We got a later start than we wanted to on Saturday, and then about half an hour into the drive we had an alarming car issue at 75 mph. It turned out to be no big deal, thankfully, and the rest of the ride was smooth. It took us an hour to get across the Canadian border, and finding our hotel was somewhat challenging, but once we did that everything was fine. We tried to bring MT to Notre Dame, but it was closed for a special "Light and Sound Spectacular!" or some such, and none of us was interested in waiting an extra hour and a half for the Lord's Laser Show, so we walked down to the waterfront instead. There were several festivals going on there over the weekend. One was a Japanese thing on the waterfront, one was some kind of anime thing which seemed to be made up of mostly teenagers in costume, and another looked like a massive dance party of some kind that we drove past late night on our way back to the hotel. We walked for ever and ever, taking in the sights, snapping a few pictures (to be posted later), and eating and drinking whenever and whatever struck us. I got a chocolate chip almond baguette at a bakery in the Jean Talon Market, and two date pastries that I had been waiting since my last visit to have again. We had lunch at a taco place, snacked on fresh fruit (which we were not allowed to bring back across the border, unfortunately), and stopped for a beer at a local brewery up there that was decent even though it was loaded with tourists.
We had dinner at an Italian restaurant. The woman (obviously the owner) was Italian and spoke fluent French and English. Her cooks were both Indian, the other waitress a native English speaker who sounded Canadian, and while we had dinner I noted that she wished a large group of regulars at the next table a happy Ramadan. It made me really miss living in the city.
There is something wonderful about feeling so alien in a city so close to home. I don't speak much French (virtually none, really), but the b.h. and I are both fairly fluent in French food words, and we joked about how timid we were when trying to order anything. We relied largely on pointing, too embarrassed even to try. The opposite of Ugly American, I guess. I have tried to learn some basic French via podcast (I can say my name, where I live, and count up to twenty, and, under the right circumstances, remark on the weather), but couldn't really tell what letters the woman was pronouncing half the time due to crap car speakers, so I gave that up months ago. I have been looking for a class here in town, but have had no luck so far. I recently discovered that a friend of mine from high school, who was an exchange student, is living in Quebec City with his girlfriend, so we are trying to plan a visit there as soon as possible. It will be nice to have a native (and a native speaker) to translate for us.
We got back to our hotel fairly early, slept for several hours, and then found our way to the Jewish part of Montreal where we had bagels from a shop that has been in business for 70 years. They were fabulous, as expected. From there we went back down to the waterfront, walked around some more, and stopped in the Museum of Archeology to see their Easter Island exhibit.
After that we hit the road. The border was quicker on the way in, and we hung out in Burlington for a bit before dropping MT off at the airport.
This is a park in the middle of the city:
We walked around a little bit, but we didn't really know where we were going or how big the park was, so we didn't see much. We did witness a guy trying to corral what appeared to be a woodchuck that was trying to run into rush hour traffic. He did manage, and the beast eventually scurried back toward the woods, eliciting cheers from the mass of teenagers smoking there.
This sign was supposed to indicate that there is a speed bump on the street. As you can see, it has been modified hilariously.
Did I mention the pastry as big as my face? It was divine.
No comments:
Post a Comment