May 2017 – M's Adventures

First Plus World – Vancouver

May 25, 2017M's Adventures

I think that Vancouver is too nice for me. It’s more than first world. It’s first plus world. Clean, modern, cosmopolitan, green, environmentally friendly, and surrounded by gorgeous nature. Sure, it rains a lot. Like every day. It’s a bit pricey. But, life is good in Vancouver. Vancouver is serious about recycling (and cycling) and the traffic lights blink — even on the green — when a pedestrian is nearby. The restaurants are good, the food is good, and there’s Granville Island market. And the Caesar.

Sure, there are downsides to life in Van. It’s got fast drivers. There are shaming commercials on television to force you to recycle. Apparently the taxes can be high… but the food is good (some sort of good fish with local vegetables grown with moon beans and poetry, shown here).

Like I said. Too nice for me.

Vegan Cupcakes

May 20, 2017M's Adventures

I try not to discriminate. So when invited to a vegan’s birthday, I do my research online, mostly yelp and google, to find a place where I can buy some vegan cupcakes. This particular birthday party was northwest of Miami, so I went to a vegan bakery called Parlour, in Plantation, Florida. Those cupcakes cost $4 each. The shop is hidden in a strip mall, but it’s a cute store once you get there.

My verdict on the cupcakes was that they were dry. I was told that this is not usually the case. No fear, I still licked the frosting off them.

Feeling Good About Feeling Good – Massage in Lima

May 10, 2017April 15, 2018M's Adventures

At Masaje Miraflores you can feel good about feeling good. It’s a charity. The massage therapists are blind and this place was set up to give them training and a livelihood.

Masaje Miraflores is located at Avenida 2 de Mayo, No. 611. Telephone is 241-0555. Or 967746874. Their hours are Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sundays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The massages cost about 40 soles for an hour (or about $12).

It’s not fancy, the rooms are tiny, the operation is bare bones. If you want candles, soothing velvet bed linens, orchids, and discussions about your “well being” then this is not the place for you. But, if you want to get your muscles kneaded, and feel like good about feeling good, then this is the place.

Ten Canadian Foods

May 4, 2017May 6, 2017M's Adventures

When thinking of Canadian food, it’s hard to describe all the foods of the various first nations and immigrant groups that make up modern day Canada. Here are a few to try (some have similar counterparts “down south” in the USA).

Poutine: French fries covered in cheese curds and gravy.

The Caesar: that drink that I had fling with for a week.

Nanaimo bar: a fudge-like bar.

Bannock and Beaver tail: fried dough, a dish common in some first nations. When the dough is shaped like a beaver tail, then it’s called a beaver tail. (Timbits: donut holes from Tim Hortons, Canada’s mainstream coffee chain.)

Peameal bacon: Canadian bacon (which is ham, really. Well, the Canadians do have a history of preserving the loin by rolling in pea flour, hence the name).

Game and fish, smoked and dried: from salmon jerky to whale blubber.

Butter tarts: much like a pecan pie but with no pecans.

Montreal style bagel: a chewy, yeasty, smaller, free-form bagel.

lobster Nova Scotia lobster roll: like a New England “lobstah” roll.

Maple syrup: in candy, on pancakes, and on bacon…