Interview.

Well, I had promising interview yesterday. Instead of telling you about it, I decided to draw a comic. Enjoy!

I made another comic about my eczema. My hands have been very itchy lately! It's definitely not as red and gross looking as I made it out to be in the comic, in reality it just looks like dry skin, but that's how it feels.

When it rains it pours.

"Les Chuchoteuses" (the whisperers) by Rose-Aimée Bélanger

My mom came for a visit last week, which was wonderful. It was such a nice break from reality, and she spoiled us rotten. We visited a lot of touristy places, like the delicious Schwartz's and St. Viateur bagel, and we also discovered that the best burgers on earth are at L'Amère à Boire on St. Denis.

We also walked around old Montreal, shopping and eating poutine. We saw this lovely statue by Rose-Aimée Bélanger, had some great lattes, and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

We've been really lucky, it's been warm and sunny here, a definitely plus as Adam and I don't drive. It's been warm enough for me to ride around on my cruiser, and I'm dreading the day when I have to store her for the winter.

 We had kind of a traumatic week after my mom left. Adam began having tooth pain in one of his molars, and it got to the point where he was unable to sleep or function. After going to a terrible dentist who was diagnosing him based on a price sheet without looking into his mouth at all, we decided to go to the Montreal General Hospital in the Dental department. They have students working there who are doing their practicum, so it is much more reasonably priced. They recommended that Adam either get a root canal or get his tooth pulled, and since we don't have coverage, we had to go for the latter. I felt terrible that we couldn't afford to get him the best treatment, but it was the best we could do.

I also found out that a part-time job I had decided to short-change me on my paycheque. According to my friend Chris, that isn't uncommon in Montreal. I'm obviously looking into it, and will take action to get my full earnings, but it is infuriating that I have to work so hard to get what I already worked for. With Adam's dental fiasco, and with this paycheque mishap, we're very concerned about paying our bills. (surprise, surprise)

Adam found out that he is most likely not getting time off for Christmas, so that's the icing on the cake.

When I moved to Montreal, I knew it was going to be difficult, challenging, and it would push me to step outside my comfort zone. What I didn't realize is that I wouldn't get the chance to prove myself. It is extremely competitive here for jobs, and I know that if I was given the opportunity for an interview I would impress the employer.
Unfortunately, it seems that employers here are bent on using you, the positions I really want won't give me the time of day, and once you have a bad streak of luck, it sticks to you like a parasite.

Don't Let The Darkness Eat You Up

Good news! Adam has a job. He's working at a place called Le Fromentier. It's a bakery/patisserie/cheese shop. He's making a lot of croissants, breads, and puff pastry desserts. He really likes it so far, and since it is french, he's strengthening his language skills. It's been a huge relief for us. He works Mon-Friday 11-7, so we even have weekends off together.

Since Adam is back at work, I'm at home alone all day. It's been a bit difficult for me, but I've been given a chance to be creative and to spend some time alone to reflect. Today I went for a walk in the misty rain around our neighbourhood, and had a really nice time saying goodbye to the fall. My favourite season is autumn, and we had a really beautiful one in Montreal. Everything was so colourful and vibrant. On my walk I observed that everything is now looking fairly grey and dead. I was listening to the Album Leaf, and then to Jose Gonzales, and the weather and music was really in sync with my outlook. I wasn't feeling depressed or angry or anything, but kind of realized that I've been so apathetic lately that I haven't allowed myself to feel anything at all. I've been wearing emotional armor to protect myself from job rejection, from boredom, from driving myself insane with my own thoughts. Instead of letting myself get emotionally invested in anything, I've been watching Oprah and Dr. Phil. I think it was survival instinct kicking in, preventing me from being consumed with worry over our finances and situation. I guess I was letting the darkness eat me up.

Anyway, I feel more like my old self now. I've decided that I need to keep working creatively even though I am unemployed, and I'm going to start working on a project. I've been wanting to write a book for a long time, and I have an idea for a story. Even if I don't end up finishing it, it will be good for me to start working on a project that I have complete control over. 

One song from Jose Gonzales really struck me today on my walk. I would urge you to check it out if you have a chance:

Halloween!

Halloween came and went this year with little excitement in our home. Usually we make a big deal out of it by hosting a party and dressing up. This year we didn't even dress up, and I had to work at a snooty mall for rich people where no one was dressed up at all, not even the kids!
We did go to our friend Margot's place to watch Rocky Horror and to eat some spooky treats. That was nice.
Unfortunately on the way there I was almost mugged at the Saint-Laurent metro station. A couple weeks ago a man was brutally beaten up there, and was in critical condition in the hospital afterwards. Scary. This group of young guys were hovering around outside, where I was waiting for a bus after taking the metro, and they started yelling things at me while coming towards me quickly. I started running to get inside the metro station, and they grabbed another guy who was also trying to get inside. They grabbed his coat off of his back and took it. It was very scary. I reported the incident to the metro attendant, who called the police. I hope they punish those jerks. I was so scared afterwards and will think twice about taking the bus alone at night!

I've been working at a muffin shop at a mall for weekends the past month, but I've decided I can't go back there. Working for minimum wage at a job that kills me, isn't at all in my field, and takes me an hour just to get there isn't worth it. So, I'm still on the lookout for something else...even if that means a crap job at a closer location. I've been seeing a career counselor at YES Montreal (Youth Employment Services) and he's been giving me some really good tips. I'm hoping they pay off soon. I also went to a job fair, and I think I impressed the lady at the McGill table. She said someone would be calling me soon, and we're hoping and praying this happens.

Adam has quit his job a Moishes. They wanted him to commit to at least a year, and he didn't have the heart to lie to them as he was actively looking for other work. He didn't love working there, and they didn't pay enough, so he didn't want to stay any way. We're both a bit scared that we've been here for two months and still don't have employment, and our resources are totally gone. It's a bit scary, and we're wondering if we made a huge mistake coming here. We're still trying to keep up hope, and I think things will be better once I start my French classes in January.

We're thinking we're too nice for this city. People pay you nothing and expect the world from you, and we're too nice to lie and be dishonest to employers. Adam has worked at countless restaurants for "trial runs" for free... he is sick of working and not being paid for his hard work. I'm almost wondering if employers try out new cooks on a regular basis just to have someone do the work no one else wants to do. There are certainly enough unemployed people in Montreal to exploit. How sad.

My mom is coming for a visit on Nov. 10th. I'm so excited to have her here. I know she'll be a huge encouragement, and it'll be a lot of fun.

Autumn's here

Bonjour tout mes amis!

Autumn is my favourite season, and it is so beautiful here in Montreal. The leaves are all changing colours and falling off the trees, and we've been having a lot of fun crunching the leaves as we walk through the streets. It's still nice enough to bike around, although you need mittens at night. I've been collecting red maple leaves to mail to my mom and my brother.

It turns out that Adam isn't going to be a butler/personal chef, but he is working in a restaurant making pastries. I think he's going to have a lot of freedom to come up with new recipes, so I hope he practices for me at home.


I'm still looking for work. It's a bit worrying, because I haven't really found anything in my field yet. My french isn't strong enough yet. I went to a community centre where some of my friends are taking cheap french lessons, and had an evaluation that placed me in level four. I'm glad they did evaluate me, I think I'd die if I had to start from square one. Apparently my past tense skills are good.


We went to Fairmont Bagel the other day to get ourselves a taste of Montreal. It is one of the oldest and best Montreal bagel shops, although many would say St. Viateur is better. I like Fairmont because they have the most variety, and have about a dozen different flavours, including onion, all dressed, blueberry and chocolate chip!
They were very tasty and we brought some home to put in the freezer.

This year for Thanksgiving Adam and I decided to make a roast duck instead of turkey. It was very delicious. We had our friend Theresa come over and had some wine, duck, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, salad, and a raspberry sauce Adam made instead of cranberry sauce! It was non-traditional and fun, and because we made the effort it was easier to be away from home. Our friends Margot, Rachel and Dan had a dessert potluck for all their friends away from their families on the holiday weekend as well.

They came over to learn how to make Adam's pie crust recipe a few days before, and you can see the fruits of our labour above! Adam made a peach, plum, pear pie a la Joanna Newsom (although he forgot the pear), and Margot and Rachel made mirabelle pie, pumpkin pie, raspberry cream cheese, and apple I believe. It was very good. Someone also brought gingersnaps which are my favourite.


How are the rest of you enjoying the autumn weather? Has anyone done any baking?

cuttin' onions and fashion

Why hello again,

It's a strange thing, but lately I've been having the most vivid dreams. Last night I had a dream that I was back in high school, at my current age and with a university degree, because I decided that I wasn't going to get a job in my current field and so going back to high school and taking a few calculus and physics classes was really going to help me out. Some of my high school friends were there, and I think someone stole my bike. Later, I had a dream that I was a large black woman who investigated prison conditions down South. Strange.

I invented a dance move in my sleep. A couple nights ago Adam looked over at me while I was sleeping and I had a huge grin on my face, and then suddenly my eyes opened and I had a look of glee. I told him that I was dreaming about being in a dancing competition, where I won first prize for a dance move called the onion chop/cutting onions. It involved me actually cutting onions on a cutting board with a big knife on the dance floor, crying because of the onion-eyes, and also because the dance move was so graceful. It was probably the best dream ever.

We went to a fashion show on Tuesday. It was of 6 up and coming Montreal designers. To be honest I didn't really see anything that great or revolutionary (I have my Project Runway critical eye, haha) but it was really fun to go to something like that. It's fun being in a big city where you can do stuff like that on a whim.

Tonight we're going to go see Danielson and Deerhoof. I am so excited, and have been a fan of both for a long time. Check out a Danielson vid below:

Schwartz's Smoked Meat

Heyo!

So I had a job interview today, which went well I think. I'll hear in the next few days if there is any news. Adam and I decided we wanted to go to Schwartz's to have a nice lunch and to fill up on some good ol' beef brisket. I was the first one who arrived (being in the neighbourhood due to said job interview) and I texted our friend Margot to come. I ended up sitting there for quite awhile by myself, and the server was getting a little miffed because you're not supposed to save seats there (oops!). Margot eventually showed, then her sister Rachel arrived about 10 minutes later, and then finally poor Adam--who had gotten lost--arrived.

Lunch was incredible! We ordered the smoked meat sandwich, a dill pickle (which Margot informed me was absolutely important) and a side of fries to share. The meat was so good it fell apart.

The only strange thing was that when we got our pickle plate, there were little red ants underneath it. We quickly grabbed our pickles off and passed the plate off to the waiter. Then we tried to forget it happened. If the food is that good, it's worth a little sanitation overlooking.

On the menu, there was a list of celebrities who had enjoyed their meat. It included Céline Dion, a bunch of other Quebecois, and Ken Dryden. I thought my family would like that.

Afterwards, we went to La Grande Bibliothèque (The Big Library). We got some dvds out, including the '90s highschool sitcom(?) "Square Pegs" starring Sarah Jessica Parker as a 15 year old, Twin Peaks season 2, and a documentary on band posters. We also got the debut Blonde Redhead album, George Harrison "Dark Horse, and Josh Rouse "1972". They have a three CD and DVD limit here. In Saskatoon we used to get out huge stacks of at least 20 per visit. Just another thing we miss about home!

Down and Out in Montreal

Hello everyone! I figured I should probably begin posting about our new life in Montreal.

Adam: "Say 'We're poor...The End.'"

Well, he's in a bit of a bad mood and I have a bit more to say than that! I had a job interview today for a position at McGill as a research assistant for a project. It would involve calling Canadians and conducting surveys for a major research project happening. I hope I get it. I would get 2 weeks vacation to come home at Christmas! I had to walk up a giant hill to get there, so I figure it would be great exercise too.

We've hung out with our friend Margot quite a bit, as well as Shayla and Theresa. It's nice to see some familiar faces. Adam and I spend quite a bit of time at home alone. It's been great to spend so much time together, and a good way to save money.

So far our favourite bit of Montreal has been the Jean Talon market. The food is so beautiful and there is anything you can think of. Peppers, fruit, fish, breads, pastries. C'est magnifique! I had a crème brûlée and a sandwich with brie, pear, and walnuts. Yum!

We'll let you know if anything else happens. Love and miss you all!

Back in REK

Hey gang,

So we're back in Reykjavik now after a wonderful last few days around the country. So back to the night we slept in the car... yikes! It was awful and we decided that would never happen again. We were in Northern Iceland, near the Arctic circle, and it was much too cold. In the morning, at about 7 am, we started on our journey again, away from Myvatn and toward Akureyri, which is the second largest city in the country. Along the way we saw a beautiful waterfall, although it was cold and rainy out, so we didnt stop long. We stopped shortly at Akureyri, and ended up staying for a few hours because I had to make a trip to the hospital for something minor. I am totally fine now, but am on antibiotics. Yay!

Afterwards we travelled towards our hostel in Sæberg. We stopped at some old mud huts that served as houses for the earliest Icelandic settlers. They were very spooky, and anyone with claustrophobia would have hated the lack of windows and how deep they were in the ground. They were so cool and Adam and I had fun exploring all the rooms inside. We took a lot of pictures, and you will all not believe how people used to live in these little huts.

We tried to follow a gravel road for awhile to see a colloseum that no one knows if it is man-made or natural, and the vikings used it as a fortress, as well as a weird rock formation. We got too scared in our little car and turned back, and made good time to the hostel at dinner time.

Sæberg was amazing! We stayed on a farmhouse right on the water. There were other guests who were very friendly too. Adam and I went for a walk by the ocean and had a couple of beer. We met a German man who was picking up blue mussels along the water, and we decided that would be a delicious option for supper. We collected mussels for awhile, and on the way some some beautiful shells and even a jellyfish! We were a little disappointed we didnt see any seals, but I guess we will have to save that for the next trip to Iceland.

The German man and his wife asked us if we wanted to eat supper together with them, so we combined our mussels and made a delicious soup. The man was quite outdoorsy, and was a mushroom enthusiast who liked finding them in nature. We ate some that he found and put some in the soup. I think they were just the kind you find in the store, but they were so much tastier! We were so full after our feast.

After dinner, we took a little dip in the hottub in the backyard, and watched what was left of the sun go down. We had a great sleep, as the hostel was very clean and comfortable, and Adam and I had our own room.
Today, we woke up and went to a history museum that was also on the farm, and enjoyed looking at the shark boats that were used locally and are the only ones of their kind that were left in the country. Some had been made with wooden nails! It was incredible.

We continued on to the Snæfellsness Peninsula, which is right along the ocean and was very scenic. We stopped for a walk on the ocean, and visited a waterfall and a cliff, even though it started raining and the wind was fierce. We saw the Snæfell glacier where Jules Verne s novel "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" is set. It was really cool to see, and we had a great time on the drive. We arrived back in Reykjavik a short time ago (Sunday night) after having some fried chicken and fries at a truck stop (I know, I know... we were hungry). I hated driving in the city, because they have a zillion roundabouts, but anyways we are here safe and sound. We will be going to the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa tomorrow, which we are excited about, and we would like to try some lamb stew and possibly some lobster soup by the harbour if we have time.

We will be back Tuesday night, and cant wait to see our family. Love and more love,

Adam and Anne-Marie

On the Road

Well, we don´t have much time on the computer but I have a ton to share! First off, we left Reykjavik on Wednesday, and had a wonderful day travelling around and seeing some of the sites. We visited all of Southern Iceland, seeing some beautiful landmarks like þingvellir (our new favourite word), the place where tectonic plates meet on land and the earth is being ripped apart. We also saw the original Geiser, Gullfoss (an amazing waterfall) and saw another waterfall that we were able to walk all the way around and go behind. After that, we drove past the volcano that had recently erupted this spring/summer in Iceland. I can´t wait to post the photos. That night I began to feel stomach pains, and unfortunately I was hit with the same food poisoning that had attacked Adam. It was not pretty, and we were stuck in a small hotel room in a town called Vik.

In the morning I was still feeling awful, but at least I had stopped needing to be in a bathroom (tmi, sorry). We walked down to this really cool beach with black volcanic sand. It was amazing! We also saw these rock formations that are supposedly trolls that were coming out of the water and were caught in daylight and turned into stone. We kept going and stopped at Jokur... (sp?) and saw Icebergs! Volcanic sand and Icebergs in one day! Then we kept driving and saw more waterfalls, stopped at a place for a quick hike (I was still sick) and kept driving to Hofn. We pulled into the hotel very early because I was feeling queasy again, and I went to bed at about 6 pm. Adam decided to go for a walk, and he had a really nice time walking around the small fishing community. He found a really neat hill with a cliff to sit on.

This morning when I woke up I was feeling much, much better. We set out early, at about 8 am, and drove to make up time as we had already lost one day in Reykjavik because of Adam being sick, and 1 morning and 1 evening from me being sick. We drove through some mountains, and it was absolutely beautiful. Everything was so green and mossy and little fluffy sheep peppered the countryside. We drove for awhile, stopping a couple of times, and we stopped in this beautiful little town for lunch. There were a whole bunch of kids wearing garbage bags and face paint, and I asked a guy at the gas station what was going on. Apparently they were celebrating freshie week! We kept driving and drove about an hour through a dessert in mid-northern Iceland. We arrived at Myatvn this afternoon and saw giant geothermal vents where the hot gases from the earth burst out. It was really cool looking, very prehistoric, and there was bubbling hot mud and red sand and gas shooting out everywhere! We also went into the so-called Green Lagoon--a geothermal hot spring that is similar to the Blue Lagoon but smaller and less touristy. It was so relaxing and we had a wonderful time. We just went for fish and chips at a little bistro in the town, and we´ve decided we´re going to sleep in our car tonight to save some cash. That extra night in Reykjavik didn´t come cheap as the hotel we were staying in was all out of the 'budget' rooms and we had to go first class. So, tonight we have a tiny orange car, a bunch of clothing (no blankets), a bottle of wine and a jug of vodka and we´re going to cozy up and sleep like hobos in Northern Iceland. Wish us luck!

Last sick post... I promise!

I had quite an interesting day taking care of my poor sick little Adam. I was out running errands all day, picking up gatoraide, water, and tonight, soup. I was quite worried about him all day, but needed to get out and have a hot meal. I went back to the little vegetarian restaurant that we had liked so much. It was nice to have a cooked meal, and I had a nice view up on the second floor. I was able to watch everyone walk by and check out their outfits. I was feeling really hopeless about Adam being so sick, so I thought "I need an angel. Someone to talk to about this and just someone to be nice to me." I sat in the restaurant for awhile, and felt sorry for Adam and myself and then got up and went outside. I sat on the bench for a bit, but then I smelled the sweet waffles that were being sold across the street. I walked over to buy one, and sat next to a lady, probably in her early forties, sitting on a bench. She asked me where I was from and I replied, "bawahhCanada" (breaking down and crying). She was so nice to me and I told her about Adam and how he had trouble with his teeth and now he had food poisoning. I told her his symptoms and she asked me what we had eaten for the last while. Then she told me that she was a nurse! She said it was probably the whale that got him sick, especially because that´s one of the few things we´ve eaten different from one another in the past few days. She told me about these pills you can get at the pharmacy and health food store that should help both of our stomachs while we are here because they are filled with good bacteria. The store was closed, but she wrote down the name and I promised her I would go get them tomorrow. Then she told me why she was sitting on the bench, and I noticed a table with jewelry on it. She was selling it because she had told her daughter that if she didn´t smoke or drink until she was 20 she would buy her a car. She maxed out both her cards, as her daughter´s birthday was a couple of months ago, and now she´s selling jewelry to try to pay off her cards.
When I got back to the hotel Adam was feeling a bit better. It´s been a few hours and now he´s feeling much better, though still weak. I got him some tomato soup and baguette from down the street, and I think he´s going to be just fine. My angel told me he should be just fine, although tired, tomorrow. So we will continue our journey then.
Moral of the story: whale hunting is immoral!

Things about Iceland

I figured since Adam is sick I would make a blog post about some things we´ve noticed about Iceland:

- There are no laundromats in Reykjavik. There is supposed to be one at the backpacker hostel down the street, but it is still being built. Most hotels have laundry services, except ours of course. I had to bring our clothes to a drycleaner´s.
- There are no phonebooths here. It´s hard to make international calls. I had to (very expensively I´m sure) call the insurance people and home on our hotel phone. I think everyone has cellphones here. You can rent them at the backpacker hostel.
- People eat dinner here really late. We´re used to eating supper around 6 or so, but here you go out to restaurants around 8 or 9. Weird.
- Drink prices change drastically depending on where you are. The Beatles bar where we go cost 6,000 kr ( about 5.75 or so each) per pint. Other bars charge up to 8,000 kr (7.75 ish). Even for the same beer!
- People in Reykjavik are sort of standoffish during the day. People are polite enough but you don´t get into conversations with strangers unless you are sharing a hottub or are getting coffee from them or something. People don´t smile at each other on the street. It´s a totally different story at night though. People are super friendly. I have noticed quite a few belligerent drunks though quite late at night. I think because we are right in the heart of downtown and people who are there late at night are there to party. People are constantly breaking bottles and you have to watch out for broken glass on the cobblestone streets when you are out walking.
- The people here are incredibly stylish. Everyone looks like a million bucks and it is really obvious who the tourists are. There are people who are really metro-looking who are in boots, skinny jeans and fabulous wraps and dresses, then you get the metro-men who have silly haircuts and who are dressed in designer duds, then you get the guys and gals with the converse shoes (which are everywhere) and more indie-looking. Finally, you have the tourists who always have backpacks on and carry cameras. The tourists are always over-dressed too, wearing hiking boots and outdoor hiking clothes to go out to get coffee or to go for a walk. I´m not going to lie, we definitely keep our camera and backpack close by, but the extreme weather jackets and hiking boots in the city are so ridiculous!
- Icelandic people are very proud of their music. They are super proud of Jonsi and Sigur Ros and it´s fun to talk to them about music. 
- British TV sucks. Adam and I have been stuck in the hotel room a bit lately (with his teeth yesterday and with him not feeling well and all), and all that they show is the X-factor and terrible reality shows. We only have a couple English channels, but there is seriously nothing good on. We actually got excited when Friends came on yesterday. How sad.

That´s it for today, I´m sure there will be more to come!

Another day in Reykjavik

We were supposed to leave to tour the country today, but unfortunately we have hit another road block. Adam is sick. We think he probably has food poisoning from the sketchy pasta we made last night. So we re-booked everything for tomorrow and we are hoping for the best. Please keep Adam in your thoughts!

Last night

Hello all,
Tonight is our last night in Reykjavik. Last night we went to a restaurant for our whale and puffin experience. I ordered the puffin, which was smokey, duck-like and very delicious. It didn´t resemble any other kind of bird I´ve had before. It was kind of gamey--like venison. Adam had the whale. It was also good, and was really juicy. It wasnt as good as the puffin though, because it was pretty tough. Adam was a little disappointed but I can´t wait to show you all photos and explain more in person.
During dinner Adam chipped a tooth. We spent the whole night calling the insurance people and trying to find a dentist. Eventually a guy at the front desk at our hotel helped us out and recommended his own dentist. He was really nice and Adam ended up getting a filling. Icelandic dentists are awesome and very friendly! We´re sad we can´t bring him home with us.
Today we walked around with a water bottle filled with vodka and cranberry juice and took photos of the water, rocks, and a statue of a viking ship. It was a really nice experience, and Adam and I listened to Sigur Ros on our headphones. I bought a CD of an up-and-coming Reykjavik band, Rokkuro (sp?) and it´s just as amazing as when we saw them live at Culture night.
We went to the Beatles´themed bar again and had a really good time. Tomorrow we leave for our cross-country trip. Will post more later!

Square Review

Okay, so here is my rant on the dinner experience at Square.
We got all dressed up, i wore my suit and AM was wearing her beautiful wedding reception cocktail dress.
We made a res for 8 pm which apparently is quite ridiculously early here. We were seated along the edge of the restaurant on a bench. The view was beautiful with giant windows and the decor was great! A bit awkward though since we were the only ones there. After looking briefly at the drink menu and realizing that the cocktails were almost $18 Can.we were finally moved to our table in the very back corner of the rest.
We asked for the dinner menu and the host told us that we could either choose from a 3 course menu or 5. (which is fine) but his description of the 3 course was very brief and inaccurate...we  got it anyways. Since booze was expensive we just had one drink to start each and a glass of wine with our main that didnt even come!
People finally started coming in and we actually got 4 courses not 3.
The 1st course was a scallop mousse sauce thing with some roasted parsnips...decent. We enjoyed it. Next was more scallops with the same sauce and an asparagus gelee...a few sprigs of greens...also some crazy crunchy garnish. Our main course was beef and a bernaise sauce, daupinoise-like potato roasted veg and again...the same sauce. Good...but they used that same sauce in all of the dishes so in a way it all tasted the same. We really needed water since our wine never came. We told another server and she seemed angry that we werent happy. Dessert came which was a BROWNIE with strawberry foam, fruit leather, and mint ice cream. We thought it was awful, the brownie tasted very weird (AM didnt even finish hers.)
On top of all this there was a table of about 16 guys right beside us that were being extremely loud, obnoxious, and inappropriate! They were doing an insane amount of shots, taking off their shirts, and making rude comments about the food. Completely ruined our nice evening we had had planned for ourselves.
We took pictures of our food...it DID look very nice...but unfortunately the slow service and possibly a bit of a language barrier resulted in a bad experience.
The End

Culture Fright Night

Adam and I are sitting in a cybercafe close to our hotel. On Friday night we decided to go out dancing. Unfortunately it took us awhile to find any place good. Icelanders don´t get the party started until about 2 or 3 am, and Adam and I are already old farts who are in bed by then. We went to a few clubs, and Adam was getting grumpy because he was wearing his red dancing shoes and everything. We finally found this really cool bar with several levels called Dillon. It was sort of like the Yard and Flagon in Saskatoon, but was more dark and more attic like. We walked up a few flights of steep stairs and got to a top level that was really neat and cozy. Afterwards we went next door to a trendy club called Boston. It had a live DJ and tonnes of people dancing. The music was awesome and the DJ played everything we like...interesting that it was called the 'hipster hangout´ in the guidebook...how embarassing!

Yesterday was culture night in Reykjavik, a day when most Icelanders come to the capital to celebrate the city´s birthday. We discovered this really cool band that was playing on the street called Rökkurró. Everything smelled like cotton candy all day, and it was so fun walking around, seeing all of the fashionistas. Adam and I made sure to take a lot of photos, which we´ve decided we will post when we get home, after we subject our families to a slide show.

We had lunch at a little vegetarian restaurant called A næstu grôsum that reminded Adam of the Aberfeldy song "Vegetarian Restaurant". It looked just like the restaurant in the song--it was upstairs and painted a bright yellow. There were flowers hanging from the light fixtures and the food was spectacular. The owner was very funny and nice, I think she may have been British or at least have lived somewhere English for awhile. We had the special--stuffed eggplant, chickpea and tomato warm salad, cucumber and avocado salad, spinach salad, and bread and hummus. It was delish! We had dessert at the bookstore next door to our hotel, it was caramelly, chocolately, and delish!

In the afternoon we walked around the harbour and had fresh mussels by the pier. I had a nice fruity white wine that went really well with it, and Adam had Polar Bear beer. It was so windy by the water, but the mussels were the best we´ve ever had. We bought a few souvenirs for family at home, and I bought this beautiful Tshirt dress with a graphic of the recent volcano eruption. The cashier said it was E-label, and said it "is very popular in...how-do-you-say...Hollywood stars. Rihanna wears." Adam is making fun of me now, calling me Rihanne and Rihannamarie.

In the evening we went to Orange, which is apparently now called Square. We went to celebrate our one-week anniversary of getting married. It was terrible. Adam wants to write a separate post about it, so look up.

In the evening we were feeling overwhelmed by the crowds so we decided to spend some time alone in the hotel room. We heard some booms around midnight, and ran outside to see the fireworks. They were at the harbour and were beautiful.

ICELAND!

We´ve safely arrived in Reykjavik, and so far everything has been wonderful! Our apartment, Room with a View, is lovely and Adam and I were quick to fill it up with some delicious food and Icelandic beer. There are a few things to note: everything is "Paprika" flavoured, which is actually red pepper. Apparently paprika is red pepper in Icelandic? The beer is also not as expensive as we thought it was going to be. It is actually cheaper here than it is in Canada. We are enjoying trying out different kinds, I have fallen in love with Viking, and Adam loves Thule.

The first day we went for lunch at a Scandinavian restaurant. I had the seafood salad, which was divine! It had fish, shrimp, caviar, and smoked salmon and it was all so fresh. Adam had the cod gratin, which was buttery and delicious too. I dont know if we are being rude or not, but I do not think you are supposed to tip here. We have been kinda sorta anyway--I just feel like a rude tourist otherwise.

In the afternoon we went for a walk. We walked to the water and saw the mountain across the gulf. It was beautiful! We walked around, bought me some walking shoes because I forgot mine at home (ugh. idiot.), bought groceries, and then took a nap at home. The time is 6 hours ahead here, so it took us awhile to get synchronized. We went in our hottub on the roof of the building, and Room with a View certainly deserves the name. It was gorgeous, and we had the whole landing to ourselves.

In the evening, we went to a Beatles themed bar called Ob la di ob la da. It had Beatles posters everywhere, and there were playing their music. It had an older crowd, but we quickly made friends with some locals who kept reminding us that they could be our parents. They were really sweet, and bought us a round of drinks and some champagne to toast us for getting married. They were very helpful and wrote down the names of some restaurants and pools "where the real locals go".

Today we had breakfast in the hotel, which actually takes place in the bookstore cafe next door. It was an awesome spread, and the coffee is great here. Icelanders take their coffee seriously--you always have several kinds of raw sugar to choose from, and you get a chocolate with every coffee. They also had shaved chocolate that you can sprinkle on top.
In the afternoon we bought our first Icelandic sweaters and Adam got a really awesome hat that I am going to make him share with me. It is all furry and warm. We walked down to the harbour and ate at the famed Icelandic Fish and Chips--an organic place with the best fish and chips you can imagine. You pick a fish, which is battered in spelt, and then a skyronnaise (Skyr is sort of like Icelandic yogurt, but it is so creamy and way better), then you pick a side. We both picked the garlic potatoes, which had fresh herbs and coarse salt. Amazing!

We walked around the pier afterwards, and took many pictures which I will post when I get home. WE LOVE OUR CAMERA, thanks Hickey kids! We had a coffee this afternoon from a shop that won #2 in the world barista championship. Yum! Tonight we are going to go in the hottub again, it is cold and chilly today, and the wind will feel so nice. We are going to go to Vormagot (sp?) a bar across the street from us. There are a ton of hipster bars in the area, so I am sure we will be out late.

Tomorrow we will probably go to a geothermal pool. I have been dying to go to one. It is also culture day, so we will be wandering around the city, exploring art galleries and shops. There is a Seabear concert we are planning to see. We love and miss you all!

Waiting

Well, I decided to start a new blog with my soon-to-be last name. Stay tuned in August for news about our wedding and honeymoon to Iceland, and in September for our move to Montreal.