Canada

MONTREAL
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Montreal: Canada
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Montreal, Quebec, Canada:

	Montreal may be our new favorite city, so much so that the trip almost took a very long hiatus here.  Our half baked plan was to cruise into Montreal about 5pm, check out the city, and then find some camping or a cheap hotel outside of the city.  Luckily we called Cousin Jimmy as we were waiting in line to cross the border (which by the way was smooth sailing).  As soon as we asked Cousin Jimmy for some tips on where to go in Montreal, since he has been there so many times, he put us in touch with his buddy, Andrew Henry.  More on Andrew below, but he made a great first impression when he called us 2 minutes later with a room reservation at a hotel called “Auberge De Vieux Port,” which he described as very romantic, with a view of the St. Lawrence River (we highly recommend this place should you ever visit Montreal).  

Turns out, his description was an understatement.  First of all, driving into Montreal was not at least what Mike was expecting.  Ruthie had been once in 10th grade.  It has a very developed skyline, think Chicago-ish, and some very impressive bridges.  Also, everybody was driving at last 30 mph over the speed limit.  Very different from what we have seen of Western Canada.  

	Our hotel was in “Old” Montreal - an approximately 3 by 10 block area which looks like a 400 year old town in France. It has cobblestone streets, small roads, tons of open cafes, and shops, and a Notre Dame Basilica to round things out.  Already impressed, we rolled up to the hotel, which was in a beautiful stone building right on the water, and free parking to boot!  Like everywhere in Montreal, we were greeted in French, but the concierge spoke excellent English and was very friendly.  The situation kept getting better as well.  After we were given our room, which was a gorgeous combination of the original stone walls, windows, and wood beams, as well as a modern bathroom, and fixtures, we were told that we were just in time for complementary wine, cheese and fruit down a wrought iron spiral staircase to the basement restaurant, which again combined the classic structure with modern décor, including a huge glass enclosed wine cellar.  

	Following our fill of wine and cheese, we set out exploring.  Just around the corner from our hotel, were at least two square blocks of art galleries, a running/walking path on the St. Lawerence, and enough outdoor restaurants and cafes to last a lifetime.   It also did not hurt that the weather was clear and 70 after nearly a week of clouds and often rain.   After wandering around for some time, we treated ourselves to oysters and champagne at some fancy hotel bar, and then ate dinner at Hommard Lou, which we chose purely for the ambience.  After entering through a stone tunnel, most likely built hundreds of years ago, we sat down at our table, which was on the second floor, near French windows thrown wide so that we could watch the commotion on the street below (cobblestones, monuments, outdoor cafes and shops, a great view of a copper roofed city hall, and tons of foot traffic), or stare out at the river in the distance.  Just after dessert, we called Andrew Henry, and he suggested a bar around the corner for an after dinner drink.  Over cocktails, he gave us a nice city history, and introduced us to a scotch bar which we’re blanking on the name of, which must have had 500 scotches.  He’s a great guy and will definitely be a fun one to host in LA one day.

	Back to our awesome hotel which kept paying off the next morning.  At about 10:30 a.m., we descended down the spiral staircase to the restaurant below, and were greeted with a complimentary breakfast which consisted of not only an assortment of fruit, croissants, scones, juices, cereals etc., but a choice of a delicious entrée as well.  Definitely not the way hotels operate in the states.  

	With full bellies, we set out on our standard walk-about, to explore the city beyond Old Montreal.  It was a great 6 hours.  Montreal is definitely diverse when it comes to neighborhoods. We hit China Town (yes even in Canada), downtown, which looked like any financial center, an area with a few colleges, which looked like any college town coupled with the lower Haight meeting Hawthorne St. in Portland, OR, a few high end shopping areas, and a few very poor areas.  We also got a chance to spend a couple of hours at the Museum of Contemporary Art.  Some of the exhibits were hit and miss, but the permanent collection was really interesting. 

	On the way out we had lunch at Republic, which is worth mentioning because of they served a great club sandwich, in a great French bar environment, for like $6 bucks.  Back to the states.
TRAVEL LOG FOR CANADA
QUEBEC
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