Cold as Heck!

In the end of 2018, Kyle and I visited Canada for the very first time. Quebec, to be more precise. It happened, honestly, out of impulse. You see, two years ago, when we were planning our wedding, we added an extra day for a post-wedding photo shoot, so confident that we would have the energy to do a full day photo shoot right after our wedding day. Nope! All of us, I mean ALL, Kyle, Artha, Steve, and I were pretty much dead haha! So, we decided to postpone that shoot.

Two years later, at around summer time, Artha asked if we wanted to go to Quebec, stroll around the Christmas market. Well, being the elf that I am (hence what people say), the word “Christmas” got me. Adding the fact that neither of us has ever been to Canada. In probably less than 3 minutes, I gave him a yes. Not thinking that it was Canada... In winter! And I, coming from a tropical land, would probably not be able to handle temperatures that hurt your face and freeze your snot!

A couple of weeks before our trip, I kept on checking the weather in Quebec. Trying to decide whether we had to buy new winter wears. Just for Canada. I saw and I panicked! I told my friends, “If you don’t hear from me, I’ve turned into an ice sculpture somewhere in the middle of Quebec.”

We went anyway! And yup. Cold.as.heck! Every muscle fiber in my body felt like they were about to turn into icicles. But it was worth it! Quebec was beautiful! A winter wonderland. We laughed a lot! We ate a lot! We slipped on sheets of ice, a lot!

We began our day strolling along the cobblestone streets of Quebec City, with unique little shops lined up along the sides. Every stone building displayed the spirit of Christmas.

We continued our journey to Montmorency Waterfall. What a magic! A giant blob of slushy falling down into a frozen lake, splattering a cold wintery mist revealing the magic of the rainbow.

Our day ended in a German Christmas Market. Boy, was it packed! It was worse than NYC Subway during rush hours. People strolled leisurely to window-shop every stall, stopping every now and then to take pictures, or to get in line waiting to get some warm food and drinks, or even just to enjoy the Christmas carolers.

That evening, the temperature dropped drastically. We put on layers of clothing, wool socks, hats, gloves, and scarves, yet we felt like our fingers and toes were still on the verge of falling off. Thank goodness we found a fireplace in the middle of the market. Perfect time to warm up a tad.

Quebec was the perfect way to end our 2018! A place of history, romance, and Christmas. I know it’s quite late, but I hope you ended your 2018 as beautifully as ours, and began your 2019 surrounded by positivity.

Here’s to a new year! Let’s love and laugh more, create more memories, appreciate more moments!

- Irene Limanto