Mexico ♥

This year for the first time, I got to take a trip down south! I went to the Riviera Maya, Mexico with my classmates and my two teachers. For my first time being down south it was a great experience! I'm not really going to talk about the flights are the resort much, even though the resort was great and being all inclusive is also great because you don't have to worry about extra cash or food and drink expenses. The resort itself was very nice and had all the necessary amenities. But at the end of the day it was a hotel and I've stayed in hundreds of those. The one thing that separates this hotel from the others I have stayed at are the Raccoons! They were all over the resort and so friendly, and of course I made it my goal to feed them and I was successful :) Now I want one as a pet though...

The part for me that was the most incredible were the excursions, the experiences I had while on the excursions and the sunshine! I've been to South Carolina before so I'm familiar with the heat and with how strong the sun is so you tan almost instantly. I love that. I could lay out in the sun all day and just tan. Having a pool to jump in whenever you are hot is awesome too though. The heat and sun in Mexico is amazing, and it didn't rain for more than five minutes the whole week I was there. I love waking up and being able to put a dress or shorts on and go outside and not freeze my ass off! If I could live in a climate like that all my life I would leave in a heartbeat!

The excursions we did while we were there were amazing. I did so many things I never would have thought were possible and had so many great experiences and memories from it. The three excursions we did were Xcaret, Xel-Ha and Tulum. Each excursion was great in it's own way, and I would love to go back again to each place.

Xcaret was a walking park, it has a lot of culture and history, as well as many animals running around. the most amazing thing that I did while we were in Xcaret was swim with sharks! I never thought I could swim with sharks, and once we got into the water I was sort of regretting thinking this was a great idea, but I'm so happy I did it and it was a lot of fun.

Xel-Ha was a water based nature park. It is probably my favourite of the three parks we went to, other than swimming with sharks. At Xel-Ha I jumped off a cliff.. into water of course, I went zip lining,swam in the lazy river/went tubing in the lazy river and I visited the most unusual "light house" I have ever seen, but the view from this light house was amazing. It was a beautiful park and the animals that were running around were so cute. It was a great day at Xel-Ha and I would love to go back!

Xel-Ha Light House

The last excursion we had was Tulum, the ancient Mayan ruins, and after that we went to Playa Del Carmen on a shopping trip. Tulum was a nice place to walk around for a little bit, but it was very hot and you can't actually go inside any of the buildings or walk on any of them. The part I liked best about Tulum was the small shops they had at the entrance. They also had men standing around with different animals you could hold. The most amazing animal was a lion cub. Of course I paid to hold him and it was amazing. Now that's something I can say I have done that not many people other people have. He was so cute and such a sweet little lion, I would have loved to take him home!

After Tulum we went to Playa Del Carmen to go shopping. Playa Del Carmen is great because everything is so cheap, and you can bargain with people to get the price down even further. This is something I'm pretty good at so I got lots of stuff for little money :) They have everything you can think of to buy here, from food to exotic souvenirs. I got jewelry for cheaper than anywhere I've ever seen and I got a lot of cool Mexican souvenirs including a sugar skull. We only got to spend a few hours in Playa Del Carmen but I probably could have shopped there the entire day.

If you ever go to Riviera Maya I highly reccomend going to Playa Del Carmen, as well as Xcaret. If you are into history Tulum is great, and if you like water a lot also Xel-Ha is so much fun. All in all I had an amazing time on this trip, and the people I got to go with are absolutely amazing, I couldn't have asked for a better group, or a better vacation :)

Someday I'll get there...♥

AUSTRALIA! That's where I would go if I had all the money in the world. I've been wanting to go to Australia for as long as I can remember. There are so many places that I want to go, so many beaches and paradises that are on my bucket list, but there's just something about Australia that I can't get out of my head. Plus Australia has great beaches too, so there.. two birds one stone ;)


I honestly don't even know why I want to go to Australia so badly, I don't have any family history there, I'm not into history so I don't really care what happened there either, I just feel this need to be in Australia at some point in my life. It's the biggest most unexplained desire I have. I also don't think I will be satisfied with just a vacation there. I want to live there for some portion of my life. Once upon a time ago, me and my brother were planning on moving out there for a year and just working and going exploring when we had the chance. I still think someday I will do that, with or without him. Australia is also one of the easiest country to get a visa for. Working visa or not, it's very relaxed getting into the country so that won't be a problem I don't think. I just want to experience everything that Australia has to offer, and I feel like you can't do that properly if you're just there for vacation. Maybe if you could vacation there for like months at a time, but you may as well work while you're there.

Great Barrier 

One big thing that I know is pulling me towards Australia is the Great Barrier Reef. Its the biggest in the world and it's supposedly beautiful. I want to go scuba diving there. I know that some tour companies have packages that include scuba diving, but I'd probably go as often as I could afford it if I lived there. Divethereef.com has a whole bunch of reef trips and classes that you can take so you can go scuba diving in the reef and there not horribly priced. They also have lodging options if need be.

 Another reason is because of Finding Nemo! I want to be able to say that I went to P Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way in Sydney :)

I also really want to see kangaroo's and all the other wild life that Australia has to offer. Australia has so many zoo's and I would love to go and see all of them. I love animals and Australia definitely has some animals that I have never seen before.  Kangaroo's are also just about the cutest little things on earth!

Australia's Rainforest's are another big reason why I want to go. They have six different rainforest's in different parts of the country. They have a dry rainforest, cool climate, monsoon, tropical and subtropical. Obviously I've never been to a rainforest, but I think there is something so calming and beautiful about them that I want to visit them all :)

Gondwana Rainforest, New South Wales

Daintree Rainforest, Queensland

And last but not least.. surfing. I have always wanted to learn how to surf. It's been on my bucket list for so long and Australia has a great reputation for surfing. They have an entire website dedicated to Australian surfing. www.surfingaustralia.com has classes, summer camps, surf programs and groups. It's everything you would ever need!

Contos Beach, Western Australia

I'm sure there are many other things I would love to see and do in Australia but these are the big things that I always imagine when someone says Australia. For now all I have are the pictures from on-line, but someday I'll have my own. Someday I'll get there ♥

Surprise Trip By The Sea

I've taken a lot of trips within Canada, most  of them were with my mom and dad to go see our family. Other than going to Quebec or Ontario I haven't really been to that many places within Canada. Right before school started this year though, my boyfriend (Jeff) decided he was going to broaden my horizon and take me on a surprise trip. He wouldn't tell me where we were going only that it was by the sea. Now not having a great knowledge about anything to do with the maritime's I had NO idea what this meant. I asked a bunch of people and no one seemed to be able to tell me where I was going. So finally on the day we were leaving he just told me what to pack and how many days we would be gone. It was just a weekend vacation so I didn't need much but being a girl and needing to pack and not knowing what you will need because you have no idea where you are going is frustrating to say the least! Anyways he swore he wouldn't tell me where we were going until we got there and he kept his word. But once we got there, I didn't really know where here was, or what was significant about this place at all. I was happy to get away and even happier to be with Jeff, but I still wasn't so sure what we were going to do here.

     The weather wasn't supposed to be all that great that weekend and it turned out to be raining most of the time but it was still an amazing trip. One the first day we got there he was going to take me whale watching. I was so excited, I was honestly like a kid in a candy store. I love the ocean and anything in the ocean or about the ocean, and that's exactly why he wanted to take me. I had also never done this, and had no idea that whale watching tours even existed. That's sad I know but true. The sun decided it was going to come out for us while we were waiting for our tour so we decided to walk down the main strip and look at all the little shops they had. We went  to go have something to eat and we sat on the cutest little patio restaurant that was over looking the docks and the ocean. It was a really calming scene to look at while you're eating. Finally it was time to go on our whale watching tour! We saw a bunch of things while we were out that day. We saw finback whales and minke whales, as well as so many dolphins and seals. I had so much fun and I was in absolute amazement the first time I saw one of the whales jump out of the water. And the dolphins were so cute. It was such an incredible experience and I'm so happy I got to spend it with my man (:

     The next day it was raining and a little bit cold but neither of us cared so we still went on with the day as planned. He took me to Kingsbrae Garden which is actually really nice to walk through in the rain because we were the only people in the garden. We got to take as long as we wanted and we didn't have to worry about following the crowd or waiting in lines. Some of the flowers they have there are absolutely gorgeous. I can't grow plants to save my life but they are beautiful to look at. After that we went to the Huntsman Aquarium where I got to see more seals! There was also a "play pool" which they had all kinds of sea creatures in that you could pick up. It's more for the kids but of course I had to take part in the fun. I touched a sea cucumber for the firs time which are gross, and I also held a star fish and a few other things I cant remember the names of.

     We decided to start coming back home that day because it was still raining and it wasn't suppose to clear up the next day. We drove into St. John and decided to stay there for our last night. We picked a random hotel and ended up just relaxing, swimming in the pool and going out for a nice dinner.
   
St. Andrews really isn't all that far from home, but I got to experience things I never really knew I could and I got to get away from our regular lives and spend the whole weekend alone with Jeff. It is one of the best vacations I've ever been on and I will definitely be going back sometime soon (:

Welcome To Hub City

Let's just face this now, I'm not the biggest fan of Moncton. Some might even say out of all their friends I hate on Moncton the most. It's probably true I really do hate on Moncton A LOT! But! with that said as much as Moncton is not really for me, I have actually grown quite accustom to certain things here.

Montreal

Like the lack of traffic. Sure there are tiny little traffic jams every now and then, but nobody has to sit in traffic for upwards of two hours just to get to school or to work every morning.  

Moncton

 I also like a lot of the restaurants here. My favourite is Boston Pizza. I also like Rossanos, The Keg, and The Bayou out in Shediac. For the most part they do have all of these restaurants in the bigger cities, but you also have to wait much longer on a busy night. Also we have some of the best seafood here. It's always very well done and so fresh. Where I'm from in Montreal you can't get seafood anywhere near as good as you can get it here. And being that I LOVE seafood, living here isn't all that bad ;) 

                                                                                                                   Hopewell Rocks

There is one thing that I really do genuinely love about Moncton, it's the nature parks and how many wide open spaces we do have. I know other places and big cities have nature parks too, but we have so many beautiful parks and none of them are that far away. As for open spaces we have tons! I have a huge open space in my own backyard, and a lot of people I know do too. Hopewell Rocks, Fundy Park, and Irish Town Park are three of my favourite places.  I love walking in these parks. Sometimes me and my boyfriend bring our dog with us, and he loves it too. There great places to go to just relax and take in some fresh air and enjoy the gorgeous views. It really is one of the most calming effects for me. Whenever I need to just relax and get something off my mind, that's where I go. 

Irish Town Park

And last but certainly not least, we must talk about The Pollett River Run. Since I moved here Christmas really does come twice a year. I've gone every year since I moved here and it's always a great time. You need to go with the right crowd but if you do you're sure to have a blast. It consists of building boats and rafts and getting a bunch of people on board and floating down the river, all while drinking "apple juice". Once you get down the river there is a huge mud bog which people build trucks for all year long. You get stuck, you get hauled out and you're right back in! Hundreds of people go every year and it's always a mess and an amazing day. Last year I went down the river for my first time with a few girl friends. We came down the river first and we bragged about it the rest of the day. It was one of the best times I've ever had. Pretty sure I couldn't have had it anywhere else but right here in "Hub City".

Our Raft ♥

The Pollett

                                                                                     

Pollet River Run

Me and the girls ♥

On one hand I really miss the big city, and all the shopping and bustling city life. I miss traffic jams and hundreds of people always around one another. And someday ill get back to it. But I'm also happy I moved here so many years ago. I'm glad for the people I've met and the new experiences I've gained. I'm glad someone taught me what true country feels like. ♥

Hot. Sandy. Beaches.

South Carolina - August 2012

South Carolina is the farthest place away from home I've ever been. And it was amazing. If i could have just moved my life there,I would have. Hot sandy beaches, tanning all the time, amusement parks, tourist attractions every where you look, and let's not forget the perfectly tanned gorgeous men walking around half naked..or driving around in their just as gorgeous lifted trucks (:

I went to South Carolina with one of my good friends Sam, her now husband, brother, father and her father's friend. Her father decided they were going on family vacation and since I was around so much I better be coming. Of course I didn't turn that one down and before you knew it we were on the plane to Toronto to meet up with her dad. From Toronto we drove down to South Carolina. We passed through Pennsylvania, West Virginia and regular old Virginia, down to North Carolina finally to our destination in South Carolina! Hands down it is one of the best trips I have ever taken. 

The best part for me was being able to go outside and tan.. come back inside in 20 minutes and you would be tanned as if you laid out all day in the sun here. Just walking from the hotel to a restaurant you would have tan lines of whatever you were wearing. And even if the sun wasn't shining all day it was still warm enough to be outside and do whatever you want. 

We did so many things while we were there. We went to an arcade called the Gay Dolphin.. Literally. We went to Ripleys Believe It Or Not Museum as well as the Ripleys Aquarium, to the amusement park just across the street from our hotel called Family Kingdom and every single gift shop on the strip and every strip they had within walking distance. 

My favorite part was definitely the shopping and the tanning though. We also had a gorgeous view from our hotel room. If you opened the door, walked out onto the balcony all you could see was the ocean. And to get to the ocean you just had to walk down the stairs of our hotel, cross the grass and you were standing on the beach. It was absolutely beautiful. Everyone was so friendly and everyone we ran into was so happy to be there, and they were enjoying the sun just as much as we were. It is definitely a place I would recommend to go on vacation.  I would go back in a heart beat <3

About Me

I'm Sarah Dufour.. and this is my first ever blog... I don't know what I'm doing and i pretty much don't know how to do it so please bare with me through this assignment that is soo beyond me in every way :) I am 19, graduated Riverview High school in 2012 and hated every moment of it. I have one big brother...3 step brothers and 3 step sisters. I have two.. technically three puppies. 2 are labs, black and yellow and one is a bull terrier who has spots. I am now a proud college student in the travel and hospitality course just like all of you fine folk who are reading this.. because lets face it nobody who isn't in this course, doing this assignment is reading anything on my blog. I haven't traveled to very many far away places yet, the farthest I have been is South Carolina. But i absolutely love traveling. Every time I get to go somewhere even if it's just home to Quebec I get very excited and I always love being gone. Because I love travel so much and because i don't want a job where it is the same thing day in and day out, i decided that the travel and hospitality course was probably the best for me. i love travel so if i can get paid for doing something that involves it, sign me up!