A SLICE OF PARADISE RIGHT HERE IN CANADA - OSOYOOS, BC

View from Painted Rock Winery Tasting Room

It’s kind of crazy for my millennial mind to get around the notion that travelling to faraway places has never been as easy as it is today. As a Canadian my ability to get up and go to another country without restriction is a luxury I fully take for granted. To give you some perspective 36% of American’s hold a valid passport whereas 60% of Canadians have valid passports, making us one of the most well-travelled nations in the world! That said, it has become common place for Canadians to choose to travel abroad instead of visiting beautiful places right on home soil! Crazy right!?

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35 WEEK BUMPDATE! 🤰🏼 Entering the final stretch of my pregnancy and I’m beginning to slow down 😅 Hormones are raging, feet are swollen, daily naps are a must and my need to nest is in full force. Luckily we are almost done the basement un
🍋 Our last trip to Italy together vs our first trip to Italy together 🇮🇹 It might be the pregnancy hormones but I’m feeling very sentimental today and I cant believe it’s already been more than seven months since we tied the knot. Tu

PLAY: THINGS TO DO IN OSOYOOS

Thankfully I’m here to tell you about a slice of paradise right here at home called Osoyoos, British Columbia. This magical place in my opinion is one of the most underrated destinations for everyone outside of BC. Osoyoos is located 5km from the US border in the interior of beautiful British Columbia and is not only one of the warmest places in Canada, but smack in the middle of BC’s wine country. I was lucky enough to visit this beautiful Okanagan gem last Easter and had the time of my life attending the Osoyoos Oyster Festival, a yearly event to kick off their summer season.

Adding this destination to your bucket list is a must and I’m going to tell you why! Osoyoos has something for everyone. Do you like the outdoors? Cycling, biking, hiking, golfing, horseback riding, wake boarding, water skiing, fishing, boating, skiing, snowboarding, outdoor fitness classes - they have it all. People from British Columbia are some of the most outdoorsy Canadians I have ever met and they have tons of activities to get you out of your resort and into the sunshine where you can enjoy some of the most majestic views of the Okanagan Valley.

On the flip side to its many outdoorsy activities Osoyoos offers so many ways to relax. Their sandy beach, restaurants and wineries are perfect for those who want to spend the day taking it slow and sipping some great BC wines. It’s actually pretty common for people living in the area to spend their days off in the summer slowly drifting down the Okanagan River Channel (located in nearby Penticton) in a tube with a bunch of friends and a cooler full of cold drinks. Now doesn’t that sound like a great way to spend a weekend?!

EAT/DRINK: RESTAURANTS AND WINERIES IN OSOYOOS

One of the biggest draws to visiting Osoyoos is their sprawling fruit orchards and of course their wineries. The Oliver-Osoyoos Winery Association has 39 member wineries and in addition to the wineries in Osoyoos, there are also cideries and distilleries in the area. Exploring some wineries while in Osoyoos is a MUST and can easily be done thanks to organized wine tours like Heatstroke Cycles’ electric bike “Golden Mile Wine Country Tour”. This 4-5 hour leisurely tour takes you to some of the best wineries in the area where you can try some award winning wines. If you are like me and love wine make sure to grab an Oliver Osoyoos Winery Passport before starting your tour so you can collect stamps from each winery to possibly win a case of wine!

With great wine comes great food and restaurants in Osoyoos know how to serve up some great fare. One of my favorite restaurants in Oliver is Miradoro restaurant at Tinhorn Creek Vineyards. This restaurant not only offers great views of the South Okanagan Valley but also mouthwatering dishes. Last time I was there during the Osoyoos Oyster Festival I had the best gnocchi ever! It had Oyster foam with an herb and seaweed sauce - so creative and delicious I would honestly go back just for that. If you are a foodie I definitely recommend making a reservation at Miradoro and trying out some of the great restaurants in the region.

WANT TO SEE MORE OF CANADA? CHECK OUT THESE OTHER TRAVEL GUIDES!

With over 28 festivals happening throughout the year in Osoyoos there is always something to do. The last two years in a row I have travelled to Osoyoos to attend the Osoyoos Oyster Festival. In terms of variety and bang-for-your-buck two of my favourite events from the Oyster Festival include Walnut Beach Resorts ‘Deep Sea Garden Party’ and the ‘Art of The Pearl Gala’ at Spirit Ridge Resort! Both events offer a huge selection of food vendors, wineries and of course oysters! Shout out to Codfathers Seafood Market for supplying the festival with amazing East and West coast oysters from some of the best farms in Canada. The Walnut Beach Garden party is a fun daytime event that other than the ‘Art of the Pearl Gala’ seems to have the most food and wine vendors along with a good flow of oysters. I’m not someone who likes to wait in long lines so this was a huge plus for me. The ‘Art of the Pearl Gala’ at Spirit Ridge Resort is the big finale event for the Oyster Festival and manyrestaurants in the region participate and go all out creating some pretty crazy and unique dishes for this special event. If you were to go to one event during the Oyster festival the gala at Spirit Ridge would be it! I was so impressed with how many restaurants and wineries participated in the gala, you could spend hours going from station to station tasting and sipping all the delectable offerings. It also had a very good flow so you never had to wait long for food and the supply of oysters seemed endless - which as a foodie is exactly what I wanted!

STAY: OSOYOOS HOTELS, TRANSPORTATION, AND PLACES TO STAY

Traveling to Osoyoos has never been easier thanks to Air Canada and West Jet flying into both Kelowna and Penticton airports. I flew direct out of Toronto and landed in Kelowna BC 4.5 hours later. I like to be mobile so renting a car was the easiest solution for me, but a shuttle service is available from the Kelowna airport thanks to Let’s Go Transportation. The drive from Kelowna to Osoyoos is about 2 hours and it is one of the most beautiful drives I have ever done. The drive from Penticton to Osoyoos is approximately 1 hour. When it comes to Osoyoos hotels and places to stay, there are a variety of accommodation choices to fit anyone’s budget. From the beautiful and luxurious Watermark Beach Resort to the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites to local camping sites it’s easy to find a place to rest your head that also fits your budget. Whatever your lifestyle it’s about time you start thinking about heading out west and exploring this beautiful country we live in.

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MONTREAL EN LUMIERE

Montreal has always been a city that had to be different from its other Canadian counterparts. If Montreal had a voice it would say, “show me your best and I’ll make it 10 times better!” and they do. Don’t get me wrong – there is no competition going on here but rather a touch of savoir-faire only a Montrealer can add to an outfit, an event, or even a lifestyle; and when it comes to Montreal’s 375 Anniversary you know they are throwing around their savoir fair like it’s pixie dust!

Evolutions by Yann Nguema, EZ3kiel - Lyon, France

This year Montreal went all out for their 18th edition of Montréal En Lumière. With over three weeks of festivities 1.4 Million people descended upon the city to partake in special cooking events, attend musical performances, explore the art instillations that adorn the city and of course stay up all night to enjoy Nuit Blanche! With over 200 activities on Nuit Blanche alone there is no way you were going to run out of things to do.

For this year’s edition of Montreal en Lumiere, Lyon, France (nicknamed the world capital of gastronomy) was the featured city and with it came their regional flare on French cooking! With over 29 guest chefs participating in 44 gourmet cooking events Montrealers and tourist alike came out in hordes to feast like kings at these unique tastings. For those who were unable to attend one of these special cooking events there were also 240 other food related activities going on throughout the three week long festival, some even free!

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35 WEEK BUMPDATE! 🤰🏼 Entering the final stretch of my pregnancy and I’m beginning to slow down 😅 Hormones are raging, feet are swollen, daily naps are a must and my need to nest is in full force. Luckily we are almost done the basement un
🍋 Our last trip to Italy together vs our first trip to Italy together 🇮🇹 It might be the pregnancy hormones but I’m feeling very sentimental today and I cant believe it’s already been more than seven months since we tied the knot. Tu

 Some of the food related events I was able to attend included Le Bouchon Lyonnais at Balmoral where the restaurant was transformed into a traditional Lyonnais bistro to serve up incredibly tasty customary dishes that made you feel like you were transported in space to the capital of French gastronomy. Guest Chef Joseph Viola’s menu consisted of French specialties like ‘Le Pate en croute au fois gras de canard (pastry encased pate of duck foie gras and sweetbread) – a dish that takes approximately three days to make and won him a championship award in 2009! I also had to try the beef sirloin steak, flambéed with cognac and doused in a black peppercorn sauce (highly recommended by my waiter and happy that he did). This dish was quiet generous and was accompanied by thinly sliced fried potato’s, string beans and my very own side of mac and cheese!

The second food related event I was able to attend included a tasting at Montreal’s Ikanos restaurant where guest chef Neil Jewell teamed up with restaurant patriarch Constant Mentzas to develop a unique seafood menu just for the festival. Ikanos restaurant located in the Old Port of Montreal is housed within a brilliantly renovated and decorated old warehouse building. The ambiance alone would make me want to sit at the bar all evening eating and drinking. For a pre dinner palate cleanser I tried an item off their cocktail menu called ‘It's Spritz thyme!’ and as an appetizer I had their cured snapper with mountain tea gel, grapes, radish, horseradish and, lemon balm. My second dish was the samos and miso roasted black cod with turnips, porcini mushrooms and, mushroom flavored dashi. This dish was definitely my favourite! To add a little carb to my meal I also had the Saffron-butter poached lobster, chorizo, fennel, and orange tortellini in a bouillabaisse broth, rouille. Is it just me or was the red carpet rolled out for this special Montreal en Lumiere collaboration?!

Ikanos Restaurant - 112 Rue Mc Gill, 514-842-0867

Nuit Blanch, a one night event full of art instillations, music and drinking, attracts 350,000 (let’s say between 300,00 and 350,000) to the streets of Montreal alone. On Nuit Blanch you could have found me in Montreal’s underground exploring 77 different projects and exhibitions from various contemporary artist. Each exhibition or project varied from interactive instillations, video exhibits, special enactments and performances to photography and sculptures. With hours of entertainment you could spend all night running around Montréal’s underground while also benefiting from free shuttles to different neighborhoods, extended Metro service and last call hours!

As part of Montreal’s 375th anniversary Montreal en Lumiere also added Illuminart to this year’s event schedule. With over 25 works that fuse art, lighting and technology, these instillations were a must see! The urban installation spread over 3.6 km surrounding the heart of the festival, Quartier des spectacles. I ran around to discover some of the best pieces to show you below! Many of the artists that participated in Illuminart were actually from Lyon, which not so coincidently holds a big festival of lights annually that historically dates back to the 1700s called La Fête des Lumières de Lyon!

It doesn’t end there though! This year at Montreal en Lumiere came an eclectic assortment of musical acts ranging from DJ’s to Francophone to Jazz and Blues musicians. Even Vancouver’s own indie band Mother Mother and rock band The Tea Party performed during the festival. Needless to say there were plenty of shows to choose from, the hardest part being more about which ones to attend.

To say that Montreal en Lumiere surpassed my expectation would be a massive understatement. They pulled out all the bells and whistles this year and pretty much threw a three week long party! Even as a non French speaker I found it very easy to navigate through the festival activities and city. With lots of fun events both outdoors and in, taking your loved one, friends or even family will end up leaving you asking yourself why you hadn’t done this sooner

If you have any questions about the festival I encourage you to visit the Montreal en Lumiere website by clicking -> HERE

To see how else Montreal is celebrating their 375 Anniversary click -> HERE

Have you read my article about the newest boutique hotel in Montreal? You can now! Click -> HERE

If you have any questions you would like to ask me feel free to leave them in the comment section below!