Montreal, Canada
July 28 - August 1, 2004
1
August: I returned today from Montreal,
Canada. I
was there for four nights and really enjoyed the city and sights. It was
a short trip, but since Tony was there for training with Midatlantic Airways
(he returns the 4th), I thought it would be a great opportunity to take
advantage of the free hotel and see some of Montreal.
28
July: I had a 10:30am flight from Reagan National and was stuck in
traffic for 2.5 hours. I expected the normal traffic tie-ups, but there
were also flash floods in the area, which slowed everyone down. I almost
took the metro, but thank goodness I didn't: the red line was shut down
for at least an hour because of the rain.
The
flight was short and after going through customs, I picked up the courtesy van
to the hotel. I got to see Tony for a short while before he had to go to
training. The Hilton Garden Inn is a very nice hotel, though in a crappy
area, along with the friendliest service I encountered for a large chain
hotel. The hotel provided a courtesy shuttle van to the metro Du
College. Metro tickets were $2.50 each way or you can purchase a 1 or 3
day pass. It took about 25-30 minutes to get to the city center (Champ de
Mars).
After
asking some questions about Montreal
at the desk, I headed in. I arrived at Champ de Mars and instead of blue
skies I saw earlier, it was raining. It didn't last too long. Most
of the afternoon was just wandering around seeing Vieux-Montréal. There
were lots of tourists enjoying the outdoor cafés at place
Jacques-Cartier. Hungry for lunch, I looked at several menus posted
outside the restaurants. I selected Modavie on rue St. Paul and enjoyed
their cream of vegetable soup and a half portion of their Mediterranean salad,
which consisted of smoked salmon, feta cheese, olives, capers and
tomatoes. It was quite filling and I was very glad I didn't order the
full portion. I couldn't imagine the size of it because the half portion
was large! I also enjoyed a glass of wine.
The
rest of the afternoon into the evening was spent visiting the Bonsecours Market
(lots of little shops), and walking all the way up St. Denis. My friend
Olivia recommended I try L' Express one night for dinner
(main reason for my long walk on St. Denis). I didn't make reservations,
but I was told I could be seated if I would vacate the table 1.5 hours later
for someone who had reservations. I figured that was plenty of time (and
it was). It's a very lively restaurant with terrific waiters, both handsome
and polite. Dinner was excellent: Mousse de Foie followed by slices
of roast lamb layered on top of vegetables, potato au gratin and a vegetable
mousse; wine. Service was prompt with a "bon appetit" with each
serving.
29
July: Tony had Thursday off, so we headed to town with his friend
Matt. We walked everywhere! I showed them Vieux-Montréal, shopped
in the stores for souvenirs, and then we enjoyed crepes for lunch at Delices
Vieux.
In
the afternoon we walked around the port area. The area was filled with
tourists. We also visited Chinatown
(quite small but filled with shops and restaurants), walked along St.
Catherine, and window shopped at the Underground. The underground is a
huge network of shops, restaurants, and businesses.
We
stopped for a round of drinks at a small café. Nearby, people were
setting up for the 10-day French music festival. Rue Crescent is an
interesting street with many cafés and restaurants. The street reminded me of Boston.
On
the way back towards Vieux-Montréal (for dinner), we stopped to see the
Cathédrale-Basilique Marie-Reine-du-Monde. Across the street at an
Anglican church (I didn't get the name), a group of musicians were playing
bagpipes. We listened for a while before finding a place for
dinner. I did have a small list of restaurants and along the way I
spotted Boris Bistro. We couldn't sit outside (already filled
with hungry diners who probably made reservations) so we ate inside. It's
a very contemporary looking restaurant with very good food. I had a small
puff pastry topped with a wild mushroom sauce, then a delicious duck risotto
with wild mushrooms in an orange cream sauce. Tony had the paté and a sausage
dish with frites. Matt had the same appetizer as me and the Veal
blanquette. We all enjoyed a round of Calvados and crème brulee for
dessert. We had a nice walk to the metro after dinner and headed home.
Speaking
of the metro, Square-Victoria has a genuine art nouveau Paris metro entrance. I was quite
surprised to see it!
30
July: I took the metro to Vieux-Montréal and decided to have lunch at Le
Bourlingueur, one of the restaurants on my list. Their table
d'hôte was very well priced and included a choice of salad or soup (cream of
leek or gazpacho), entrée, and dessert. I had the cream of leek soup,
grilled salmon along with rice and diced vegetables, and poached pear for
dessert. It was so good that I made reservations for dinner knowing I
would be in the area all day.
After
lunch I went to the Pointe-à-Callière (Montréal Museum of Archaeology and
History) nearby and purchased the 3-day museum pass (39 CD/$29.55). The
pass also included metro access for three days. The building is located
where the original colony was established. I also visited Centre
d'Histoire de Montréal and Musée du Château Ramezay. All were very
interesting.
Heading
to Place Jacques-Cartier, I stopped at a café and ordered ¼ litre of white
wine. Across the street was a large group of men in French uniforms getting
ready for a parade. Five of them walked to the café and one asked if they
could sit with me. Sure, why not. They ordered a round of beer for
themselves. I tried to talk to them but they didn't speak any
English. They left about 30 minutes later to join the parade. I
found out from the waitress they were from Switzerland and that they bought my
wine. I wish I had known that! I would have thanked them.
They marched off, I took some photos, then headed to dinner.
Upon
arriving at Le Bourlingueur, I noticed the restaurant was just about filled, so
I was glad I made my dinner reservations. I enjoyed the gazpacho, shrimp
in a pernod sauce for my entrée, and a lemon cake with chocolate drizzled on
top for dessert. I also had some white wine. My only mistake was
not asking about the side dishes that came with the entrées. I ended up
having the same rice and vegetables. No big deal since everything else
was different. It poured while I had my dinner. I sat long enough
until the rain stopped (just for a short while) so I could walk to the metro.
Back
at the hotel, Tony and I and some of his friends had beer and wine and just
hung around talking. It was nice to meet them.
31
July: It didn't stop raining from the night before. It was a miserable
morning until at least 2pm. Non-stop rain! My first stop was to the
Basilique Notre-Dame. The inside was fabulous! Entry fee was $4 but
it included a 20 minute tour, which was very informative. It was quite
hot and humid inside, not only from the rain, but the fact that the interior is
mostly wood, unlike the stone churches in Europe.
I
took the metro to Guy Concordia and visited FaubourgSte-Catherine, which
contains shops and restaurants. I had lunch at Restaurant Saigon Express.
I had grilled chicken and shrimp with rice vermicelli. The spring roll
was too greasy the oil was probably not hot enough. This place is located
on the third floor. I should have checked out all the floors as I would
have dined elsewhere.
On
the ground floor was a bagel bakery. I watched two men rolling, boilding,
and baking bagels. They looked great. Also in the building was a
grocery store with lovely fruits and vegetables, a wine shop, and kitchen
shop.
I
walked to Musée des Beaux-Arts and spent a couple of hours there. In
addition to Canadian artists, I saw works by Piscasso, Monet, Renoir,
etc. Continuing on, I walked to the Musée McCord
d'HistoireCanadienne. Just inside, there was a table with kids and adults
painting wine and water glasses. I watched for a few minutes and the
woman in charge invited me to join in. I spent at least an hour sitting
there designing my wine glass and giving my feet a well needed break. At
the end I was given instructions on how to bake the glass so the paint would be
permanently adhered to. It was fun. Later I realized I should have
done a design with Montreal
as a theme, with the sites I had seen and streets I walked. I'll have to
go to Michael's and pick up some pens and buy some glasses.
After
a short visit in the museum, I headed out. It finally stopped
raining! I walked along rue Sherbrooke
to Blvd. Saint Laurent. Heading up I found rue Prince Arthur. It's
a small pedestrian street filled with cafés, bars, and restaurants. I had
a glass of wine at a Mexican place and relaxed after my long walk. For my
last meal in Montreal,
I walked up rue St. Denis and dined at Au Bistro Gourmet 2. I arrived
early enough that I didn't have to worry about making reservations. I
enjoyed the salad and the lamb shank with vegetables. Of course, I
finished with crème brulee!
1
August: I had to get up early to catch my 8:15am flight. I took the
courtesy van and checked in at the express kiosk. I went through customs
and headed to the gate. Since my flight arrived at Reagan, security was
tight. Before any passenger could enter the waiting area/gate, each bag,
purse, etc. was hand checked, arms spread out for a wand check and shoes
removed and inspected. I certainly don't mind the extra security at airports.
I
got to Washington, shuttled to the car and
drove to Bethesda
for my last (for now) French meal at Mon Ami Gabi.
Montreal is a great place to
visit and I really enjoyed my time there. I was told Montreal
is the, "Paris without the jetlag" and
"Paris
without the attitude." I personally didn't find it to be very
similar to Paris,
but it does have a nice European ambiance, especially in the old town
area. Some of the architecture did remind me of Paris,
which made me wish I were in Paris, while other
parts reminded me of Boston.
I didn't work hard at speaking French, like I do while in Paris, because most people speak
English. Everyone I met was very friendly and helpful. I will
certainly visit Montreal
again!
Monica
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