Sweet Willie
Jul 30, 03, 9:44 pm
Wife and I have wanted to go to Montreal for quite sometime, ok, me more than her and me wishing for a wintertime trip rather than summer. For her most winter trips are to warm locales, after all “Happy Wife, Happy Life”.
After she asked where we were going for our self-proclaimed “Annual Canadian Summertime Trip” I suggested Montreal, she agreed.
We flew out on UA’s first flight in the morning and arrived slightly after 10am Montreal time. Flight was on time and boring, being a stinky CRJ. Flight time was about 2 hours.
Cab ride downtown is a flat rate of $28 C (Canadian). It took about 20 minutes for our carbide into the downtown area at that time in the morning. We were staying at the Hilton Bonaventure in the Bonaventure Place building on an award stay. The Hilton turned out to be a fine choice. A stay report is here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/008064.html
By the time we unpacked and got settled we were hungry. I suggested I go out for some sandwiches. Turns out there is a Premiere Moisson location just across the street from the Hilton. Premiere Moisson is a combination bakery, deli, pastry shop all in one. As with all places we dined in Montreal, the locations/descriptions are/will soon be, written in the Flyertalk Dining Forum. If one searches for “Montreal” in the Eastern Canada forum of FT Dining, you will find them. I brought back two sandwiches and some pate, all were delicious.
We then took the Metro to Old Montreal/Old Port area and walked around. Lots of fun, character, shopping and eating. It does feel like you are in Europe when surrounded on four sides by some of the beautiful buildings. Old Port feels like any other tourist pier(s) on the water front. Two churches not to miss are the Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours Chapel and the Basilique Notre Dame.
We were disappointed w/Marche Bonsecours. There was however a very neat item we saw there. While my wife was preoccupied in some store that did not interest me, I noticed some beautiful winter photographs. As I was drawn closer, I realized that the “photographs” were actually embroidered silk. Amazing stuff, very neat.
It was now 4 pmish and time for an afternoon snack. We split a lobster crepe and a salmon salad.
After some more shopping/sight seeing it was time for dinner. Chose a restaurant right off of Place Jacques-Cartier. After a wonderful dinner we were tired. We Metro'ed back to the Hilton and watched “About Schmidt” w/Jack Nicholson in it. It was under comedy, but it felt more of a tragedy. Although watching him rant to Nudugu was quite funny.
Woke up the next morning late, much later than I wanted to. Grabbed a diet coke and some pastries from the Exec lounge and hustled to the Clock Tower pier to book our ride w/ Sauté Moutons or the jet boat rapids ride. The 1200+ horsepower jet boat makes departures every two hours starting at 10am. One gets briefing, a wet wool ex-Canadian military wool sweater, life-jacket, rubber scuba booties and a poncho or jumpsuit. These items do not keep you dry; they just prevent getting overly chilled from the wind chill. Wear a bathing suit; in no way believe you will stay dry in the least. There is a storage shelf but no lockers. Much to my wife’s dismay upon returning, there is no bathroom either, closest one is up top before you descend to the Sauté Moutons ticket booth. There are changing rooms. Bring a towel. This was incredible, simply incredible. Wife and I sat in the front row of the boat. The boat whizzes along the St. Laurent at 40-60 M.P.H. until it reaches the rapids of Sauté Moutons. The boat then S’s through the rapids up stream, veering in-between the high waves, then it does this fishtail maneuver and is pointed downstream. The boat then is directed into the waves of the rapids. As we descended the boat hit its first wave, the bow went up and all I could see was the distant horizon, we hung there for what seemed like a minute then the bow crashes down and a meter high wall of water crashes over the bow into the boat. I was completely drenched and thrown around like a rag doll but loved every minute of it. The waves hit sometimes so hard that my wife had to secure her earrings. The boat plays in the rapids for about 20-25 minutes then whizzes back to the pier. Guy next to us had been white water rafting in many locations; he said this was as close as you can get to what white water rafting feels like. http://www.jetboatingmontreal.com/ Oh, and they give you unlimited free hot chocolate to warm you up if you are chilled. Water temp of the river was much warmer than I expected, but then I like swimming in Lake Superior, so it might be a little chilly to some. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Around noon we have changed and are now STARVING due to not having breakfast. Wife wanted a sandwich, fine w/me. End up at a chicken joint in Old Montreal. I see chicken sausage on a baguette w/sautéed onions and peppers, I think great that will fit the bill. When the sausage comes I’m now let down. Stupid steaming or boiling of the sausage, I need my grill marks, some crispyness like a Maxwell street polish! Not a grey schwantz looking sandwich. Not good, skip the sausage sandwiches, but indulge in the frites w/garlic mayo, YUM.
We then took the Metro to the Pie-IX stop to see the Olympic Village, site of the ’76 Summer Olympics. I had forgotten what a mess these Olympics were: <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> In 1970, when Montreal was named to host the Summer Olympics '76, organizers estimated it would cost $310 million to stage the Games. However, due to political corruption, mismanagement, labor disputes, inflation and a $100 million outlay for security to prevent another Munich, the final bill came to more than $1.5 billion.
Then, right before the Games were scheduled to open in July, 32 nations, most of them from black Africa, walked out when the IOC refused to ban New Zealand because its national rugby team was touring racially segregated South Africa. Taiwan also withdrew when Communist China pressured trading partner Canada to deny the Taiwanese the right to compete as the Republic of China.
When the Games finally got started they were quickly stolen by 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, who scored seven perfect 10s on her way to three gold medals.
Four Americans who became household names during the Games were decathlon winner Bruce Jenner and three future world boxing champions–Ray Leonard and the Spinks brothers, Michael and Leon.
From: http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0114748.html </font>
Unpleasantries aside, we toured the world’s largest inclined structure, the Olympic Tower. Views were great. http://english.montrealplus.ca/profile/558398/
Also toured the Biodome which is adjacent to the tower. <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> The Biodome consists of four separate ecosystems: a tropical forest; a Laurentian forest that changes with the seasons; a St. Lawrence marine ecosystem simulating the estuary and the gulf; and polar ecosystems of the Arctic and Antarctic. http://english.montrealplus.ca/profile/558627/ </font>
One tip that we were lucky with. We went to the Tower first and bought a combination ticket good for the tower funicular and the Biodome. After the Tower, there was at least an hour long line to buy tickets for the Biodome, which of course we were able to skirt around and just enter the exhibits, dumb luck! Maybe that good karma I’ve been practicing is working.
It was getting late or else we would have toured the Botanic Gardens which are next to Olympic Park. http://english.montrealplus.ca/profile/558385/ We headed back to our hotel.
Another thing to do during the Summer on Sundays is go and see the Cirque du Soliel shows for free. see: http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/Forum21/HTML/000069.html
We did have reservations at a supposedly good Portuguese seafood restaurant called Ferreira Cafe http://www.ferreiracafe.com/ but we were in a deli/beer mood so we scummed it to Schwartz’s Smoked Meat for some hearty deli food. The full name of Schwartz’s is Charcuterie Hébraïque de Montréal but I’ve only seen it called Schwartz’s. Let’s just say w/some beer and a viande fumee sandwich, I was in heaven. To get to Schwartz’s we took the Metro to the Sherbrooke stop, walked west through Square St. Louis w/a beautiful lit fountain and gorgeous greystone like homes/buildings.
We went out drinking at some various bars along St. Laurent afterwards. Quite the variety of bar venues.
We had planned on seeing the fireworks at the amusement park in Montreal called La Rhonde. I believe that they have multiple shows every year where various firework companies compete http://www.lemondialsaq.com/en/ As we were about to enter the Sherbrooke Metro stop; out of the corner of my eye I caught the fireworks. We ended up seeing about what I’m guessing was the final 1/3 of the show.
At the hotel bar in the Hilton we had some more nightcaps. There was a large Gay/Lesbian country dance competition going on so the people watching was a hoot in the bar.
Again, we wake up late, but this time I don’t really care as we are not on a time critical schedule today.
Being scuba divers, we had wanted to see an IMAX film called Coral Reef Adventure. It just so happened that it was playing at the Science Center down in the Old Port area. http://coralfilm.com/ Very beautiful film, but did not tie in the necessity to preserve the reefs enough for me, but again, beautiful shots.
Before the film started we had some time to kill, I suggested going to the Pointe-a-Calliere Museum (museum of Archeology & History) but it was not open yet.
So I felt like playing and as a fellow FT’er suggested in an email to me, I tried the electric stand up scooters one can rent called Zappy Scooters http://www.currietech.com.au/news/rentals.htm The first one did not have a full charge and died after about 5 minutes, I walked the scooter back to get another. My second scooter had a much better charge and I was zipping around the Old Port area, wind in my ¼” length hair. This time the charge went out w/about 5 minutes left on my rental time, of course this is the time that I’m at the opposite end of Old Port from the rental tent. I walk all the way back and ask for some $ back due to the numerous problems. I did not get any $ back, so renter beware.
By this time it is almost time for our IMAX movie, so we see it. Oh, if you are scuba diver see the film, not only for the message and beautiful coral, but also for the drift dive scene, incredible, it looks as though they are flying.
Unfortunately we forget about the Pointe-a-Calliere Museum and proceed to find a yummy charcuterie to eat at in Old Montreal.
I love Folk Art, I like to see what people w/no art school/training create. There was a good exhibit at the McCord Museum http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/
The exhibit was great, gave me some ideas for projects I’ll build someday. There is also a nice ever changing exhibit on Montreal urban and rural history/artifacts. The First Nations also have an exhibit here.
We walk back to the hotel from here while poking into various stores to do some shopping.
We also take in the Cathedral Marie-Reine-du-Monde: http://www.patrimoine-religieux.qc.ca/cmmmtl/cmmmtle.htm
We get back, take a dip in the pool and then have a few beers at the Exec Lounge of the Hilton. I then call the concierge to confirm our dinner reservation I had made earlier. Huge screwup! I was told we had reservations at Toque but the concierge had not called at all as Toque is closed on Sundays (& Mondays).
Man I’m PO’ed as I really wanted to eat at this restaurant. We decide to dress down a bit and just go find a place in Old Montreal. As we exit from the Place D’Armes Metro stop, the wafting smells of Chinatown reached our noses. From all I’ve read, the Asian restaurants are not supposed to be worth a darn in Montreal but w/the delicious smells filling our noses, it was clear we were not going to Old Montreal for dinner. Chinatown here we come.
We window shopped various menus, but one stood out to us. Our delicious dining experience led me to believe that perhaps the Montreal focus is on French inspired food maybe a bit too much.
After dinner we continued to stroll down Chinatown looking for what I assumed would be the ubiquitous tourist post card shop, but there were none that I saw. We did have a delicious little snack called Dragon’s Beard candy. There was an open storefront window where they were being made a sold from. Dragon’s Beard candy is spun sugar (the beard) folded around a chewy center of peanuts, sesame seeds and other nuts. Quite delicious.
I noticed a few Vietnamese places that had predominantly Asian diners in it, the Asian food in Montreal can’t be that bad could/can it?
Let’s go to the casino was our next thought, so we hopped into a cab and 8 minutes and $9 later we are at the Montreal Casino on Isle Notre Dame. The former site of the French Pavilion left over from the world’s fair of ’67.
We take the escalators to the top floor to see the restaurant Nuances, a five star restaurant. The menu did look good, but pricey. Pricey was the cost of the two glasses of champagne we shared at the Nuances bar as well.
We then wandered; they have a cool mechanical horse track on a table 10’ long. The horses actually enter the starting gates and then race around the track. Should always go w/your instincts, before the one complete race we watched, my wife chose the green horse, it did end up winning the race. Too bad our luck did not hold out on five minutes we played the dollar slot machines. It was back to the hotel bar for some more nightcaps. http://www.casino-de-montreal.com/langue_cm_fla.htm
It is now our last morning and I am not waiting for my princess to awake, I am on a mission, a mission of bagels. Montreal has the best bagels in the world, yes MUCH better than NYC. I am going to do a side by side taste test between the plain and sesame bagels of Fairmount Bagel Bakery and St. Viateur Bagel Bakery. The result………..????.......read for yourself in the Flyertalk Dining Forum, Eastern Canada.
I bring back the remaining bagels to my princess who devours them for energy as today is our walk to the top of Mount Royal. We left the hotel about 10:30am and made it to the top of Mount Royal around noon. This did include some dawdling at the Chalet on Mount Royal which has the best view of the city. One can hike up higher on Mount Royal to the steel cross, but there are really no views. The toughest hiking is the first ½ of the climb; it is pretty easy after that.
We then walked down the Mount; it took 20 minutes to walk down and into the city centre. I had suggested that we shower up and go eat lunch at a “French” restaurant, but as we walked by Ben’s Smoked Meat, our deli cravings called out to us. Plus we were sweaty anyways. Again, if you want to see who does a better smoked meat, you’ll have to read the FT dining forum, Eastern Canada.
We get back to the hotel w/enough time to shower, pack and write postcards on the terrace by the Koi pond.
Traffic was a little slow and the cab ride took almost 35 minutes to the airport. Customs as expected was a breeze.
A slight delay in our flight getting off the ground but we were home, unpacked and in bed by 11pm.
A nice long weekend trip. We will be back to Montreal, I hope in the winter next time.
------------------
Visit FlyerTalk Dining http://flyertalk.com/diningfr.shtml
[This message has been edited by Sweet Willie (edited 07-31-2003).]
After she asked where we were going for our self-proclaimed “Annual Canadian Summertime Trip” I suggested Montreal, she agreed.
We flew out on UA’s first flight in the morning and arrived slightly after 10am Montreal time. Flight was on time and boring, being a stinky CRJ. Flight time was about 2 hours.
Cab ride downtown is a flat rate of $28 C (Canadian). It took about 20 minutes for our carbide into the downtown area at that time in the morning. We were staying at the Hilton Bonaventure in the Bonaventure Place building on an award stay. The Hilton turned out to be a fine choice. A stay report is here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/008064.html
By the time we unpacked and got settled we were hungry. I suggested I go out for some sandwiches. Turns out there is a Premiere Moisson location just across the street from the Hilton. Premiere Moisson is a combination bakery, deli, pastry shop all in one. As with all places we dined in Montreal, the locations/descriptions are/will soon be, written in the Flyertalk Dining Forum. If one searches for “Montreal” in the Eastern Canada forum of FT Dining, you will find them. I brought back two sandwiches and some pate, all were delicious.
We then took the Metro to Old Montreal/Old Port area and walked around. Lots of fun, character, shopping and eating. It does feel like you are in Europe when surrounded on four sides by some of the beautiful buildings. Old Port feels like any other tourist pier(s) on the water front. Two churches not to miss are the Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours Chapel and the Basilique Notre Dame.
We were disappointed w/Marche Bonsecours. There was however a very neat item we saw there. While my wife was preoccupied in some store that did not interest me, I noticed some beautiful winter photographs. As I was drawn closer, I realized that the “photographs” were actually embroidered silk. Amazing stuff, very neat.
It was now 4 pmish and time for an afternoon snack. We split a lobster crepe and a salmon salad.
After some more shopping/sight seeing it was time for dinner. Chose a restaurant right off of Place Jacques-Cartier. After a wonderful dinner we were tired. We Metro'ed back to the Hilton and watched “About Schmidt” w/Jack Nicholson in it. It was under comedy, but it felt more of a tragedy. Although watching him rant to Nudugu was quite funny.
Woke up the next morning late, much later than I wanted to. Grabbed a diet coke and some pastries from the Exec lounge and hustled to the Clock Tower pier to book our ride w/ Sauté Moutons or the jet boat rapids ride. The 1200+ horsepower jet boat makes departures every two hours starting at 10am. One gets briefing, a wet wool ex-Canadian military wool sweater, life-jacket, rubber scuba booties and a poncho or jumpsuit. These items do not keep you dry; they just prevent getting overly chilled from the wind chill. Wear a bathing suit; in no way believe you will stay dry in the least. There is a storage shelf but no lockers. Much to my wife’s dismay upon returning, there is no bathroom either, closest one is up top before you descend to the Sauté Moutons ticket booth. There are changing rooms. Bring a towel. This was incredible, simply incredible. Wife and I sat in the front row of the boat. The boat whizzes along the St. Laurent at 40-60 M.P.H. until it reaches the rapids of Sauté Moutons. The boat then S’s through the rapids up stream, veering in-between the high waves, then it does this fishtail maneuver and is pointed downstream. The boat then is directed into the waves of the rapids. As we descended the boat hit its first wave, the bow went up and all I could see was the distant horizon, we hung there for what seemed like a minute then the bow crashes down and a meter high wall of water crashes over the bow into the boat. I was completely drenched and thrown around like a rag doll but loved every minute of it. The waves hit sometimes so hard that my wife had to secure her earrings. The boat plays in the rapids for about 20-25 minutes then whizzes back to the pier. Guy next to us had been white water rafting in many locations; he said this was as close as you can get to what white water rafting feels like. http://www.jetboatingmontreal.com/ Oh, and they give you unlimited free hot chocolate to warm you up if you are chilled. Water temp of the river was much warmer than I expected, but then I like swimming in Lake Superior, so it might be a little chilly to some. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Around noon we have changed and are now STARVING due to not having breakfast. Wife wanted a sandwich, fine w/me. End up at a chicken joint in Old Montreal. I see chicken sausage on a baguette w/sautéed onions and peppers, I think great that will fit the bill. When the sausage comes I’m now let down. Stupid steaming or boiling of the sausage, I need my grill marks, some crispyness like a Maxwell street polish! Not a grey schwantz looking sandwich. Not good, skip the sausage sandwiches, but indulge in the frites w/garlic mayo, YUM.
We then took the Metro to the Pie-IX stop to see the Olympic Village, site of the ’76 Summer Olympics. I had forgotten what a mess these Olympics were: <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> In 1970, when Montreal was named to host the Summer Olympics '76, organizers estimated it would cost $310 million to stage the Games. However, due to political corruption, mismanagement, labor disputes, inflation and a $100 million outlay for security to prevent another Munich, the final bill came to more than $1.5 billion.
Then, right before the Games were scheduled to open in July, 32 nations, most of them from black Africa, walked out when the IOC refused to ban New Zealand because its national rugby team was touring racially segregated South Africa. Taiwan also withdrew when Communist China pressured trading partner Canada to deny the Taiwanese the right to compete as the Republic of China.
When the Games finally got started they were quickly stolen by 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, who scored seven perfect 10s on her way to three gold medals.
Four Americans who became household names during the Games were decathlon winner Bruce Jenner and three future world boxing champions–Ray Leonard and the Spinks brothers, Michael and Leon.
From: http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0114748.html </font>
Unpleasantries aside, we toured the world’s largest inclined structure, the Olympic Tower. Views were great. http://english.montrealplus.ca/profile/558398/
Also toured the Biodome which is adjacent to the tower. <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> The Biodome consists of four separate ecosystems: a tropical forest; a Laurentian forest that changes with the seasons; a St. Lawrence marine ecosystem simulating the estuary and the gulf; and polar ecosystems of the Arctic and Antarctic. http://english.montrealplus.ca/profile/558627/ </font>
One tip that we were lucky with. We went to the Tower first and bought a combination ticket good for the tower funicular and the Biodome. After the Tower, there was at least an hour long line to buy tickets for the Biodome, which of course we were able to skirt around and just enter the exhibits, dumb luck! Maybe that good karma I’ve been practicing is working.
It was getting late or else we would have toured the Botanic Gardens which are next to Olympic Park. http://english.montrealplus.ca/profile/558385/ We headed back to our hotel.
Another thing to do during the Summer on Sundays is go and see the Cirque du Soliel shows for free. see: http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/Forum21/HTML/000069.html
We did have reservations at a supposedly good Portuguese seafood restaurant called Ferreira Cafe http://www.ferreiracafe.com/ but we were in a deli/beer mood so we scummed it to Schwartz’s Smoked Meat for some hearty deli food. The full name of Schwartz’s is Charcuterie Hébraïque de Montréal but I’ve only seen it called Schwartz’s. Let’s just say w/some beer and a viande fumee sandwich, I was in heaven. To get to Schwartz’s we took the Metro to the Sherbrooke stop, walked west through Square St. Louis w/a beautiful lit fountain and gorgeous greystone like homes/buildings.
We went out drinking at some various bars along St. Laurent afterwards. Quite the variety of bar venues.
We had planned on seeing the fireworks at the amusement park in Montreal called La Rhonde. I believe that they have multiple shows every year where various firework companies compete http://www.lemondialsaq.com/en/ As we were about to enter the Sherbrooke Metro stop; out of the corner of my eye I caught the fireworks. We ended up seeing about what I’m guessing was the final 1/3 of the show.
At the hotel bar in the Hilton we had some more nightcaps. There was a large Gay/Lesbian country dance competition going on so the people watching was a hoot in the bar.
Again, we wake up late, but this time I don’t really care as we are not on a time critical schedule today.
Being scuba divers, we had wanted to see an IMAX film called Coral Reef Adventure. It just so happened that it was playing at the Science Center down in the Old Port area. http://coralfilm.com/ Very beautiful film, but did not tie in the necessity to preserve the reefs enough for me, but again, beautiful shots.
Before the film started we had some time to kill, I suggested going to the Pointe-a-Calliere Museum (museum of Archeology & History) but it was not open yet.
So I felt like playing and as a fellow FT’er suggested in an email to me, I tried the electric stand up scooters one can rent called Zappy Scooters http://www.currietech.com.au/news/rentals.htm The first one did not have a full charge and died after about 5 minutes, I walked the scooter back to get another. My second scooter had a much better charge and I was zipping around the Old Port area, wind in my ¼” length hair. This time the charge went out w/about 5 minutes left on my rental time, of course this is the time that I’m at the opposite end of Old Port from the rental tent. I walk all the way back and ask for some $ back due to the numerous problems. I did not get any $ back, so renter beware.
By this time it is almost time for our IMAX movie, so we see it. Oh, if you are scuba diver see the film, not only for the message and beautiful coral, but also for the drift dive scene, incredible, it looks as though they are flying.
Unfortunately we forget about the Pointe-a-Calliere Museum and proceed to find a yummy charcuterie to eat at in Old Montreal.
I love Folk Art, I like to see what people w/no art school/training create. There was a good exhibit at the McCord Museum http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/
The exhibit was great, gave me some ideas for projects I’ll build someday. There is also a nice ever changing exhibit on Montreal urban and rural history/artifacts. The First Nations also have an exhibit here.
We walk back to the hotel from here while poking into various stores to do some shopping.
We also take in the Cathedral Marie-Reine-du-Monde: http://www.patrimoine-religieux.qc.ca/cmmmtl/cmmmtle.htm
We get back, take a dip in the pool and then have a few beers at the Exec Lounge of the Hilton. I then call the concierge to confirm our dinner reservation I had made earlier. Huge screwup! I was told we had reservations at Toque but the concierge had not called at all as Toque is closed on Sundays (& Mondays).
Man I’m PO’ed as I really wanted to eat at this restaurant. We decide to dress down a bit and just go find a place in Old Montreal. As we exit from the Place D’Armes Metro stop, the wafting smells of Chinatown reached our noses. From all I’ve read, the Asian restaurants are not supposed to be worth a darn in Montreal but w/the delicious smells filling our noses, it was clear we were not going to Old Montreal for dinner. Chinatown here we come.
We window shopped various menus, but one stood out to us. Our delicious dining experience led me to believe that perhaps the Montreal focus is on French inspired food maybe a bit too much.
After dinner we continued to stroll down Chinatown looking for what I assumed would be the ubiquitous tourist post card shop, but there were none that I saw. We did have a delicious little snack called Dragon’s Beard candy. There was an open storefront window where they were being made a sold from. Dragon’s Beard candy is spun sugar (the beard) folded around a chewy center of peanuts, sesame seeds and other nuts. Quite delicious.
I noticed a few Vietnamese places that had predominantly Asian diners in it, the Asian food in Montreal can’t be that bad could/can it?
Let’s go to the casino was our next thought, so we hopped into a cab and 8 minutes and $9 later we are at the Montreal Casino on Isle Notre Dame. The former site of the French Pavilion left over from the world’s fair of ’67.
We take the escalators to the top floor to see the restaurant Nuances, a five star restaurant. The menu did look good, but pricey. Pricey was the cost of the two glasses of champagne we shared at the Nuances bar as well.
We then wandered; they have a cool mechanical horse track on a table 10’ long. The horses actually enter the starting gates and then race around the track. Should always go w/your instincts, before the one complete race we watched, my wife chose the green horse, it did end up winning the race. Too bad our luck did not hold out on five minutes we played the dollar slot machines. It was back to the hotel bar for some more nightcaps. http://www.casino-de-montreal.com/langue_cm_fla.htm
It is now our last morning and I am not waiting for my princess to awake, I am on a mission, a mission of bagels. Montreal has the best bagels in the world, yes MUCH better than NYC. I am going to do a side by side taste test between the plain and sesame bagels of Fairmount Bagel Bakery and St. Viateur Bagel Bakery. The result………..????.......read for yourself in the Flyertalk Dining Forum, Eastern Canada.
I bring back the remaining bagels to my princess who devours them for energy as today is our walk to the top of Mount Royal. We left the hotel about 10:30am and made it to the top of Mount Royal around noon. This did include some dawdling at the Chalet on Mount Royal which has the best view of the city. One can hike up higher on Mount Royal to the steel cross, but there are really no views. The toughest hiking is the first ½ of the climb; it is pretty easy after that.
We then walked down the Mount; it took 20 minutes to walk down and into the city centre. I had suggested that we shower up and go eat lunch at a “French” restaurant, but as we walked by Ben’s Smoked Meat, our deli cravings called out to us. Plus we were sweaty anyways. Again, if you want to see who does a better smoked meat, you’ll have to read the FT dining forum, Eastern Canada.
We get back to the hotel w/enough time to shower, pack and write postcards on the terrace by the Koi pond.
Traffic was a little slow and the cab ride took almost 35 minutes to the airport. Customs as expected was a breeze.
A slight delay in our flight getting off the ground but we were home, unpacked and in bed by 11pm.
A nice long weekend trip. We will be back to Montreal, I hope in the winter next time.
------------------
Visit FlyerTalk Dining http://flyertalk.com/diningfr.shtml
[This message has been edited by Sweet Willie (edited 07-31-2003).]