One Day in Montreal
I have been so busy since getting back. I took alot of pictures but I will spare you some of the more mundane/unrecognizable photos. So where do I begin? I really enjoyed my trip to Montreal. It is a great city, very inviting and really has a European feel to it except its in North America and for me only 2.5 hours away! Given that alone I believe we will be making this trip quite abit.
We stayed right in downtown and only about 4 blocks from Old Montreal. We arrived on Thursday night around 8pm and quickly checked in and unpacked! Since we both had a long day we decided to dine in and ordered room service. Sorry I did not take any photos, to be honest I was hungry and tired and when M reminded me to get the camera I had already taken a bite of my salmon. Later that night I turned off the lights curled up with a glass of wine in front of the huge bay window and looked out on this view and began to settle into vacation mode.
Friday was my actual birthday and I had the day to myself. M had to be at a conferance at 9am so he was up and out while I was still in my robe. I got to relax and enjoy a good cup of coffee as I read the paper then I was off to the spa, it was my birthday after all! After enjoying (yes I said enjoying) a vigarous workout I laid about in the whirlpool before starting my day. I know, oh poor me.
Ok so now on to the good stuff… the food! I decided that nothing would be better than wandering the city on foot, enjoying a nice brunch at a cafe and finishing off by roaming around an art museum. I had this picture in my head and NOTHING was going to change it. So as I headed out for the day not even the rain was going to stop me.
By the time I walked into the cafe I was completely drenched and rather cold. The cafe I found looked so perfect. When you first walk in all you see is a row of delectable pastries. Chocolates, tarts, eclairs, everything you can imagine. They looked too good to eat; like they had all been photoshopped into perfection! Then as you worked your way to the back the savory cases took over. Now I know most people have a real sweet tooth but me I am all about the savory and salty and as soon as I laid eyes on the charcuterie case I was completely in love. They had all sorts of home cured meats from french dried salamies to proscuitto. And oh the cheese all the lovely cheeses. Then there was the gourmet salads and of course the bread; all the wonderous bread! So as was standing there just gawking my number got called and I had to order fast. Being that everything was in french and there was many people waiting I looked at the board and ordered the first thing that I understood; Croque Madame, Soup de Jour and to warm me up a cup of hot chocolate. When they handed me my food they also gave me the dessert of the day; a chocolate filled eclair.
A lot of food right! Yes, though I tried valienty I could not eat it all. I was not quite prepared for the hot chocolate however. I am not a huge chocolate fan, actually I really don’t like it but I do enjoy a cup of hot coco on a rainy day. Well what I think of as hot chocolate apparently is not what they were thinking. I was served a cup of molten melted chocolate and a side of steamed milk. I know for almost everyone is the world that would be heaven but me not so much. I drank almost 1/2 before given up, just way too rich and too chocolately for me. Being that I am not a chocoholic I was not so keen on the eclair either. I had that wrapped up to go for M who has an unbelievable sweet tooth.
This is what I presented M as he returned from his long day of Microsoft ramblings.
This is what I got in return!
Well like I said alot of photos! Tomorrow I will fill you in on how we braved an ice storm to have a fabulous dinner at a classic french bistro. Au revoir!
