Sandra is the consumer consultant for different media and news organizations in Montreal. She's a regular guest on phone-in radio shows and appears regularly on television (CFCF-TV, Global and CBC Newswatch). Calls come in constantly to grant newspaper, magazine and television interviews and to give numerous lectures and tours throughout the year.

The success of her best-selling book, "Smart Shopping Montreal," now in its 8th edition and 19th reprinting, has directed the path of her life into interesting twists. She was given her own weekly column, originally in the Montreal Daily News and now in The Montreal Gazette.

In order to be fully informed about lifestyles and trends, she travels extensively and writes travel articles for the Gazette, broadcasts live for Travel World across America as well as for other newspapers, magazines and e-zines. As a member of the Montreal Tourism and Convention Bureau, she is involved with meeting the travel media from all over North America.

Sandra Phillips was born in New York City, and has lived in the United States, Europe and now Canada. She has a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters Degree in Art and Education from Queens College of the City University of New York. She is married to a computer consultant and is the proud mother of three sons.

Most Memorable Trip: This one is a surprise to most people, including me. It is often the places that you have the least preconceived notions of that turn out delightful. The one trip that stands out as memorable was to UTAH. Before this, I thought of Utah as some sort of squarish shaped state that we used to crayon in in beige on the map. I’m a city person, but it was the National Parks here which were each so completely different in their rock formations that it is as if this was God’s model state for all the possibilities that could be formed - canyons, bridges, arches, red ridges, gold coloring, spires, sheer drops of 5,000 feet, curves, angles, towering cliffs. It was accessible to drive from park to park in one grand trip Many were empty and silent at lookouts and at these times in this majesty, you understood that you were just a grain of sand passing through and at the same time felt as if you were one with the world.

Trip from Hell: Thankfully, this has hardly happened much in all my years of traveling. There was one day, though, when we had to drive from Mont St. Michel to Chateau country in the Loire Valley. We originally plotted the road trip as if it were one in the U.S., unaware of France’s “highway” system as rural roads, two lanes with farm wagons, round-abouts, 4-lanes withtraffic lights and road signs which refer to some city further along the route. We had picked a small inn facing Chambord, and had booked months in advance. As we crawled along this road, we would call the inn every hour to tell them we were still on the way. The 4-hour trip took about 9 hours, and we didn’t arrive until about 10 p.m. Even though we told them we were coming, they still gave our room away. As good innkeepers, though, they called around the area to find us a room. We were given verbal instructions “tout droit, tout droit”, etc., which we took to mean keep making right turns and not the idiom “go straight”. Therefore, we wound up late at night helplessly lost on perfectly black unlit roads in rural farmland. After about ½ an hour of wanderings we saw a light in a farmer’s window and took the chance to knock. The friendly chap drew us a map to a nearby inn on a kitchen napkin, and told us that we couldn’t miss the sign. But we DID miss that sign, and wandered for another hour before finding an inn in a small village nearby. I’m not sure who else used the joint but it was awfully noisy all night long with people going and coming. By the way, we found the sign in question the next morning, and it was only visible when coming from the opposite direction.

Favourite Cuisine/Restaurants: Ever since I moved to Montreal from New York City I have been addicted to French food. I think in a former life I must have been a little girl raised on a French farm - love the sauces, the stews, the foie gras, the taste of butter, fish soup with rouille, and perfection of freshness and intense flavors. Having said that, I’ve eaten memorable meals and foods in many places. Here are a few: Crispy Fish in Uncle Cheung’s restaurant in Framingham, Mass., White Castle Hamburgers from the U.S. chain, BBQ spareribs from Cantonese restaurants in NYC, buttery croissants from Au Duc du Lorraine in Montreal, the house salad and Aztec soup at Fifty-Five in Columbus Ohio, Paul Bocuse’s signature dish of fish in pastry, Lobster Cantonese at the China Bowl in Manhattan (now closed), cheese croissants from the Au Bon Pain chain in Mass. and NYC, Toque’s foie gras main course in Montreal, Carvel soft ice cream vanilla or chocolate, Chicago deep dish cheese pizza, BBQ ribs in Kansas City, fried catfish from the Catfish House in Louisiana, cinnamon beaver tails in Ottawa and Montreal, Tonkinese soup in Vietnamese restaurants, St. Viateur’s bagels in Montreal, a Nathan’s hot dog and french fries in Brooklyn and the chain, polish meat pierogis from “Little Poland” in Mississauga near Toronto, a good pounded wiener schnitzel with spaetzle, Da Giovanni’s meat sauce for pasta in Montreal, Pasticceria Alati-Caserta in Montreal for ricotta canoli, New York City cheesecake, Hunan peanut butter dumplings, smoked salmon (lox) and on and on...

Dream Trip: China, especially to see the Great Wall, the Galapagos Islands, Scandinavia, Alaska, Tahiti, Poland, Russia, back to Marathon Greece, on the Orient Express train and all of the byways of France.

Hobbies/Interests: Obviously travel, reading biographies, word games, walking tours, visiting family and friends who live afar, keeping up with what’s happening in the Montreal scene and my favorite husband and kids!