the montreal summary

locations around montreal.

oh, we had such a good time! the beauty of film (and blogging) is being able to go back and look at an experience weeks later. it is so nice to sort through these photos. as you can see from the top two, there were a lot of bikers and bicycles in montreal, which jon loved. the second photo is of this cool bicycle system, similar to flex cars here, a pick-up-your-transportation-at-one-spot-drop-it-off-at-another type of system system.

we also ate very well in montreal. as i showed earlier, smoked meat at schwartz' was high on the list. but we also ate poutine at this great 24 hour diner called resto la banquise for our last night in town, we treated ourselves to the famed, au pied de cochon. so delicious! for being the most talked about restaurant in the city, the whole staff was so welcoming and laid back, yet knowledgable and very good at their job. we ordered a fish soup to split, foie gras cromesquis--which were essentially a taste of foie gras breaded then fried so that the pate melted slightly and oozed just like when you bite into cherry truffles. then we each had a salad, prepared very well. we had cod cake fritters with large chunks of fish inside and homemade mayonaise that came in little wide mouth jars on the side. as the main dish, we split the plogue a champlain. i can't even begin to describe to you what that was. let's just say maple syrup, gruyere, buckwheat pancake, seared fois gras and bacon, all in a beautiful decadent pile. a thing to split for sure. finally, we had and a poached pear with vanilla ice cream and espressos on the side. the meal lasted for about 3 hours, just as a proper french-influenced 'we're treating ourselves on vacation' meal should last. oh! and the bread! huge huge loaves that they cut right in front of you with the most flavorful butter. those meals only happen once in a blue moon.

besides that fancy evening, we did a lot of walking and exploring and hanging out. there was nothing much more we wanted to do than to visit all the different neighborhoods and get a feel for the city. one day, we found a coffee shop in mile end and ate (the best and freshsest) bagels with our coffee, while reading on their terrace. another evening we got bombarded by the boul de saint laurent, "the main" they call it, which is the road that runs through the whole city. wandering around tired and hungry, we finally found a little bar on a side street that brewed it's own beer. it was called the reservoir. we skirted downtown, not too interested in skyscrapers, but did wander around old town, getting a feel for the old european buildings. instead of hiking the parc du mont royal, we explored mcgill campus. did you know a hospital can look like a castle? it can at mcgill.

ice cream, walking, coffees, bagels, french speaking, ordering food in french or english, finding our way around, maps, metros, beer and terraces--it was all so fun!

more pictures to come...