City Girl in a Small Town

Three and a half months ago, we got married! We had a beautiful ceremony on the Oasis of the Seas, and spent a week celebrating with our closest family and friends. A month later, we hosted a local wedding reception for our friends and family. It's been a hectic couple of months, but we are settling into married life and looking forward to being travel partners for life.

I'm way behind on our travel diaries! I still have to catch up on our Navigator of the Seas cruise and Paris. It's hard to believe that trip was nine months ago. But I will definitely get to them, and get to our Oasis of the Seas wedding cruise. In the meantime, while this is fresh on my mind, I'm going to jump right into our little mini-moon trip last month. We won't be going on a real honeymoon, so this is as close as it will get!

The husband goes to the Okanagan for work twice a year in the summer. The Coquihalla highway is notorious for its steep, mountainous terrain. It's especially dangerous in the winter, which is why he visits in the summer. I've never been the Okanagan so we thought it would be a good idea for me to join him for the weekend. It was also a chance for me to explore my own province!

I flew up late after work one night to rendezvous with the husband. The flight was over an hour delayed, and it was via a small, little propeller jet. For a girl who flies often, I was nervous about this tiny little plane. It honestly felt like it didn't have enough power to take off. Thank God it was a short plane ride. We were only in the air for about 40 minutes.

Kelowna definitely had a small-town charm vibe. It was very quiet, and the air was still. It's hard to describe, but in the city, you always feel rushed like there's always a sense of urgency. There is always honking and people talking in the background. It's different in small towns.

We had lunch at Old Vines Restaurant at Quails' Gate Estate Winery. I visited my first vineyard, and boy, do I love being in the vineyard. I just wanted to run up and down the rows for days (actually, I am majorly out of shape so I didn't.) It's an awestruck feeling though, and the views are beyond gorgeous.

I'm not big on wine, unfortunately, I haven't quite acquired the taste of wine yet. I know, I was in wine country and everything is dry! I will have the odd Riesling, but I am totally guilty for being a Moscato fan.

For lunch, we had oysters to start. I had the cod (pictured), he had the steak (not pictured).

After lunch, we drove to La Frenz in Penticton to pick up a few bottles of wine. Penticton is about fifty minutes away from Kelowna. While we were there, we stopped by Tickleberry's, a local favourite ice cream shop. Here, two scoops was the minimum!

The next day, we drove Oliver, which is about an hour and twenty minutes south of Kelowna. We stopped at Terrafina at Hester Creek Estate Winery for lunch. I had a squid-pea sprout salad, and the husband had pasta. Both dishes were very unique and delicious!

Oliver was where we started to see cherry trees everywhere. Being in the produce industry, I knew that cherry season had just started. I had never seen a cherry orchard before, so I was pretty excited to see them. Unfortunately, U-Pick doesn't start until July, so we missed out on cherry picking.

We also made a pitstop at LaStella, the only winery in the Okanagan that makes a Moscato! LaStella is a smaller winery, but it was the end of the day, so we were able to sample a couple of wines while we were there. Wine tastings at LaStella are to be pre-booked, so the sommelier was very nice to let us sample a few.

From there, we continued our drive to Osoyoos, another twenty minutes west. Osoyoos is a border town to the US. It is also the most southern town in the valley, so it was pretty hot and humid. We stayed at Spirit Ridge at NK'IP Resort. It is a unique area with lush vineyards for miles. While the resort overlooked Lake Osoyoos, behind it was the Cascade Mountains. It was also a desert, home to rattlesnakes and gophersnakes, both of which are "at-risk" species in BC. The resort is on the Osoyoos Indian Band's reserve. There was a cultural centre in the resort, but we didn't have time to visit.

It was raining and the weather was cool when we checked in, so that meant we had to skip the pool.

We visited the NK'MIP Cellars and had our first wine tasting. I didn't try anything I liked, but the husband really enjoyed their Merlot, and ended up buying a bottle for himself, and a few bottles of Meritage for our family. Afterwards, we walked around the vineyards and the desert trail to take in the surroundings and the gorgeous view.

We took advantage of our full kitchen, and cooked dinner. We had cedar plank salmon, sweet corn and grilled mushrooms. We watched the sun set and enjoyed a glass of Moscato on our balcony.

Isn't that a cool sunset picture on the right? I read about this trick online - using your iPhone as a mirror to photograph a "live" reflection with your SLR. I really liked how it turned out!

The next day, we checked out and had lunch in the resort restaurant, Mica. It was Father's Day, but it was a very quiet day. Maybe it's just like this all the time in the Okanagan?

Before we set off on our way home, we had three more wineries to stop at. We stopped at Platinum Bench Estate Winery. Funnily enough, Platinum Bench is known for their artisan bread. We had pre-ordered three loaves. It was so good. Next stop was Burrowing Owl Estate Winery, a very well-known BC winery. Burrowing Owl had an observation deck for viewing. The climb up the tower was well worth it - the view was breathtaking.

Lastly, we mad a quick pit stop at LaStella to pick up a couple more bottles of wine! It was much busier than it was the day before. But we were in and out in no time.
  
On our way out of the Okanagan, we stopped at many fruit stands, buying cherries for our families. We took Highway-1 home. It was a four hour drive, a shorter route than the Coquihalla.

Even thought I am from this province, BC is uncharted territory for me, and I love being able to explore it like my own backyard. We had a wonderful time in the Okanagan and I would love to go back for a longer visit next time! And whether you like wine or not, I highly recommend a visit to the Okanagan!

A Visit to Vietnam: Turf II

This entry is called turf because we spent a lot of time on land.

I've split up our time on land into two parts; the second day was our last day in Ho Chi Minh City. 

We slept in a little on our last day in Ho Chi Minh City.

The husband and I didn't have a day plan because we had seen most of the tourist attractions, but we did have plans for dinner and a massage after the meal.

To start the day, we grabbed an iced coffee from Highlands before venturing into town. It was a muggy day, so we decided to walk away from the city centre and towards the the water. Nguyen Hue Street is a popular walking street which begins at City Hall. The street starts across from City Hall, where the statue of President Ho Chi Minh is. It's a very wide street with an extra walkway in between two lanes of traffic. There are a lot of restaurants and small shops along the walking street. We asked past an ao dai exhibit, but didn't go inside. I had read online that it was a very small exhibit and wasn't worth the admission price.

After dangerously running across eight lanes of Vietnam traffic, we got to the pier. We walked along the river and admired the skyline. It was very hot even with no sun and lots of clouds. While the river looked beautiful from afar, sadly, it was very polluted and littered with garbage below where we stood. We also came across a ferry crossing at the Saigon River. We weren't quite sure where it would take us, so we decided to find lunch. We had lunch at a proper restaurant called Hoang Yen. When it's scorching hot and you're hungry, tired and sweaty - you just want to eat anywhere. But in Vietnam, you don't want to just eat anywhere. So we went into the first restaurant we saw with reviews. If it had reviews, it's legit. Unfortunately, Hoang Yen was not very authentic and cost over five times the price of street food. We also noticed the area was a lot quieter than where the Ben Thanh Market was situated. Less cars, less people but lots of high rises and hotels.

After lunch, we went back for fittings at both of our tailors multiple times as it was very easy to get around in the area. We also noticed a lot of produce bikers on the streets. We watched in awe as they biked past us with their big baskets of fruits and vegetables in the heat. While we were in and out of the tailors, we walked around Ben Thanh Market and Saigon Centre. We had some time to kill before dinner as most õc eateries open around 5:30 pm.

The husband had really wanted to experience this national pastime in Vietnam. An õc or snail eating, is a popular activity in Vietnam. It's not just about eating, it's also about drinking and socializing with friends, family or colleagues - it's a culture.  

Snails are plentiful in Vietnam; and they come in all shapes, sizes and colours. But it's not just snails on the menu, almost anything with a shell is served, including clams, mussels, scallops and oysters. Most of these snail eateries are off the beaten path in hard to find places, a "hole in the wall" if you want to call it that.

The snail eatery we went to was in a maze of small one-way alleys. Õc Dao 1 was under a tent in a dirty alley. I definitely felt dreadful when we first arrived. The owner and the servers didn't speak much English and they motioned to an empty, uncleaned table in the middle of the seating area. There was a dirty bucket for your shells underneath the table. When we sat down, we weren't acknowledged for a long time. I sat at the edge of my stool and held on to my purse for dear life. There's no menu because everyone knew the menu by heart. We asked for a menu, and they had to search for one.

It turned out to be one of the best meals of my life. We ate on low steel tables sitting in plastic stools. The lighting was dim, and it was hot and muggy. We ate snails, razor clams and scallops with nuoc mam and a combination of salt, pepper and lime. To finish our meal, we also ordered stir-fried morning glory and Indomie! Pictures don't do the meal justice, we know that. It's not a fancy meal; nor is it a pretty presentation. You have to taste it. Everything was so simple, yet so delicious.

After dinner, we took an Uber to Salon Heritage Spa. This salon had the most positive reviews. We both had a very relaxing one hour Thai massage, and we took an Uber back to our hotel. The traffic in Ho Chi Minh City was insane. We drove by a lot of nightclubs and higher end restaurants. We didn't explore this particular area by foot, but it definitely looked the city's central nightlife scene.

Vietnam treated us so well. We had such an amazing time in Ho Chi Minh City. We learned so much about the culture and experience so many different things. We are in total awe of Vietnam's wonders and we hope to be back soon to visit the north. Vietnam is like a diamond in the rough that captures your eye, draws you in, and compels you to return - because why wouldn't you want to keep digging until you get that diamond?

A Visit to Vietnam: Turf I

This entry is called turf because we spent a lot of time on land.

I'm splitting up our time on land because we technically spent two days on land in Vietnam; and we did a lot of stuff in those two short days. The first day was our last outing with our group. The husband and I were staying an extra day on our own.

We were driven into the city bright and early and dropped off at a street restaurant for breakfast. The restaurant only served one item, banh cuon. Banh cuon(s) are rice noodle rolls with a pork and woodear mushroom filling. My mom always made it as an after school snack for me when I was in grade school. The banh cuon was serve with Vietnamese ham. I didn't eat any of the veggies in fear I would get sick, but the banh cuon was delicious!

First thing in order, Ben Thanh Market (above right). This well-known marketplace was much talked about amongst our group during the week, so we were all very excited to finally see one of Saigon's oldest marketplace for ourselves - the sweat, the un-foodsafe meal preparations, the tourist traps, we were ready for it!

Let me tell ya - they were not kidding when they said it would be hot and stuffy inside the Ben Thanh Market. That was an understatement. You are literally cooking in that oven of a market. There is no breeze, and the air is stale. Mind you, it still smelled of nuoc mam (fish sauce) and sweet fruits. It didn't stink, but it had to be one of the most uncomfortable environments I'd ever been in. But let's get to the good stuff, shall we?

There were a ton of fruit stands with fresh or dried exotic fruits and flower stands with beautiful arrangements that were made fresh daily. The shopping here was all a tourist trap. Everything that had a brand name on it was fake, some were pretty cheap, but some items, like Nike and Fjallraven, were so ridiculously priced you might as well just buy the real thing. They had a lot of souvenirs and specialty items too, but those were overprices compared to the Mekong markets. I was kicking myself for not buying a conical hat! My goal was to buy one thing: an ao dai! (Well actually two, because technically we were in search of an extra hand carry luggage but we weren't willing to spend more than $20 Canadian for one!)

An ao dai is a tradicional fitted silk tunic worn by mostly Vietnamese women. It falls at your knees or sometimes your ankles depending on the style, but it has slits all the way up to the waist, and is worn over trousers.

It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to buy an ao dai. A lot of them were tacky with lots of neon colours and strange patterns. Another option was to get one custom made, but that cost nearly $200 Canadian for the whole outfit. After looking at multiple stands and getting separated from our group, I managed to find a white one with cherry blossoms on it. I paid a higher price for it because I bought it from a government regulated stand with fixed prices. It was pretty sheer as it was white but it was the nicest one I saw and I was happy with my purchase.

rice cake, dried shrimps, crispy pork skin, scallion oil,

After finding our group again, we decided to split up for lunch because everyone wanted to eat something different. The husband and I went to the banh beo hue stand. Banh beo are little rice cakes with mashed mung bean and dried shrimp served with nuoc mam. This was also another snack my mom prepared as an after-school snack when I was young, but here in Vietnam, they also had little tapioca dumplings in the dish. I loved the tapioca dumplings, and they were the one thing my mom didn't make at home. The food was prepared in front of us and we ate it on low plastic stools at the counter. It was one of the most delicious meals I had in Vietnam!

After lunch, it was time for us to part with our group. We said our goodbyes and were dropped off at our hotel while they headed to the airport. We were staying at the Intercontinental Saigon, a much nicer hotel than we were used to. We freshened up and went back out again. We had a few places to visit on our to-do list and the husband was on the hunt for a suit tailor. Our first stop in our own was the Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral and the post office, which were both a convenient block away from the hotel and across the street from each other!

Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral is another well known symbol of the old city. The French-inspired cathedral has two bell towers just like the Notre Dame de Paris. However, it only has six bells unlike the ten in Paris. During our visit, it was under construction - and it was closed to visitors due to a private celebration of life. In front of the cathedral is a Virgin Mary statue. In 2005, it was reported to have shed a tear, causing thousands of people to flock to the statue.

Across the street is the Saigon Central Post Office. The building is remnant of French colonial times. Inside is a fully functioning post office, and a few souvenir vendors. It reminded me of a train station, with its high ceilings.

The husband had done a lot of research prior to our trip, and was set on getting a suit made at Tuyen Fashion Tailor. We walked-in with no appointment, but Mr. Tuyen gladly took his measurements and promised the husband a suit in 48 hours. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to complete a dress for me. We found another tailor, Sang Trong Lua or Elegant Silk, who promised to complete two dresses in 48 hours.

It was a funny thing - everywhere we walked, we ended up at the Ben Thanh Market. It was the centre of the city. That evening, we wandered around the area, and got a massage. Be careful when you are lured off the streets into a massage parlour! The discounted prices that they show you before you go in are not what you end up paying. They gang up on you, and tell you a sob story to try to force you into giving them a big tip. We also came across a few new shopping malls, Vincom Center, Diamond Plaza and Parkson Plaza. Ho Chi Minh City was very fashion forward, so I loved window shopping at all the little boutique shops and larger department stores.

We grabbed pho at the end of the night before turning into our swanky hotel for a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, we will be exploring for a full day! Stay tuned...