Montreal Getaway

Gail and I went up to Montreal for a 3-day/2-night getaway, while Ben stayed with Muz and D at Camp...everyone had a great time...

We drove up Tuesday morning, it's about 2 hours from our house to the hotel we stayed at, Hôtel XIXe Siècle, in the old town...our plan was to eat and rest and eat and sleep...we started off with a walk through Chinatown (only a short walk from our hotel), and lunch...

After lunch, we wandered down into the old town to scout out future eating destinations...we were disciplined in our approach to food while there, and managed 4 meals each day: breakfast, elevensies, a mid-afternoon snack, and a late supper (with a nap in the afternoon)...

We did a little shopping, some reading in pretty parks by the water, a bit of admiring the architecture, eating & drinking (of course), and also meandering around looking at people and horses...there were fireworks on Wednesday night which were pretty...

One of the things that I loved most about the old town was looking at the joints between the past and the present...the brick wall of this building was built around the already existing wall of an old stone building...that ancient building is gone, but the wall (and silhouette of the house) remains...


This corner piece brings together 3-4 different building materials and eras of old town construction...



One of our favorite meals was elevensies on Wednesday at Chez Suzette, a creperie in the old town...Gail and I got the best seat in the place, with windows facing down 2 streets at ground level...they had great crepes and dozens of options for what goes inside...


Another central location in our orbits around and throughout the old town was the "Place Jacques Cartier", where we had some wonderful food and drink...the picture above was taken at a cafe where we enjoyed a nice breakfast on Thursday morning before leaving...we also enjoyed superb calamari and adult beverages at a brasserie closer to the water, and a world-class dinner at Chez Queux, a classic French restaurant, including somewhat rude/disdainful waiters and superb food...another great dinner was had on the terrace dining area of Restaurant du Vieux Port, where we enjoyed great seafood and, surprisingly, one of the best steaks I've ever had...

We had a great time in Montreal, and hope to go back again soon... incredible food, blissful naps, quiet reading by the water, boom-y fireworks, sleeping in...it was all great...special thanks to Muz and D for making it possible!