Hey everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and happy holidays!! I went to Canada as usual, and spent Christmas with my family. Prior to the actual day, I celebrated with my friends on a couple different occasions already. Having several Christmas celebrations is really fun because spreading out the whole gift giving and receiving makes Christmas feel like it’s lasting longer. How was your Christmas?
If you follow me on Instagram (haha shameless plug yet again!), you will know I baked a ton of goodies for the holidays! Specifically gluten free goodies. Because gluten-free is the best way to go. I literally stayed up several nights in a row to finish baking, and making food. I made white chocolate fudge bites, snickerdoodle cookie pops, chocolate dipped sugar cookies with crushed peppermint, peanut butter cookie truffles, and flourless chewy chocolate cookies. That last gluten free dessert I’ve posted before on my blog! Check out that recipe if you haven’t yet! It’s super easy to make, and definitely a huge hit for all chocolate and sweets lovers!
I also made an apple crumble, which I made for Thanksgiving as well. And a huge quantity of macaroni and cheese. Doesn’t really sound like your typical Christmas feast, but hey it tasted damn good and that’s what counts! It was a huge hit as well. Most people I know associate mac and cheese with the artificially cheesy boxed Kraft mac and cheese, and generally don’t like it. But once they’ve tasted real authentic from-scratch mac and cheese, everything changes. What did you eat for Christmas, or for your holiday feast?
Anyways, as I have mentioned a billion of times before, I am finally finishing up the travel posts I’ve been doing since September. Literally a trip I took back in September I am still talking about now. Am I the champion of prolonging or what? In my defense, there was so much we did, and many places we went to it couldn’t have fit all in one post. If you haven’t read the previous posts yet, check them out here!
Our last couple stops for this cruise was to Bar Harbor in Maine, and then Boston. Boston really wasn’t much because it was our departure day. We only had a brief couple hours there so I mostly have only pictures to show of it. Maine, on the other hand, was really nice!
After days of dreary grey skies, our previous stop in Saint John was a nice change of pace. Maine also satisfied our desire for sunny days too. We stopped at Bar Harbor, a small town by the shore known for their abundance of recreational activities perfect for nature lovers. As someone who prefers admiring Mother Nature from afar, I chose to peruse the many shops and stroll the streets instead of joining in on the hikes or boating activities.
I’ve never been to Maine, but I’ve always heard rumors that Maine has amazing lobster. I had to give that a try for myself to see if it was true. After days of fancy-ish and complicated cruise food, good ol’ buttery lobster sounded even more enticing. That lobster lunch I had there was so delicious! Rumors are definitely true. There were so many restaurants that offered lobster rolls and other lobster dishes, it was difficult to choose which to try out. We settled on one that was a farther walk from the port that wasn’t as crowded as the others. This allowed us to walk around and see a bit of the town before eating.
Because literally every restaurant advertised lobster rolls, we had to order one to try out. We also ordered a full lobster to share amongst the four of us, and another order of fish and chips. All three orders came with a side of fries. As a gluten-free eater, I luckily could eat the lobster and fries.
The lobster was SO GOOD! It was perfectly juicy and tender, and the buttery goodness was just so divine. Though it was unsettling to see the lobster being torn apart and dismantled. I have this thing where I get really nauseous when I see meat on a bone, or in a shell. I can’t look at meat or seafood intact and whole like that. Seriously sometimes I consider being vegetarian because of that uneasiness.
We also ordered blueberry soda, which apparently is a thing. I normally don’t go for drinks when I eat out and just keep with my ice water, but the blueberry soda on the menu really sounded interesting. I’m so glad I went with that because it tasted really good.
After lunch, we walked the streets some more. I passed by this one boutique called Birch Moon with unique handmade jewelry. One silver ring with a simple design really caught my eye. I considered it for a while, went to other stores, returned to admire the ring again, walked around other stores, and doubled back and finally bought it. I literally went back a couple times before deciding that I just had to buy the ring. It fit me perfectly, and just looked so nice.
Because of the sunny warm weather, we decided to get some ice cream after lunch. An ice cream shop down the street had a huge variety of flavors to boast. I kept letting people order ahead of me because I took so long deciding. I am very indecisive when there are a ton of choices. Give me more options and I just get overwhelmed. I finally decided to try out this ice cream with chocolate, Kahlua, Grand Marnier, and Bailey’s. I don’t actually know if there was any alcohol in it though…
The last day on a trip always ends up being quite sad. Vacation draws to an end and reality looms imminently ahead. On our last night, we didn’t watch any shows but retired to our rooms earlier to pack and get ready for an early start the following day.
Whenever I leave a place, whether it be a hotel or a stateroom on a cruise, I like to take all the complementary goodies like the shampoos, lotions, soaps and notepad. I have a whole collection of complementary loot I’ve gotten over the years. It’s a fun way to remember the places I’ve been to because of the variety in my collection.
Our ship traveled from Maine to Boston on that last day. It was a 7 day cruise one way, and 14 days total to return to Quebec. We had an early afternoon flight home so we got a short tour of the city before heading to the airport. I’ve never been to Boston, so it was nice to see a bit of the city. Though we didn’t have a ton of time to walk around and sightsee.
I managed to get some photos of the crowded narrow streets, and the beautiful architecture. Literally every tall building I saw I would say “Look it’s the Tipton Hotel!”, in reference to the hotel from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, a TV show my friends and I watched when we were young. Do you remember that show?
I definitely plan on returning to the East Coast soon to see more and do more. Cruises are so much fun. I wish I had more time for vacations and traveling. School breaks are much too short.
The end of the year is fast approaching. 2016 has been one heck of a ride. So much has happened, and it’s definitely been a memorable (in both positive and negative manners) year. I honestly don’t know what to expect for the upcoming year. Have you made a New Years Resolutions list yet?
Comment down below what you did for the holidays this year! Where do you plan on traveling to, or hope to travel to this upcoming year? Where have you traveled to that has been your favorite yet? Lemme know in the comments!
Also don’t forget to comment down below what kinds of foods you’ve eaten/made this year for the holidays!
I hope you are all having a wonderful holidays with friends and family! Thanks for stopping by! I know I’ve prolonged this travel series for an incredibly long time. So thank you for sticking with me. And even if you’re silently judging me, I still hope you enjoyed the post and the pictures.
I wish you all a wonderful day!
Til next time,
~A
