What I Did on my Summer Vacation (or, Day 1 in Montreal)

Note: This was written Thursday night but published Friday morning because of Internet trouble at our B&B.

If you will be bored by lots of details about our time in Montreal, you might want to tune out for the next few blog posts. When Zach and I took a trip to France and Italy six years ago, we bought a little journal and every night I wrote what we had done, where we had eaten, etc. We have enjoyed reading it since then and reliving those wonderful memories. So I want to do the same thing for this trip, only via the blog.

The weather was unexpectedly nice this morning so we got to have breakfast in the back garden. It is like a little secret garden, surrounded by tall walls. Delicious food: French toast with freshly-made raspberry jam and fresh fruit. Not too heavy, leaving us feeling perfectly entitled to stop for a mid-morning pastry.

The mid-morning pastry: brioche de chocolat valhrona

olive + gourmando was a place we had read about online and it did not disappoint. It was kind of hard to choose what to get. Gee, maybe we'll have to go back.

I will know what a snickers square tastes like by the end of this trip.

After successfully purchasing metro passes and navigating the subway, we spent the first half of our day in Vieux Montreal, the old city. Narrow, cobbled streets and beautiful buildings everywhere. We will probably go back there for dinner once or twice because there were so many amazing looking restaurants.

Hard to believe we're not in Europe!

In the picture above you are looking down at Vieux Port (the old port) and that's where we headed next. A science festival is happening there this weekend so we might go back; they were setting things up today and some of the exhibits look entertaining. We grabbed a small lunch at a food court near the science museum and decided to take a boat tour. Well worth it--I feel like I have a much better sense of how the city is laid out now, at least the side along the St. Laurence river. We got to see some container ships being unloaded and learn about Montreal's advantages and disadvantages as a port city. Call me a nerd if you like but I found all that kind of interesting.

The tour boat

A cute couple on the tour boat. Who then went downstairs because they didn't want to get sunburned.

Cool cube-y apartments. They were built for the 1967 Worlds Fair if I remember aright.

I thought Austin might like a close-up of a container ship that was passing by.

After the tour we headed up Boulevard St Laurent, which is sort of at the heart of the cultural life of Montreal. Theaters, restaurants, bars, shops, etc. go on for blocks. We stumbled across not one but two more festivals while in that area. First, the Francofolies, which I believe is a celebration of francophone culture in Montreal. There was one band playing and we saw several stages--I bet that place will be packed this weekend. Second, a festival of murals. Walls were being painted as we walked by.

And a car.

We ate dinner on a little street off of Blvd. St. Laurent that was just beautiful. Charming buildings that absolutely reminded me of Paris and a little fountain that was right behind me as we ate on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. The restaurant was a French place called Le Square. We had asparagus gratin for our entree (which means appetizer in French), then Zach had a pork chop with honey mustard sauce and ratatouille while I had tilapia with mango-pineapple sauce. Oh, and they served wonderful bread that they got from a bakery right around the corner.

Fancy plating! But a few bites are missing...we dove in so eagerly that I forgot I wanted to take a picture first.

Our last stop was another place we'd read about online, Juliette et Chocolat. (Can you tell how much research involving coffee and sweets we did prior to the trip?) Their menu was full of incredibly decadent chocolatey goodness. I had a trifle with brownie bites, whipped cream, caramel, and a little cup of chocolate sauce I could pour on at will. Zach had a brownie with ice cream and the same sauce. Wow. That's another spot that I have a feeling will get a return visit from us.

Mmmmm

So, overall impressions of Montreal after our first full day? It's a beautiful city where old and new live side by side. The population is quite diverse...it is interesting to hear people of all ethnic backgrounds speaking French around you. There is a large population of young, hipster-ish types. I felt welcome everywhere we went despite our weak language skills; people kindly spoke English to us after an initial French greeting. I like this city!

Boy are we worn out, though. We must have walked four or five miles today, maybe more. I am so glad we splurged on lodgings with an enormous bathtub. I think it's calling my name.

 

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