Québec City, Canada + Quito, Ecuador
In case you missed it, we went to Philadelphia recently, and you can read all about it, and you should probably watch the recap video! *Wink, wink!* We also went to Atlantic City for another podcast conference, which means we've actually been doing a lot of traveling in real life. Head over to our Instagram to see our story highlights from each of our trips! We are heading to Atlanta next month for She Podcasts, we will be in town from the 10th-13th, so if you are in Atlanta and want to meet up, message us on any social media! We'd love to grab a drink!
Speaking of drinks, we have started a #10KSundaySocial, where we go Facebook Live and talk about a specific topic with you, all while drinking. We had our first one last week and it was so much fun! Join our group 10K Dollar Baes to get in on the fun! 9pm EST every Sunday!
Alison is obsessed with her top from Olars Ulla. She has worn it every time she's flown (okay, every day) since she was convinced by Lulu to buy it when they were on a #10KVacay in Sweden. Lulu is obsessed with her Quility weighted blanket that she got from 10K friend Jen Hegarty. Insomnia and anxiety be gone! Well, almost. This blanket is getting her much closer to remedying those ailments.
Alison is wishing for the weekender travel bag in olive from Away Travel. It has a padded 15" laptop pocket and an exterior shoe compartment. She loves the Jules Kae vegan leather shopping tote that Ash gave her from a previous Box of Style subscription box, but it's more of a day bag and she needs something she can haul all her podcasting gear in while traveling.
Lulu is wishing that she could stop losing water bottles already. She does her best to be conscious of the environment, therefore plastic water bottles is simply not an option, but she is losing money hand over fist by constantly losing her reusable water bottles. She wants a water bottle that comes with a device that connects to your phone, that beeps any time you have gone 20 ft away from your water bottle. Or she could just put one of those Tile finder tags on it. That may be cheaper than inventing a RFID chipped water bottle, just saying.
Alison is going to Québec, she states. Not sure she realizes this is a province of nearly 600,000 square miles. This was not intentional nor realized until Lulu asks if she is going to Québec or Québec City. Alison is initially dumbfounded, as Lulu ponders whether Québec is a city or if it is considered a region, as she knows Canada doesn't have states. We are looking for the word "province", ladies. Alison just looked up "Québec" to research and plan her day. Amazingly, everything she planned to do is in Québec City, with one really big exception. Keep reading. Alison actually traveling to "Québec", attempting to speak French and not knowing if she is in a city or state or region or province in real life would be entertainment GOLD.
In Québec City, Alison is staying at the Royal Suite apartment in one of the most prominent buildings in the city. She found this 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom space on Airbnb. It features a grand piano in the living area, a private terrace with a view of Louise Basin, and an included breakfast from nearby restaurant Louise Taverne. It may be 5 grand for two nights but it can sleep up to 8 people, so if you have a large group heading to Québec City, this spot would be a luxurious go-to.
After her breakfast she heads out to Parc de la Chute-Montmorency, a 83-metre-high waterfall - or 276 feet for those more inclined to the Imperial system of measurement, either by choice (no one), or by upbringing/education/not knowing any better (all Americans). She climbs up to the start point for a cable car ride, which gives you breathtaking views of the waterfall as of St. Lawrence River, Île d'Orléans, and Québec City. She also does a 300 meter - that's 984 feet - zipline over the waterfall's cove. The total for both of these activities was around $40, so totally doable if you ever visit Québec City.
Here is where we take a little jaunt to Sucrerie del a Montagne for lunch. Thing is, this is a 3.5-4 hour drive from Québec City though yes, it is still in Québec, the province. Alison doesn't realize this, but based on how much she enjoyed it, would maybe be worth the drive. Or worth the much shorter drive during a visit to Montreal, more like. They have prepared dishes ready to go, so Alison enjoys smoked maple ham, crusty bread rolls, meat pie, and pea soup. Alison says while she waits for them to prepare her meal she is going to get a pitcher of their maple-flavored white wine sangria. Of course, prepared dishes ready to go means that it would take only a few minutes to get the plate to her, but I wouldn't put it past Alison being able to down that pitcher in those few minutes. And who could blame her, thoughts of maple white wine sangria has us so happy that it is almost fall and time for such libations. Alison is feeling the maple theme - hello, she is in Canada - that she goes on a spree in the on-site shop. Maple candle, maple BBQ sauce, maple lollipops, maple lipstick, maple perfume, maple popcorn, and an obligatory bottle of maple syrup all make it into her suitcase.
We've magically returned to Québec City in time to visit the giant library at the Morrin Centre. She peruses the books in this straight-out-of-beauty and the beast- room, before sitting down to their afternoon tea. They serve traditional teas, a variety of sandwiches, and delicious teatime treats, while dressed in Victorian area costume. They teach Victorian etiquette and teatime customs to the guests. She buys out the entire teatime experience so she can enjoy it all to herself. This sounds more like something Lulu would do, maybe they had a freaky friday exchange go down while they were on one of their recent trips together?
But seriously, is this Lulu in Alison's voice, because she is heading to the Hôtel de Glace Ice Hotel. They have a Premium Deluxe Suite with a fireplace, a private hot tub and a private sauna. They also provide you with an additional room in their regular hotel, the Hotel Valcartier, so that you can store your luggage, take a shower, and escape the cold if need be (*cough, cough* ALISON). Access to an ice-skating path also comes with this package that Lulu is convinced she can do in real life at only $769 per night.
To end her day Alison found this Airbnb experience - Evening Gourmet History & Food Tour - which has been rated as #1 in Food and Drinks on TripAdvisor in Québec City. The guide takes you on a five-course French Canadian food tour, including a classic flambé prepared at your table in one of Quebec’s most famous restaurants. She bought out this experience too. And there is a great day in Québec City for you.
Alison thinks this is like the home of the founder of the diet her and Lulu are on or something, because YES, Alison is back on Keto. Lulu has been doing it ever since this video, but Alison fell off the bandwagon. She's back on the diet now, though is slightly bummed to be learning Lulu isn't going to a Keto-centric locale, but rather to the first-ever UNESCO World Heritage Site city. The hotel she is staying in is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Casa Gangotena is an old mansion on the main square. Lulu’s suite comes with stunning views and a complimentary breakfast. Score! She found the best private car service she could, and Fredi at Servi Taxi Banos has 5 stars on TripAdvisor, so she’s gonna give him a go.
Lulu bought a couple of things for her trip, after her research cautioned that she should not drink the water. The Grayl Geopress water purifier bottle is touted for its versatile use for global travel, backpacking, hiking, and survival. Survival?! Well it filters everything including microplastics. What are microplastics, you ask? According to Lulu, basically nothing is truly biodegradable, and we are all drinking a little bit of plastic everyday. But this water bottle pulls said microplastics out of the water, so you can drink safely. For a little extra purification, she also got a SteriPen, a USB-chargeable dip stick looking device that purifies a liter of water in 90 seconds when you stir with it. So she can drink water she finds literally everywhere and anywhere.
On a less environmental-doomsday-preparedness shopping kick, she picks up some souvenirs from Equal Uprise. She gets an alpaca blanket and the large "Kamsah" loft rug. All shoppped out, Lulu is going in search of the equator. According to amusingplanet.com there are two locations that say they are the location of the equator.
La Mitad del Mundo, meaning "Middle of the World", is a monument that was built to mark the first geographical determining of the equator in 1736. The real equatorial line now calculated with GPS is about 240 meters away, where the Intinan Museum is located. There is a sign there that reads “Latitude is 00’00’00”, which makes for the perfect Instagram story pic, and they have a science museum where you can see water behave based on the Coriolis Effect, balance an egg on a nail, and other such things. Conveniently you can book this driving service that takes you to La Mitad del Mundo, Intinan Museum, and Teleférico Quito, South America’s highest aerial lift, a perfect place to watch the sunset. If you aren’t able to get Fredi, that is.
It's at this point that Lulu realizes she is at the middle of the world, aka the middle of the earth. Middle Earth. If you don't see that her day is about to take an obscure and unexpected turn, then perhaps words "Tolkien" and "Hobbit" mean nothing to you. That's right. Lulu is turning this trip to South America into something better saved for a trip to New Zealand. But she loves Lord of the Rings and it is her imaginary day so she can stretch a theme if she wants. She gets a LOTR "Middle Earth" t-shirt. She adds a Frodo Baggins style coat she found on Etsy, dons a newly purchased Elvish love ring by Jens Hansen and thinks she won't stand out too much.
However, she then adds Hobbit feet to her get up. So this selfie on the equator is going to have some perplexed photobombers in the background. Now, what could make this plot twist of a trip even wilder? How about the purchase of a $5,000 cheeto that looks like Gandalf the wizard? Yep, that happens. She then proceeds to eat said cheeto for second breakfast.
For dinner she heads to Urko, a local restaurant whose seasonal menu is based on the raymi's or seasonal solstice celebrations marking each harvest. It also encompasses the vast diversity of foods from the ecological landscape of Ecuador - the coast, the Andes, the Amazon, and the Galapagos islands. All sorts of interesting produce finds its way onto the tasting menu Lulu enjoys, as well as the interesting Morocho, also called morocho dulce, a thick sweet drink made with morocho corn, milk, cinnamon, sugar and raisins. She brought it back around to the appropriate culture in the end, you guys, with a fun dose of whimsy in the middle. All in all that makes for a great 10K day!
CHECK OUT THE CHARITIES WE FOUND IN THE CITIES WE VISITED:
Fundación Tierra Nueva w/ Timmy Global Health
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