• Food - Tea Things

    Afternoon Tea at the Bar Artefact / Auberge Saint-Antoine in Québec City, Canada

    March 9, 2024 - By 

    When I am in Québec City, Canada, again, I will strongly consider returning to the Bar Artefact in the Auberge Saint-Antoine for Afternoon Tea. Thé à l’anglaise, as they call it, is served on weekends between 1 and 3 PM. In 2024, the price per person was CA$49 (~US$36.40) if 13 or older, CA$29 (~US$21.54) if between the ages of 6 and 12 inclusive, and free if 5 or under. Reserving afternoon tea was very simple. We visited the front desk to ask for 1, they let us know they were full and could take me at 1:30, and I…

  • Travel

    Crossing by Car Between US and Canada 2024

    February 22, 2024 - By 

    I rarely cross from the US to Canada or Mexico by car, but I recently did. All I really knew was that US citizens just need their passport and that the US-Canada land crossing has a reputation for being a lot quicker than the US-Mexico land crossing. Contrary to what I expected after reading about others’ experiences, the US agent was more friendly on our way back than the Canadian agent on our way to. United States to Canada When we crossed to Canada by Champlain, NY in 2024, it was very quick. You can look ahead to see what…

  • Travel

    Auberge Saint-Antoine in Québec City, Canada, or Archaeology Right in Your Room— If You Can Find It!

    February 13, 2024 - By 

    The Auberge Saint-Antoine in Québec, Canada is a pleasant old hotel with an archeological theme. It is located close to an old alley of Québec, the Rue du Petit-Champlain, which is a lovely little street to walk down. In 2024, I got to find out for myself how comfortably placed it was. Although only a 4-star hotel, the Auberge Saint-Antoine was cleaner and in better condition than the 5-star Fairmont Le Château Frontenac. For example, there were no discarded bandages lurking by the mattress, the bathroom was not dusty anywhere, and the only dirtiness was that the bottom of the…

  • Travel

    Carnaval de Québec 2024: Effigies

    January 22, 2024 - By 

    If you attend in 2024, it is the 70th anniversary of the Carnaval de Québec, a winter festival held ! Attendance requires an effigy of Bonhomme Carnaval if you are a teen or older. For example, my 2-year-old will not need her own effigie parce que les effigies sont “obligatoire pour les 13 ans et plus”. To purchase your effigy, you visit Nos produits carnavalesques – Carnaval de Québec. The snowmen are not sold in mid summer, but sales opened up at some point before I returned to the US in November. Purchasing before January 15th, 2024, allowed for a…

  • Travel

    The High Latitudes: EWR to YUL to NRT with Air Canada

    October 8, 2023 - By 

    In 2023, I took a higher latitude route to get to Asia. I usually take direct or a transfer in California, which is around 40 degrees latitude. My route this year took me over Canada and Alaska for roughly 65 degrees latitude. After booking, I read about how one is exposed to more radiation when flying at higher latitudes. In fact, some flight attendants were convinced that they had developed cancer from these routes. I was not entirely thrilled to learn the potential radiation detail but I was not bothered enough to cancel my current ticket and buy a different…