Tag: french

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Nov 3 to Nov 13 2021: Vancouver, BC – Fostered A Dog & Kim’s Birthday!

Kim & Curtis Hale

We fostered a dog!

On Wednesday 3rd November, Kim went out to the airport to help people unload dogs that had been rescued from China.

This took a very long time, about 3 hours or so, but after it was done Kim was offered a dog to foster! The foster had pulled out, so she got the chance to foster a 1.5 year old Samoyed for about a month or so.

The dog was so good! He was a little hyper when we got him and he did pee inside overnight on the first night, but other than that, he was awesome to have around!

We got him some toys, treats and a bed (which he doesn’t use) and just hung out with him for a bit.

On the Sunday, Curtis went to hockey and then Kim got an Uber out to catch his game a little later!

Whilst Kim was out, she setup cameras to check on the dog to see how he was. We weren’t sure how he is being left alone, but turns out he’s fine!

Unfortunately, once we got home, we took him out for a walk and he vomited many times. We then had to take him to an overnight vet, which took 3+ hours and we didn’t get to sleep until 4:30am!

The vet thought he was just a little sick and gave him a little medication and fluids to get him sorted.

The place we fostered from then complained that we took him to the vet and seem to be refusing to refund us for the treatment now, which is very fun.

He was sick for most of the week this week, but has now improved a lot!

We likely won’t foster again from these people, either, as they keep saying the dog will be leaving within the next day and then we hear nothing…It’s all a little crazy and we got no information on the dog, either!

Kim took him out today to hang out with another dog and her friend and he was a very good boy!

We did get to go out for dinner on Tuesday for Kim’s birthday, too. Kim’s friend came over to pet sit and we walked down to Gastown to a French restaurant we went to when we first moved to Vancouver.

The food was alright but the service was pretty awful. We probably won’t be heading back there.

We still have the dog now, even though we’ve been told he’s going 3 times! We are still awaiting a call from them to tell us more about the plan, but for now, we are having a great time chilling with the awesome, chill doggo.

Mr And Mrs Hale

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Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 946: Vancouver, BC – Staying Out The Heat

Kim & Curtis Hale

Kim got up and went to the cats again, and then got out to Apple and she got a new laptop for work there.

After she got back home, she had some breakfast (Curtis had some before Kim got back) and then we got ready and went out for the day.

The plan was to go to a mall and get some shopping done that we needed to do. Therefore, we drove out to Burnaby and did just that, getting some free AC!

We got there and went to a few stores to look for a few different items. Unfortunately, there wasn’t too much of use there, so we took a bit of a break and went out to the French bakery/cafe we went to the last time we were in Burnaby. We got a tiramasu to share, an affogato each, as well as a berry lemonade, which was a surprising delight!

We went back to the mall after that and we managed to actually get some new flip flops for Kim and a few clothing options! It became more successful the second time!

We then headed back home and stopped off at the cats, but the owner was home so Kim had a quick chat with her and then we went back home.

We had nice cold showers, to get out of the insanely warm heat, and then we relaxed a little before Kim went out to the beach with a friend and their dog!

The weather was still very hot at night, but it was lovely to get to put her feet in the water.

Kim got home and we watched some TV and chilled out, trying to stop it being far too warm!

Tomorrow is meant to be EVEN HOTTER so we have that to look forward to.

This Time Last Year

Mr And Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 938: Vancouver, BC – FINALLY, Prawn Crackers!

Kim & Curtis Hale

We woke up a little too late, but we felt great! We had some breakfast and then got ready for the day.

We went out to the CORRECT French café today! We got a double chocolate cake to share and a cappuccino each, all of which were delicious!

We left here and drove to a lake which we thought had a part attached to it, but it didn’t, so we drop up the road a little to an actual park.

The park was more of a dog park and wasn’t actually that good, so we left and drove back towards home instead.

We got back home and relaxed for a bit before we ordered some Chinese food! We have a place opposite us which we don’t believe has been open very long and it sounded like they did good food, so we had to check it out.

The food was a lot like the Chinese food we used to get in England, which is a huge plus for us! They even had the same type of prawn crackers, which we haven’t had for a very long time.

Doesn’t look amazing, but oh it really was!

Once we ate, we went for a nice long evening walk to the beach!

There were a lot of gatherings around, including a band playing to a large crowd, so we made sure to stay away, though it did make a good atmosphere.

The sun was setting so we had some beautiful views and sunlight, which was lovely to see as we were walking.

We watched some TV when we got home and ate ice cream, which we got on the way back home.

This Time Last Year

Mr And Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 932: Vancouver, BC – French Patisserie

Kim & Curtis Hale

We woke up and had a nice breakfast at home and then got ourselves ready for the day.

The weather wasn’t good today, but we wanted to go out to a cafe or patisserie, so we found one and drove out there.

It turns out, we actually went to the wrong one! That being said, we did get to have a delicious chocolate coffee cake there!

Chocolate & Coffee…A delicious combo!

We did have a coffee each with this, too, but unfortunately they were no where near as nice as they looked. We plan to come back out and go to the other patisserie we were meant to go to, which was only a block over!

We were parked at a mall, so it made sense to go there to do our weekly shop but also a few other things. We picked up a frame and some other items from Homesense and then went to the supermarket.

We drove back home after a pretty successful day and then when we got home we did some relaxing then Kim made a veggie lasagna for dinner!

We watched a bit of TV and then Kim had a bath and watched a film.

We watched some more TV after Kim’s bath and then headed to bed. Another busy week is coming!

This Time Last Year

Mr And Mrs Hale

Virgin, UT

Place 85: Day 1: Virgin, UT 🇺🇸 – Campervaning In Utah!

Kim & Curtis Hale

Leaving Vegas

We were up to get checked out and have some breakfast.

We checked out via mobile and queued up to get our bags in storage.

Once we got our bags checked, we headed over to McDonald’s for a quick easy breakfast and a sit down.

Once we finished our food, we went to the check in counter to ask a few questions we had and by the time that was done, we wanted to go and grab a taco from the place we had visited list time in Vegas.

We took Tom to the Mexican place and each had a carnitas taco, which is delicious pork and vegetables, which was perfect to tide us over.

That took us to the perfect time to go and grab our bags and head off.

We got them and jumped in a Lyft up to a house where we were pickup up a campervan.

Our Campervan

The couple we got the camper from were a lovely older French couple that rent out a few campervans.

We had a tour of it, they told us how to use different things and that was pretty much that.

It’s a perfect size for the 3 of us, too.

We got in it and hit the road, heading to rent a bike from Tom.

Bike Rental

We got to a bike rental place but it seemed that there isn’t actually a shop there. We called them and they said that there is no shop and they only deliver to hotels, so we canned that idea.

We found another place that was en route, so we stopped off there instead.

Tom got a bike for a good price which was nice and easy and we went to grab coffees for the journey.

To Utah!

We set off and up to Utah Tom drove.We had an uneventful drive really, just drove through Nevada, Arizona and finally into Utah.

We stopped off at Walmart once we got into Hurricane, Utah and got a few supplies for our 3 day campervan stay.

We drove the rest of the way, figuring out where to go and then driving down into the gravel roads and finally out into the campsite.

We were greeted and showed our spot, where we setup and got ready to hunker down.

We got a bit of food in us, just some frozen pasta stuff we bought, and then relaxed for a bit before we went to sleep, as we have to be up relatively early tomorrow.

It’s actually quite warm at the moment inside our camper, so that’s a win!

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – day 139: Vancouver, BC – Tiny Patisserie

Kim & Curtis Hale

Morning Workout

We were up around 09:00 and Kim decided she wanted to go and do some exercise, so headed down to the studio for 10:00.

Whilst she was there, Curtis had some breakfast, a coffee and played some games.

A Tiny Patisserie

When Kim got back, we were still hungry for some food, so we walked for about 20 minutes to get to a patisserie which had great ratings.

The patisserie was called L’atelier Patisserie and it was beautiful! Just 4 tables in total (two outside and two inside) and it was weirdly in an industrial estate.

It was clearly a busy place as it had run out of several items by the time we got there, but there was still enough for us to have.

We were very excited to have a croissant, and they didn’t disappoint!

Kim had a double chocolate croissant a Curtis had a standard, plain, one.

The croissants were incredible! flaky, yet buttery!

The coffees weren’t great, but tasty enough!

L’atelier Patisserie | Vancouver, BC

Our rating:- 8.25/10

We left here and walked home, via a shop to get a couple of things.

Hockey

When we got home, we watched a couple of things together and then Curtis watched hockey whilst Kim watched Queer Eye.

Galaxy Buds

Curtis bought Kim Galaxy Buds for her birthday but gave them to her today as they as useful to have for training and exercise!

Suits & Peaky Blinders

We tried some of the new whisky we have and are very much in favour!

We watched Suits and Peaky Blinders whilst we drank this.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 132: Vancouver, BC – Whiskey Flights & Fancy French Meal!

Kim & Curtis Hale

Shopping & Coffee

As with every weekend, we did some shopping and grabbed a coffee before anything else!

We had breakfast, got ready and then went out to get something from London Drugs. Then, after that, we went to Homesense to find some perfect whiskey glasses to have for home, which we did! We had to queue for a while but eventually got them purchased and then went to Starbucks to get a coffee.

We had our coffee in Starbucks for a bit, but then went back home so others could sit down. The weather was bad, so coffee shops were busy!

We got back home and Kim took her shoes to the cobbler to get the. Heals re done. Whilst out, she saw a few dogs, one of which was a collie mixed with a German shepherd which was very cute! She then had a hug with a kitten before going back to pickup her shoes.

Whiskey Flights!

Once Kim got back, we started getting ready to go out.

We took the train down to the city and walked for 10 minutes up to a pub which has a whiskey bar out back!

We got in and got our flights of whiskey. Kim went for the Scottish, where as Curtis went for the recommended one from the barman which was the cherry aged whiskeys.

Along with our whiskey, we had a meat and cheese board, which was phenominal!

Shebeen Bar | Vancouver, BC

Our Rating:- 10/10

We had some great chats with the bar staff but then had to leave so we could make it to our dinner reservation, but we had a Jameson Mule before we left!

Fancy French Meal

Kim booked in a French meal, which we were very excited for! We each got a glass of wine and then some free bread, just before our mains arrived!

Jules Bistro | Vancouver, BC

Our Rating:- 9/10

Kim got a tenderloin steak with scallion potatoes as well and ratatouille, and Curtis had a terrific rack of lamb which came with potatoes and corn.

For dessert, Kim had a chocolate & caramel pudding and Curtis had a cappucino, which was the best he has had in a while!

We finished our food, paid up and walked back home.

Once we got back home, a little tipsy, we got some admin done and then watched the latest Suits episode before going to sleep.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 37: Vancouver,BC – Croque Madame, More Jeans & Homemade Bolognese

Kim & Curtis Hale

Croque Madame

We woke up and Kim got up to make breakfast. We decided we wanted a croque madame, so Kim lovingly made those, with our Norwegian cheese and some delicious ham inside.

Xbox E3 Conference & Jeans

Whilst Kim got ready to go out, Curtis watched the Xbox E3 conference whilst chatting with some friends online.

Kim went out whilst Curtis was still watching this and went to the city to find some jeans. Kim’s jeans had recently broken so she desperately needed some new ones.

Kim found a pair eventually, but they weren’t exactly what she wanted. They will work for now.

Coffee

Curtis went in to town to meet Kim and go for a coffee!

We got there and had a place in mind, but it turns out it was closed, so we had to find somewhere else. We decided on Faubourg Paris.

This French cafe seemed alright but we think it had seen better days and thought it was more upscale then it is.

We each got a cappucino and relaxed whilst we drank it.

Faubourg Paris | Vancouver,BC

Rating:- 6/10

Homemade Bolognese

We came back home via a quick stop at the shop and watched some TV as we weren’t quite hungry enough for dinner yet.

After the one episode though, we both became rather peckish, so we started dinner.

Kim made a great homemade bolognese and we had it with pasta and a side salad.

We finished the evening with a beer and some more TV and then got ready for work tomorrow.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

New Orleans,LA

Place 84 – Day 2: New Orleans,LA – WWII Museum, Lafayette Cemetery & Magazine Street

Kim & Curtis Hale

Video Chat

We woke up feeling really good and refreshed!

We had breakfast and got ready for the day and then had a quick video chat.

We had to speak with someone we are looking to briefly live with in another location, just to show we are who we say we are and so on.

We had a good chat and seems it was successful, so we should be heading there soon!

WWII Museum

There isn’t much to say about this, other than the fact we took the bus to the WWII museum. This museum is the #2 thing to do in the whole of the US according to TripAdvisor, so we had to take a look.

The museum wasn’t that big and we did get student tickets which saved us a little money.

It was an alright museum, but not as amazing as the reviews had said.

French Coffee

We really fancied some French coffee and pastries.

We walked 6 minutes to a highly touted French cafe called French Truck Coffee.

The coffee was excellent and the foid was too. Curtis got a big croissant and Kim had a muffin.

French Truck Coffee | New Orleans,LA

Rating:- 10/10

Lafayette Cemetery

We got to one of the famous cemeteries in New Orleans just 15 minutes before it was closing.

We were given a brief tour by a lady there who has been giving tours for 20 years.

We were shown around briefly and told about how the group tombs work, which is a fascinating process actually.

Magazine St

We walked down magazine street a little more, which is a street most known for shopping but it also has a lot of beautiful buildings and eateries.

One Of The Many Beautiful Houses

Dinner

We got a tram to the French Quarter and found ourselves some food.

We came across a place called Bombay Club which sounded and looked very fancy but had good prices.

Curtis got a steak and Kim got what they called Hunter’s chicken.

Our food was pretty good actually!

We ended with a brownie to share which was delicious also. Overall a successful dinner and a long day!

Bombay Club | New Orleans,LA

Rating:- 8.5/10

Home Time

We took a tram followed by a bus to get home and we were exhausted! The weather was much better today so was little warmer than expected.

We booked something for later and this week and then watched some TV.

We finished the night with some admin and then bed time.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Christchurch

Place 54 – Day 12: Christchurch – Banks Peninsula, Akaroa & Christchurch Centre

Kim & Curtis Hale

We only left the apartment around 12:00 as we caught up on sleep from being awake late last night.

By the time we left, the weather had improved and we got into the car with some scorching sun!

We drove to Banks Peninsula which is around 1.5 hours away from Christchurch, up in the mountains. Google Maps took us to the top of a mountain, but we got exquisite views from there!

We drove from here down to Akaroa. Akaroa is a small french inspired town due to its 10th century French colonisation. Most of the shops and roads have French names and it felt just like being in France!

We needed some food, so found a cafe and got a coffee and cake. The coffee was pretty disappointing, but it was what we needed.

We left here and went to a shop where we got some ham and cheese and then went to a French bakery and got a baguette.

We sat on a park bench overlooking the harbour eating baguette with ham and cheese.

We walked around for a brief moment and then strolled back to the car.

We drove all the way back to Christchurch and got back to the apartment, briefly, and then got back outside and walked the 20 minutes to the city centre.

In the centre, we walked down a nice street which had a few shops on it, called New Regent Street.

We had the tram go past us, also. It was a nice old style tram!

Walking on from here, we went to the Botanic Gardens and saw a lot of big and unique trees.

We left the botanic garden and on the way back home, we came to one of the most affected areas from the 2011 earthquake.

There are few buildings here now, but there still stands the Christ Church Cathedral, which is one of New Zealand’s top historic buildings. Unfortunely, the earthquake tore large holes into this cathedral and so it is cordened off, though it is part of a restoration project, which is estimated to take 7-10 years.

We got back home via the supermarket and fish and chips shop (to get more chips) and we had some leftover chinese for dinner.

We sat and watched some TV before hitting the hay, with a long drive planned for tomorrow.

This time last year!

Poroporoaki!

– Mr & Mrs Hale