Quebec City, Canada

I had a very short visit in Quebec City in September for a conference but got a chance to briefly explore the city on my spare time. This was my first time visiting Quebec City, a very beautiful city, especially the area of Vieux Quebec, which is the historical part of the city. We stayed in a Hilton on the top floor, providing us with a nice view of the city. The drive from Rochester was not fun at all. We ran into a lot of construction, got in very late, and had to order a room service, which did not disappoint.

As we walked down the Sault au Matelot street, we stopped to have dinner at Cafe Bistro Du Cap, and let me say that it was excellent! A great atmosphere, lovely waitress, and amazing food. It's one of those places that you will definitely want to visit again. I had to take a photo of the chef because he was too cute! I was sneaky and took a photo of him from the window shown below. We ordered seafood chowder, vegetable soup, fresh green salad, and desert.

Charleston, SC

We did a lot of traveling for work this summer and got to see some beautiful places. I must say that Charleston is definitely one of my favorite destinations in the U.S. I don't know where to begin. Gorgeous buildings, great atmosphere, and amazing food! This was my first time indulging on southern food as well. So, here is a long post of our adventures in Charleston, SC.

One place we dinned at was Poogan's Porch. Famous people who dined at the restaurant signed notes that were framed on the wall inside the restaurant. One funny note was from Jim Carry and Lauren Holly. They wrote: "Thanks guys. The food was great. You'll be hearing from our lawyers!" lol.

We also had lunch at Jestine's kitchen. The line was long but it went fast. Loved the shrimp and grits.

We later had lunch at Pearlz Oyster Bar. We tried some raw and steamed oysters, seafood salad, and soup. Everything was delicious!

We had the best coconut cream pie at Kaminsky's bakery. It was out of this world. One word that I would use to describe this pie is WOW! Even looking at this picture makes me want to eat the screen ;-P

We also visited Folly Beach. It was nice to go for a swim in such hot weather. Near the beach we stopped for lunch and had a seafood basket and hush puppies.

We stumbled upon this lovely restaurant called 82 Queen. The whole experience was lovely. The staff was very sweet and most importantly the food and drinks were excellent! We had She Crab Soup and an amazing salad that had mango, kiwi, shrimp, and other goodness. Thumbs up!!!

Did you know that the Charleston Tea Plantation is the only tea plantation that grows and produces tea in the North America? If you are in the area, it is a must see. They offered a wonderful tour, provided samples of the different varieties of tea produced at the facility, and had a free video tour of the processing floor. You can view their website for more information and order some tea for yourself at charlestonteaplantation.com

We ended our trip with breakfast and lunch at the Saffron Cafe and Bakery. It had a nice atmosphere and a great selection of deserts.