux car j’était occupée avec des choses qui sont plutôt importantes durant le Ramadan; la foi, vénération, éducation, etc.

Certes, socialiser avec mes collègues lors de l’heure du diner m’a manqué, mais j’ai vraiment aimé les vidéos que j’ai regardé entretemps. Je vais partager quelques-uns de ces vidéos avec vous car je crois qu’il valent la peine d’écouter et je vais probablement y retourner au cours de l’année.

Qur’anic Gems par Qur’an Weekly
Ceci était la série que je regardais à chaque jour. Pourquoi? Non, pas parce que je suis une obsédée, mais parce que l’équipe de Qur’an Weekly téléchargeait un vidéo par jour durant le mois du Ramadan. La série était intitulée « Qur’anic Gems ». Le sujet : un passage tiré quotidiennement du Coran (basé sur notre lecture quotidienne suggérée) et son explication. J’en ai tellement apris grâce de ces vidéos; ils t’enseignent sur le Coran mais aussi sur nous-mêmes (individus). C’est une très bonne série si vous désirez vous améliorer en tant que Musulman ou en tant que personne.

Un lien vers la série : Qur’anic Gems playlist
Un lien vers leur page principale sur YouTube ou l’on peut visionner plusieurs vidéos : Page YouTube de Qur’an Weekly
Aussi à noter : leur série Superstars – celui sur Khadija m’a fait pleuer.

Nye Armstrong
Ces vidéos sont beaucoup plus légers. Ils sont tous de même informatifs, mais sont plus axés sur les expériences personnelles. Sœur Nye Armstrong, qui télécharge les vidéos, est une convertie américaine. Elle est souvent accompagnée d’une autre sœur, Rebecca. Ensemble, elles forment un très bon duo et il se voit facilement que leur amitié est de toute beauté. Honnêtement, j’écoute un de leurs vidéos les jours quand je ne me sens pas trop positive. Le seul bémol est quand j’ai réalisé (encore plus qu’avant) que je n’avais pas une telle amitié avec une sœur. Pas pour dire que je n’ai rien de bon; j’ai quelques copines qui sont musulmanes avec qui je m’entends et avec qui je peux parler, mais je n’ai pas d’amie proche dans ce groupe avec qui je pourrais voir régulièrement. Je n’ai pas encore fait l’expérience de la « sororité » entre sœurs que nous mentionne souvent notre religion. Je suis très active sur des forums et pages sur l’internet, mais c’est autre chose en personne. Disons que je commence à m’énerver dès que je commence à m’habiller pour une visite à la mosquée. Autre sujet, autre fois!

Pour y revenir, oui, j’aime bien les vidéos et parfois je me sens un peu moins isolée quand je les regarde; comme si elles étaient là, en train de me parler. Je ne suis pas folle, je vous le jure! Je pense bien que vous comprendriez si vous regardez leurs vidéos.

Une vidéo récente – What is Ramadan?
Une de leurs vidéos des plus populaires – Parents not Muslim… But you are?
Un court vidéo créé par sœur Nye adressant ce que vivent certains musulmans, spécialement ceux qui se sont convertis – Blind Hate

Bayyinah Institute
Ces vidéos sont un peu plus avancés; ils parlent plutôt de l’internprétation et l’explication du Coran et ses versets (ayat). Ce processus s’appelle le Tafseer. Je viens tout juste de commencer à écouter ce genre de lecture et, bien qu’elles sont très intéressantes, révélantes et informatives; je ne les suggèrerais pas pour tout le monde. En fait, j’ai toujours un bloc notes et un stylo pour prendre des notes quand j’écoute ces lectures.

Lien vers la Page YouTube de Bayyinah Institute
Lien vers les Podcast de Bayyinah Institute (souvent je les écoute plutôt que les regarder)

Qalam Institute
Le Qalam Institute produit une série sur la vie du Prophète Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wasalam – paix et bénédiction d’Allah sur lui). C’est ce qu’on appelle le Seerah. J’admets que j’ai toujours eu un peu de mas à forger un lien personnel avec notre Prophète. La seule raison dont je peux penser : Les prophètes faisaient toujours parti de comptes qu’on nous contait quand nous étions jeunes, des gens un peu mythiques. Alors je crois que c’est peut-être pour cela qu’il est difficile de s’en rapprocher et de former ce lien avec eux. Cette série a comme but de nous rapprocher au Prophète Muhammad (saws) à travers l’histoire de sa vie. La série n’est toujours pas complétée mais contient 50 sessions à date (ils en rajoutent toujours) et je ne suis qu’à la session numéro 20. C’est une longue série, mais, à date, je l’aime bien. Le conférencier rentre vraiment dans l’histoire et les détails et nous donne la chance de voir le côté plus humain de notre Prophète (saws), son enfance, les gens dans sa vie, ses peines au cours de sa vie, opinions, etc. C’est out en ordre chronologique.

Un lien vers leur page Podcast .

Pour tous ces groupes, tout ce que j’ai à dire est SubhanAllah (gloire soit à Dieu); ils dédient tellement d’effort et de temps sur ces projets. J’espère qu’ils continueront car il enseignent à plusieurs musulmans (et non-musulmans) sur ce qu’est notre religion. Si nous ne devenons pas de meilleurs musulmans suite à ces projets, du moins partagent leurs connaissances avec nous. Ceci est un superbe cadeau! Jazaahum Allaahu khayran/Jazaahunna Allaahu khayran (que dieu les bénits de bonnes actions) à tous ces groupes.

Alhamdullilah, 3 choses pour lesquelles je suis reconnaissante aujourd’hui:
1- Mes parents qui ont acceptés mon invitation pour un souper du Ramadan samedi dernier.
2- Avoir l’argent nécessaire pour nous nourrir (invités et nous deux tous seuls).
3- L’amour que ma famille ressens pour moi. Insha’allah (Dieu voulu), ils savent jusqu’à quel point je les aime aussi.

Our trip to Varadero – Days 6, 7 & 8

Tags

Cuba, travel, varadero

This is the last post about our trip to Varadero, Cuba in October of 2012.

Day 6 – The day after the hurricane.
Ok, not to sound quite so dramatic, WE didn’t experience a hurricane, more like the tail end of Hurricane Sandy – a tropical storm. It wasn’t a horrific experience, it could have been MUCH worse given that the hurricane hit the eastern end of Cuba, but it was still something that neither Salem nor I had ever lived through before. That being said, I will take a blizzard any day of the week over a fierce tropical storm. I cannot imagine what living through a hurricane would feel like. Then again, I am sure many people living in very warm places would feel the same about some of our winter storms.

We went out for a walk around the hotel and on the beach. There was a bit of flooding around the resort and the beach looked like it had taken quite a beating with seaweed everywhere, beach chairs strewn about, beach hut roofs tossed around and part of the beach-side eroded. We walked all the way to the tip of Varadero and found a nice little spot there where the water was calm but the sand was so unstable that we didn’t go in. We just stuck around to enjoy this quiet little place no one really ventured to.

Flooding at the resort. Des innondations à l’hôtel.

Red Flag – No swimming, kids! Drapeau rouge – pas de baignade les enfants!

Washed up on the beach. Retrouvé sur la plage.

Seaweed. Des algues.

The beach. La plage.

Our little “private” beach. Notre petite plage “privée”.

The next 2 days were going to be about relaxing, enjoying the sun and swimming. I was starting to feel better but,unfortunately, Salem started feeling sick that day. Since the beach was off-limits to swimmers, we stayed by the pool which is not what we usually do. But you take what you can get!

The pool! La piscine!

A little bridge over the pool. Un petit pont pour traverser la piscine.

The sun, water to swim in, my husband and a book – what more could I want? Le soleil, de l’eau pour aller me baigner, mon mari et un livre; pourrais-je souhaiter pour mieux que ça?

Fresh coconut water for Salem! De l’eau de noix de coco frais pour Salem!

Caro had some too! Caro en a profité aussi!

Food was mainly from the buffet for breakfast and lunch. As always, a great assortment of things.

Lunch buffet – fixings and pickled things! Le buffet à l’heure du dîner – des marinades!

The lunch buffet – fruits galore! Le buffet du midi – des fruits, des fruits et encore d’autres fruits!

It’s not a buffet without desserts! Ce n’est pas un buffet sans le dessert!

More walking around the hotel too (of course).

Pool seen from the lobby. La piscine à partir de la réception.

Hotel grounds where they host shows. On vient ici chaque soir pour les spectacles.

Show plaza. Quartier des spectacles.

We tried out the resort’s Italian restaurant, Firenze. The lighting was a bit bright but the food was good and the service was great, as always! A nice little bonus: a pianist played a bunch of love songs. Funny thing: I told Salem we’d have to get up and dance if they played our song. As it so happens, he started playing our song just after we got our main meal. We didn’t get up to dance though – we’d look a bit weird dancing alone, no actual dance floor, our food getting cold. We did get a good laugh out of it though and it made us enjoy our evening that much more.

Bread basket to start off dinner. Un assortiment de pain pour débuter le souper.

Alhamdullilllllllaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!

Pasta with an alfredo sauce – we kept it simple. Pâtes avec une sauce alfredo. Nous avons décidé de simplifier les choses.

Chocolate covered ice cream ball. Yummies! Boule de crème glacée recouverte de chocolat. MMMmmm….

We also walked around the resort and on the beach to end the night.

The (empty) pool at night. La piscine le soir.

Pool and pond at night. La piscine et l’étang le soir.

A show at night. Un spectacle la nuit.

The beach at night, long aperture opening without tripod… La plage le soir avec l’objectif ouvert pendant plusieurs seconds (sans trépied).

Beach at night, again, no tripod, aperture open for a little while. La plage le soir, toujours sans trépied et avec l’objectif ouvert pendant quelques secondes.

A palm tree and the full moon. Un palmier et la pleine lune.

On our last night at the resort, we tried out the French restaurant – Marseilles. It has a very nice decor – white, flowing curtains and lots of low lights. We ended the night with our usual stint at the lobby – coffee and espresso!

Getting ready to go eat some French food! Salem prêt à manger de la bouffe française!

Marseilles, the French restaurant. Marseilles; le resto français.

My starter – asparagus and cheese shavings. J’ai commencé avec des asperges et du fromage.

A huge shrimp cocktail. Des crevettes géantes!

Chicken with vegetable vol au vent. Du poulet avec un vol au vent aux légumes.

Caro on our last night in Varadero. Caro lors de dernière journée à Varadero.

Another view of the hall with its huge chandelier. Le hall avec son immense chandelier.

The lobby at night. Le hall au soir.

Day 8 was our departure, bright and early! Everything went well except for our return flight home – I had the worst experience I have ever had on a flight. Cabin pressure + what’s left over of a headcold = you feel like your brain is going to come right out your ears! It was excruciating and everything I tried didn’t help (chewing, taking a decongestant – too late, and drinking water). Alhamdullilah for the flight attendant who knew a trick that worked for me almost instantly – 2 little cups with paper towels stuffed in the bottom that have been moistened with hot water. Put that over your ears and give it a few moments. I am forever thankful for that. I apologized to the woman seated next to me for my crying and general state of panic for a good 5 minutes. It honestly was one of the worst feelings I have ever had in my life. Nowadays, I take 1/2 to 1 decongestant before takeoff in hopes that it’ll work. So far, so good.

After all that, our trip was over. We were back home, happy to see family and our dear little Pumpkin. Although we were trying to decide when we could go back for our next trip.

All in all, we really loved the resort, we really couldn’t complain. The food was good and we had plenty of selection, the staff really tried to do all they could to please you as well. The grounds were well maintained, so were the rooms and the beach. You feel safe walking around and taking public transit. The only somewhat negative thing – people will hassle you here and there when you’re walking around in the towns or cities. Most of them are just trying to make a living, offering you a service or selling you some artwork, etc. It’s fine, we all need to make a living.

I’m honestly debating making a post about my impressions of Cuba – on a more political level, simply based on my observations from this trip, but also from our latest trip to a very similar place (trip journal to come soon). Maybe Salem could join me on this one given that he loves politics. We’ll see what the demand or interest is.

Otherwise, please do go to Cuba if you can – it is a place so very different from what we are used to. It can be a very cultural experience, like it can be a relaxing one – you decide which one you want.

Our trip to Varadero – Days 3 & 4

Tags

Cuba, travel, varadero

Morning
And this is where the fun started – I woke up with a sore throat which I thought was simply due to the air conditioner but soon turned into a full-blown cold (one of the worse I had in a long time). Breakfast was at the buffet and then we decided to make an excursion to Downtown Varadero. Thankfully I have a good looking husband to cheer me up!

He makes me feel so much better! Ce beau gars me fait oublier mon rhume!

Caro posing outside of our room – the grounds are amazing. Caro prends une pose juste à l’extérieur de notre chambre. C’est un très beau terrain.

Downtown Varadero
Varadero is equipped with public buses that cost 5 pesos for the whole day – you can then take the double-decker bus to the city. Sit on the top if you like views but don’t mind the wind. It’s a 40 minute ride with stops made at what seems to be every resort, and then for a good part of the way you have the shore to one side. It’s actually quite an enjoyable ride.

Riding on the double-decker! On se promène au 2e étage!

The coast along the way to Varadero. La côte le long du chemin vers Varadero.

We got off around Caille 52 and proceeded to walk west along their main street. A few words of advice: bring sunscreen, bring cash, be mentally prepared to be honked at every minute or so by taxi drivers, caleche drivers and cocotaxi drivers, as well as being offered a spot at a good restaurant. Go and check out the little arts and craft shops. The artisans will try and chat you up, sell you some of their wares, etc. That’s fine, just be polite and if you find something you like, there’s nothing wrong with bargaining. Now, a word on these arts & crafts – are the people in the stalls really the artists themselves? Darn good question! To this day, I am not so sure myself. I don’t really think the items are imported but perhaps produced in more remote areas of the country and then sold in larger tourist centers. Either way, these people will do what they can to make you a happy customer but also make a living for themselves. Please, don’t bargain too hard though – help stimulate the economy a bit. What we bought: a wooden classic car for my dad, some wooden jewelry and a wooden vase.

An old house in Varadero – people live here, they had plants on the porch! Une vieille cabane à Varadero. Des gens y habitent; il y avait des plantes sur la veranda.

A classic car for Dad! Une auto ancienne pour Dad!

All methods of transportation which love honking at or heckling you while you walk along the main street. Tous les genres de véhicules qui vont vous claxonner après lors de votre promenade.

Can you feel the love between Salem and the CocoTaxi? Ça se voit que Salem aime bien les CocoTaxi.

A note to travelers: While we may not be used to people being so forward, please be polite. Many locals survive on tourism dollars. If someone offers you something you are not interested in, a simple “No, gracias” is enough. Also, people will often ask you where you are from “Where you form, frien’?”. It’s up to you if you want to answer or not. They will try to conversate with you and there is nothing wrong with that, but keep in mind that these people may hope to get you to buy something. We see the same thing here, but I find the way the Cubans go about it is much more interactive. Also, please try not to get into a pissing contest with the locals, it’s just a waste of time – just keep walking and ignore them.

A windy afternoon
We made it back to the hotel just in time to catch the last few minutes of the lunch buffet. By then my pain killer had worn off, my throat was hurting and the sunburn had reached the whole “feels like my skin is paper” stage. Our regular waiter wasn’t there but our waitress was kind enough to get me tea with honey. All spots by the pool were taken when we got out so off to the windy beach we went (which didn’t last long). Thankfully though, Salem was able to find a basketball and got to play for a while (yes, they have a basketball court!). We finally found a spot by the pool later on and swam a bit before freshening up for dinner.

Our first dinner reservations: Sakuro – the Japanese restaurant
Unfortunately, the dinner service started off somewhat badly and it was pretty much the worst experience we had during the trip. For years I have wanted to go to a Japanese restaurant – the type where they cook on a giant grill right in front of you. I had the experience once, while in Germany, many years ago. I had seen pictures of the shows they put on at the restaurant and it looked great but it seemed it was a set menu (which we weren’t shown) and I knew they used lots of alcohol for the flambés. We were more than willing to sit there and watch the show, but all we wanted was to eat sushi. We called over our waitress and told her of the issue and she said she would talk with the chef. We wanted to have this resolved before the chef came because it certainly had nothing to do with him, we didn’t want to insult anyone. After waiting a few minutes and not getting an answer, we asked another waitress and she said she would check. The spots started filling up and I was on the verge of a panic. Finally, Salem called over one last guy, he went over and talked to our waitress and finally they took us to this little sushi-bar area (they had 2 spots) and we ate there, just the 2 of us. I was a bit sad we got to miss the show, but the other chefs in the place took amazing care of us – they actually made our night! While we were made to feel like we were bothering our original waitresses, the chefs were super kind with us. We told one of them (Adolis) what had happened and he told us to forget about it and that he would take care of us. All the chefs that came chatted us up here and there and really made quite an impression on us. One of them, José, stayed with us for a bit. We ended up having mixed sushi, tempura veggies (one had pumpkin and Salem was crazy about it, he even got seconds) and ice cream with papaya for dessert. We tipped the chefs… I guess they weren’t expecting it as they thanked us a lot and even recognized us and chatted us up again a few days later when we saw them working at the buffet. They saved the night! Thankfully the waitress we had while we were seated at the sushi bar was quite nice as well.

Salem is a happy boy when you give him tempura! Salem est instantannément content quand on le nourrit du tempura.

Simple desserts can sometimes be the best. Un dessert si simple, mais si bon.

On our way back to our room, we happened upon Perro. I asked Salem to go ahead to our room to get my pashmina and the second half of a wrap we had bought at the airport. While I waited for him with Perro, we encountered a fellow Canadian and him and I ended up chatting about how animals are being treated in the area. Somehow, we got onto the topic of tipping while staying at all-inclusives – the man was quite disappointed in people not tipping the staff. Turns out he had just dined at the Japanese restaurant as well and out of a table of 8-10, he was the only one to leave a tip. Honestly people! No worries, I’ll stay off of my soapbox since you already got to hear about it once before in this post. We chatted for a few minutes more when Salem came around. Once he left, I fed Perro the leftover lox wrap and we were on our way to watch the “Rock” show.

An amazing concert – now if only they had kept playing longer!
Unfortunately, I do not know their name, but they were great! They had a male and a female lead singer and they played a lot of the more retro Rock songs (AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Guns N Roses, etc). It was great! Even though I was really starting to feel like crap from the cold, I wanted to dance. Thankfully, the audience seemed to really enjoy dancing. I honestly wish they could’ve played for another hour. The energy was great and the singers were really talented as well as the rest of the band. It seems they had won some kind of competition they held in Cuba. I can see why. I really hope they find even more success in the future.

We stocked up on mojitos and pina coladas while in Cuba. Still virgin though – be good! Nous en avons consommé des mojitos et des pina coladas lors de notre visite. Mais sans alcool; il faut être sage!

Amazing band! Ayoye!

Looking suave Habibi! Ah que t’as l’air bon mon homme!

Caro, pooped and ready to hit the hay momentarily. Caro, épuisée et sur le bord de se coucher.

Awwww! I love these little touches. J’adore ce genre de petit extra.

The night ended with a trip to the lobby bar and then off to bed I went – I could barely talk at this point and was shivering under the blankets when falling asleep.

Day 4
A day to relax
Yadrian, our waiter at the buffet, seemed quite worried about me because of my cold. But that’s life! Always nice to get good service though. We basically relaxed by the pool all day – unfortunately, it was very windy on the beach. My throat was better but this cold went into my sinuses. Hello mucus! *sigh*
A note to travelers (an a note to myself): don’t just pack meds for tummy troubles, also pack meds for colds! Duh!
Lunch was at the grill, we had fish – it was very good! Our buddy, Perro, was there too so she had fish as well (shhhhh, don’t tell anyone). But, in my defense, I did not feed her from the table. She would go from table to table, making sad eyes but staying quiet, then she would grow tired of being ignored and would curl up in a corner. I fed her fish on the grass, next to the restaurant. It’s quite interesting to see an animal rely on their instincts – she wouldn’t eat on the open grass, she would rather bring the food to a more secluded spot, usually near bushes and then ear it there.

The fish dish all 3 of us had! Le poisson que nous avons mangé, tous les 3!

Our second dinner reservations: Bamboo – the Asian restaurant
Again, true to itself, the service in Cuba is great, this restaurant was no exception to the rule! We started off with a soup, which I was really happy with. I also really liked the plates simply because they were not the normal round or square variety we often get.

Soup, it’s good for the soul. La soupe, que c’est bon pour le morale.

Waiting in between courses. Entre 2 plats.

Salem ordered a battered fish on seafood and veggies. Yes, the little pyramids you see are fried rice. So cute! I had the chicken with veggies on crispy noodles and rice. Dessert was vanilla ice cream atop pineapple.

Habibi and his meal. Salem et son assiette.

Caro loves this kind of dish! J’adore ce genre de mets!

Bamboo had a nice atmosphere and decor. It was actually quite nice. The walls were all a bamboo tapestry. Le resto Bamboo avait une bonne atmosphère, un bon décor. Les murs était recouverts de bamboo.

Our trip to Varadero – Day 2

Tags

Cuba, travel, varadero

Breakfast
On the morning of day 2, we met the man who would become our main waiter for most of our meals at the buffet (he works the breakfast and lunch services). His name? Yadrian. So, if you ever go to the Paradisus Princesa del Mar in Varadero, sit in his section, give him a smile, chat him up a bit and you will get some of the best service you have ever gotten! He was always smiling, very attentive, found a good table for us, brought us our coffee and asked how we were. The rest of the ladies on his team were really nice too.

Our morning and lunch Buffet buddies. Unfortunately, one lady is missing! This was actually taken on our last day. Nos amis du buffet pour le déjeuner et le dîner. Malheureusement, il y a une dame qui n’y est pas! Cette photo a été prise la dernière journée de notre voyage.

On a side note: These people work so hard to please you so please reciprocate – show your appreciation with tips and just simply by being polite. I cannot believe how many times I saw people being very grumpy with various wait staff and not leaving any form of tip. Also, how often do we tip 10-15-20% in Montréal (or Canada) for crap service? I know it’s an all-inclusive, but considering that these people go above and beyond in order to serve you… to me what is a peso or two? And they share it amongst their team as well. So please, don’t be stingy, you can afford a trip to some sunny destination, while some of these people have to hold down 2-3 jobs to make ends meet.

What can you expect at the buffet? One station had omelets and eggs; another had pancakes and sauces; another had pastries; another had fresh juice along with yogurts, cereals and fresh fruit; there was a bread table (note: go for the bread you slice yourself, not the already sliced bread – it was a bit stale) and one last station with cheeses, meats and fish (hello smoked salmon!). Expect it to be crowded! Order a caffe con leche, bring your soup spoon to serve yourself form the back of trays if you’re like Salem and I.

After breakfast, we went to beach, applied sunscreen and went into the water for a bit. And here’s where I guess I lost my brain. Thinking I would let myself fry off for 5 minutes, I didn’t reapply my sunscreen. I then fell asleep. What felt like 15 minutes (on the front and another on the back), I later found out was closer to 2-2.5 hours! Yes, you guessed it – hello lobster! To this day (we’re now April 1st), I still have a hint of a tan line! Thankfully, Salem got a bit burnt too, just not as much as I did (he was smart, he was under a bit of shade).

A quieter afternoon and evening
Lunch was at the beach grill! Yummy! I had the chicken and Salem had the shrimp along with some virgin mojitos. This is also where we encountered our new friend – Perro. She’s actually a cute female dog, who’s had at least one litter of pups. I consider her like the resident dog of the resort. You’ll spot her here and there.

We all like virgin mojitos! Nous aimons tous les mojitos; sans alcool bien sûr!

Lunch is always nice after a few hours in the sun. Un bon dîner est toujours apprécié après quelques heures passées au soleil.

Our buddy Perro. Notre amie, Perro.

We made our dinner reservations for the week (please do this early as restos book up quickly) and spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool.

Dinner was at the buffet and we ate a lot less this time around.

My dinner consisted mainly of fish and veggies. Lots of selection though! Mon souper était plutôt basé sur le poisson et les légumes. Très bonne sélection!

Salem opted for more shrimp, fish and veggies. Salem a mangé encore d’autres crevettes, du poisson et des légumes.

No need to worry if you have a sweet tooth, Cuba has you covered! Vous avez la dent sucré? Ne vous en faites pas, les cubains ont aussi la dent sucrée!

A sunburnt Caro… 😦 Caro et coup de soleil…

After dinner was a water show in the pool. The things these people can do in such shallow water is amazing!

Aquatic show. Just… WOW! Le superbe spectacle aquatique.

So many costumes! Lots of thongs though… Des costumes émerveillants mais aussi beaucoup de tangas… euh….

Afterwards, we went off to the lobby lounge for some a late-night espresso and another caffe con leche. These guys are so nice! 1 peso tip and it’s all smiles and amazing service. Fine by me!

Salem in the lobby lounge, a little sunburnt too. Salem dans le lobby, aussi avec son petit coup de soleil.

Mmmmmm caffeine!

Gibby’s in Old Montréal (le Vieux port) – our first experience

Alright, this post has actually taken me a week to write – things are busy and I am currently under the weather with my ever so lovely flare-up I get from time to time. Just great! Oh well, I am dealing with it.

For Salem’s birthday dinner (en tête-à-tête), we decided to try out a restaurant we had never been to. A restaurant I hear about every single day thanks to CJAD talk radio. We went to the ever so posh Gibby’s in Vieux Montréal (Old Montreal).

I knew it would be expensive but I figured “what better way to celebrate my Habibi’s birthday than with a nice, expensive dinner”. With reservations made a few days earlier, all dressed up and perfumed, off we went to the resto.

There’s one really nice feature about this place, which you can enjoy from the moment you arrive: valet parking. Of course, Salem being as paranoid “cautious” as he is, decided he didn’t want anyone else driving his car and parked a block away and supported the greedy city of Montréal by feeding a few bucks into the parking meter. Thankfully, it was very mild outside and the sidewalk wasn’t covered with its usual winter black ice just yet.

Gibby’s is located in a nice, old stone building, which seems to have been stables at a point and time. Don’t worry, it doesn’t smell like horses anymore – far from it. There’s a coat check in the basement and a smiling hostess to receive you when you come in.

We were seated in a corner which is great considering how much I dislike being bombarded by the noise from tables all around me. This is when the hostess hands you your menu and the “catch of the day” card. Brought to our table: a fresh loaf of bread (it was still warm and covered with a cloth), butter, bowl of pickles and bacon bits (the waiter promptly took them away when informed we were allergic – the poor guy seemed embarrassed; it’s ok, no worries). The bread was great, but we were quite perplexed by the pickles – are you supposed to eat them alone? Or does it have something to do with the whole “bread and butter pickles”? I told Salem to take a look and see what the people seated at the other tables were doing, he found no indication. We had only ever been served pickles with coleslaw or smoked meat. We decided to slice the pickles and sneakily tried a slice with some buttered bread – “Act like we belong here!”. Not bad, but I’ll just eat my pickle as-is next time.

Salem at his birthday dinner. Boy do I have a handsome husband!

Our waiter came around and, of course, we refused drinks and just stuck to water. He didn’t even bat an eyelash when we said no alcohol, which was nice. I sometimes feel awkward or wonder “how much will the service suffer” when we don’t order alcoholic beverages. The waiter made a joke about “Château de la pompe 1968” being a very good year. I liked that he had a sense of humour and didn’t just rush off right away.

For the main course, Salem ordered the grilled arctic char (fish) with the marinated tomato and onion salad. I ordered the chicken Kiev along with the Gibby’s salad. Also available is the gazpacho. Here I thought the salads were side dishes, but no, they are more like starter salads. That was a nice surprise! Oh, and I have to mention the stance the waiter takes when he offers you freshly ground pepper; it’s like they are presenting you with a bottle of wine! It made me smile, maybe even smirk a bit. As we were finishing off our salads, the waiter brought us 2 little bowls with a ball inside and a small spoon. Salem “What’s that?”, Me “I’m not sure… margarine? *looks closer* It’s crystallized! Oh! I think it’s sorbet, you know, to cleanse your palate”. Indeed, it was a lemony-limey sorbet. “Don’t look at it too much, just eat it and act like you belong here!”

Salem opted for the tomato and onion marinade.

Caro and the rustic decor. I love it!

The Gibby’s salad: mixed greens with tomatoes, croutons and a light garlic dressing.

Cleansing our palettes with a little lemon sorbet. A pleasant surprise.

Our main course came soon after. Along with the arctic char and chicken Kiev, the plates came with asparagus and a baked potato (you can opt for sides other than the baked potato such as the Monte Carlo potato, etc). Salem’s fish was actually quite a large piece given what we’re used to getting in restaurants; and my chicken Kiev came with 2 pieces, not just one. It turns out that arctic char is somewhat similar to salmon, but the flavour being a hint more “meaty” while still being light and fluffy in texture. The chicken Kiev (chicken breasts stuffed with herbs and butter, breaded and topped with chives) was excellent! I wasn’t able to finish my plate so the 2nd piece and half of my potato were taken home in a doggy bag. I’d like to take a moment here to mention the other waiter that was also serving our table. He took my plate to prep the doggy bag and I was just surprised at the absolute care he took when bringing the doggy bag back to our table. I don’t know why it struck me, but he put the container in a Gibby’s bag and folded the bag over and then placed it on the table (almost as if presenting it). Man! I’m just glad if most places don’t just throw the half-closed container down on the table!

Gibby’s chicken Kiev: pan-fried chicken breasts stuffed with herbs, butter and chives. With baked potato and asparagus.

Salem telling me to take the picture quickly. On his plate: the grilled arctic char, baked potato and asparagus.

Caro ready to dig into her chicken Kiev.

We were having a hard time deciding on dessert and had to ask our waiter for his opinion. His description had me going for the hot apple croûte. I was thinking apple crumb à la mode but boy was I wrong. 2 forks are a must for this dessert! It’s basically a puff pastry topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, apple chunks and drizzled with a savory (not overly sweet) caramel with a bit of whipped cream on the side – AMAZING! Salem had a coffee and I opted for a cappuccino. The waiter chatted us up as we were finishing our meal – very nice fellow. He talked to us about the restaurant and the owner and the culture of the restaurant (ie customer service and care). It was really nice – I can’t remember the last time a waiter even chatted us up.

A nice, foamy cappuccino for me and our dessert… Mmmmmm.

Hot apple croûte – a puff pastry topped with bits of apple, vanilla ice cream and rich, hot caramel. 2 forks please!

All in all, yes, it was expensive but I think the food and experience were well worth the price tag. I guess I can say that I have fallen for Gibby’s. I wouldn’t fail to recommend it for special occasions and hope to return sometime. Total for 2: just under $100, plus tip.