Our "Eat Pray Love" break in between...

Before we - The 2017 Summer Students - returned for our final year of law school, we asked many of the lawyers what would be the best way to spend our break between the bar exams and the start of our articling term.

A common (and encouraging) response was that we should
travel and experience other parts of the world.

So here is what we did:

Jessica: I travelled to Croatia, Spain, Germany, and Italy. Hvar, Croatia and Barcelona, Spain are tied as my favourite cities. I met up with an old friend in Barcelona who had grown up there and she showed me all of the popular local spots. In Hvar, I discovered a “secret” beach that was only accessible on-foot after an hour-long trek through rough terrain (and of course, I was wearing flip-flops!)

In Spain, I really enjoyed the tapas. My favourites were the patatas bravas and the lobster croquette. The patatas bravas was super crunchy on the outside, but soft and fluffy on the inside. The lobster looked so good that I ordered seconds right after the first one arrived!


Emilie-Anne: I went to England, France, Greece, and Italy. My favourite city was Fira, Santorini, Greece which had the most beautiful sunsets over the Caldera.

What I enjoyed most during my trip was visiting the Louvre Museum in Paris. There are so many things to see in the Louvre; it’s impossible to view it all in one day. My favourite exhibit was the Mona Lisa (obviously). The desserts in Paris were amazing! Their sugar doughnuts put Tim Hortons to shame.

Karolina: I travelled to Playa del Carmen, then spent the rest of the summer exploring Toronto and catching up with family and friends. I hosted a food crawl across Toronto called the “Day of Gluttony”. We tried 12 restaurants in 12 hours and discovered a bunch of hidden gems. Some of my favourites were Dai Lo (Asian fusion), Pinky’s Ca Phe (Vietnamese), Seven Lives Tacos, and The Big Chill (classic ice cream parlour).


Andrew: I went to Spain, France, Netherlands, and Portugal. Paris was my favourite city because I got engaged there! I also loved the food and the architecture. I watched the world cup finals between France and Croatia in Paris and I got to celebrate the victory with the locals.

I had a really good lamb dish at a Mediterranean restaurant, also in Paris. It was extremely tender and paired nicely with Israeli wine.

Yousef: I went to Spain and Egypt. In Spain, I visited Seville, Cordoba, and Granada to see the many historic sites that they have to offer. The unique blend of Arab and Spanish culture was really interesting to experience. My favourite activity was swimming! In Alexandria, Egypt, I swam in the Mediterranean which featured large waves that were great for body surfing. In Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, I had the chance to scuba dive with the fish in the Red Sea.

In Seville, I ordered chicken breast stuffed with pistachio and dates. When I ordered this dish, I had no idea what to expect, but it turned out to be great. The flavours were surprisingly complementary. I am excited to try and recreate it at home!


Final Thoughts

Although we are fortunate and thankful that we had the opportunity to travel this summer, we are eager and excited to be back at McCague and begin our articling term.

by Yousef Elsohemy