We’ll use this time to deep clean, organize, and explore.  Some recipes will change, and there’ll be a couple of new items.

First trip will be to Quebec City, which looks like a Christmas village starting last week of November.

Quartier Le Petit Champlain

Frontenac Hotel, overlooking St. Lawrence river.

There’s an ice hotel in Quebec City! Unfortunately, it’s not ready until January for viewing and stays. But I don’t want to be in QC in January because sub zero temperatures aren’t unusual during that time.

There’s even a bar inside! Someday I’ll check it out, maybe on a layover.

And since this is a business trip, we’ll check out restaurants for ideas and inspiration.

Next stop is Mexico City, an underrated and safe metropolis of 9 million, to explore some museums, restaurants, and neighborhoods I missed last time I was there.  Hopefully we’ll dine at Pujol, which according to Restaurant magazine, is the 9th ranked restaurant in the world, and Quintonil, to see what modern Mexican cuisine is about.

From there we’ll rent a car to drive to Santiago de Queretaro, a city of a million that’s 2 hours northwest of Mexico City.  They say it’s a prosperous and beautiful city, with its 17th century aqueduct still intact.

Panoramic View of Santiago de Queretaro Aqueduct in Mexico.

Two nights there and then it’s off to Guanajuato, my favorite city in the world.  It may be small — population of 200,000 within the municipality and 70,000 in the city — but it has the amenities and events of much larger cities.  A symphony, two theaters, and two international festivals, for instance.  And there’s a nice balance of tourists from around the world, instead of mostly form the US and Canada.  Food there is as good though not as varied as what you’d find in Seattle.  I had amazing French and Italian food last time I was there, but you won’t find dim sum, ramen, or stinky tofu.

Then to Lima, Peru, primarily to explore its famous cuisine.  Many chefs tout Peruvian cuisine as one of the best in the world, and everyone who has traveled South America says Lime has the best food on the continent.  Especially excited to try Nikkei cuisine at Maido, ranked the 11th top restaurant by Restaurant magazine.  I’m curious about the climate: Lima is a desert (two inches of rain per year) in the tropics with high humidity (80%).  Yearly temperatures range from 45-80F.  And for six months our of the year, it feels like it’s about it rain but never does.  Bizarre!

Nikkei cuisine at Maido.

Lima sits on cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

From there, back to Everett to prepare for opening on New Year’s Day.  Will post regularly about travels, so follow the blog, Facebook and Instagram for photos and videos.  Happy holidays everyone!