Travel | Montreal Moments

Yesterday I had brunch w/ Montreal Tourism at The Richmond. They were in town promoting all the wonderful events that happen in their great city over the next few months. I was treated to Montreal’s mouthwatering cuisine, charming joie de vivre, and a look into fall and winter adventures. Tourism partners and chefs included Guillaume Cantin from Les 400 Coups, Sophie Ouellet from EVO and Christian Faure from Maison Christian Faure along with Via Rail, Igloofest, Montréal en Lumière, Quartier des Spectacles, Phi Centre, The Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, McCord Museum and Grévin Montréal. Earlier this month I was in Montreal to get a look at MTL à TABLE, their food festival starting October 30th. Three Ontario blogs were matched with three Montreal blogs then paired with a Chef to get a behind the scenes look at what goes into making their MTL à TABLE menu. A photo posted by CASIE STEWART (@casiestewart) on Oct 10, 2014 at 3:42pm PDT A photo posted by CASIE STEWART (@casiestewart) on Oct 10, 2014 at 6:12am PDT The group included tour included myself, Amanda Cosco (Girl About Toronto), Taylor Stinson and Natalie Sehgal (Girls on Bloor) from Ontario and Jason Lee (Shut Up and Eat), Adnan Albakri (514 eats), and Na’eem Adam (Mechant Mangeur) from Montreal. Check out this vid Amanda, Girl About Toronto, made of her experience. Read about my trip to a farm and fromagerie w/ Chef Jason Nelson here. For more info about what’s happening in and around Montreal visit their blog at tourisme-montreal.org. To learn about MTL à TABLE  and participating restaurants tourisme-montreal.org/mtlatable. BON WEEKEND! <3 CASIE

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#LoveThisCity: Priceless Toronto w/ @MasterCardCA

To celebrate summer and help people in TO experience more of what our great city has to offer, Priceless Toronto is offering MasterCard holders a whole pile of awesome offers and discounts.  I took them up on on offer to see a show at Mirvish AND visit the Science of Rock n’ Roll at the Ontario Science Centre. Let me tell you, after seeing to Return to Grace, my love for Elvis has grown by about a million. I’ve always loved him and we used to listen to his music at my house as a kid. The show chronicled the life and times of Elvis Presley and the role of Elvis was played by Steve Michaels, a Toronto born Elvis impersonator who is one of the world’s best. The show finished with my fav Elvis of all, the 1973 concert Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii. It was like I was seeing the king himself, I swooned and sang along till the curtain closed. I also became obsessed with being this Elvis for Halloween for the next 24hours. Seeing a theatre show at Mirvish carries an element of elegance for me. I remember Dad taking us to see ‘Crazy for You’ when I was little. We got dressed up and had snacks at intermission. I highly recommend checking out Toronto’s vast array of musicals that roll through the city. Make sure you check out offers from MasterCard here before ordering tickets. There’s a ton of offers for you to eat, play, shop and stay at some of Toronto’s greatest attractions including The Ritz Carlton, Canada’s Wonderland, Toronto Zoo, CN Tower, Royal Ontario Museum, Legoland, Ontario Science Centre, Harbourfront Centre and more. My second adventure was to check out The Science of Rock n’ Roll at The Ontario Science Centre. Sean, Emily, and I played drums, guitar, and hit the mic…

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Paris Haute Couture AW 14/15 – Chanel, Armani, Dior

Fashion lovers, here’s a peek at runway shows this week from Paris Haute Couture.  Featured here are Chanel, Armani, and Dior. I know you don’t wanna think about FW 14/15 yet but it’s really not that far away. All videos and content from Rightster fashion portal. Enjoy! CHANEL- HAUTE COUTURE AUTUMN/ WINTER 2014/15 COLLECTION Within the walls of the Grand Palais, Karl Lagerfeld pays tribute to Le Corbusier with concrete embroideries and lace imprisoned inside silicone for ceremonial overcoats and dresses… GIORGIO ARMANI PRIVÉ- HAUTE COUTURE AUTUMN/ WINTER 2014/15 COLLECTION A black and red collection at Giorgio Armani Privé. Giorgio Armani has his own customs in Paris. He showcases his Haute Couture at the Palais de Tokyo, a collection that is opened with a range of small pea jackets and shorts in patterned fabrics with a quilted effect CHRISTIAN DIOR -HAUTE COUTURE COLLECTION AUTUMN/ WINTER 2014/15 Raf Simons is inspired by the past in order to create the future in his latest haute couture autumn/winter 2014/15 collection for Christian Dior.In the gardens of the Musée Rodin, a wall of orchids make up the floral setting for the autumn-winter 2014/15 Christian Dior haute couture collection. The long haired models, with gold or silver eyeliner to subtly accentuate their eyes, arrive in groups into the circular space through several doors. Any favs? Things you love, don’t love? LMK in the comments! <3 CASIE

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Move Over Martha, There’s a New Stewart in Town

Woke up and had coffee in the hot tub. Fleece and bathing suit is one of my fav outfits. New flamingo bikini from Victoria’s Secret. I’m getting really good at ordering things online. Got a new gardening set from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. “Cray” print was the most complex and expensive design produced in 1884. The famous chintz design is by William Mossis and took 34 printing blocks to make the complex pattern. Found it at Winners! Hoping to have a beautiful garden soon. It’s so great out today. Wear sunscreen! CASIE

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Boston Bound with Travel Savings from CAA

Last weekend I booked a trip with Sean to visit some friends next month in Boston. I go there about twice a year for a mini vacation. He’s never been to ‘beantown’ so I’m pretty excited to show him around the gorgeous city. Mum is always first to remind me about the importance of travel insurance and for this trip I was able to purchase it online through CAA using my new CAA membership. As I was checking out all the life-side assistance benefits from CAA I was happy to find out I can save money on a Boston CityPASS. The CityPASS allows you to check out some of the greatest attractions in the city at a discounted price.It’s valid 9 days from day of first use and you get to skip most ticket lines with your CityPASS in hand. You know I hate waiting in lines! CityPASS gives you admission to these 5 must-see Boston attractions: New England Aquarium (Never been!) Museum of Science (Never been!) Skywalk Observatory So cool. See photo below! Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Never been!) Harvard Museum of Natural History OR Revolutionaty Boston at The Old State House The Boston CityPASS was $89.95 and with CAA I saved $45.96 PER TICKET. After having my membership for a mere two months, I have saved more than the membership itself costs! Yeah! I went to the skywalk last year it it was so neat! There’s a full 360 view of downtown Boston. The night I was there the Blue Jays were playing the Red Socks at Fenway Park and I took this photo. I think the Jays won. If you love travel like me, you’ll be happy to know that CAA’s wide variety of travel benefits also feature these fine cities. Atlanta is famous for its…

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