A Saturday In The Heart Of Montreal

[I started writing this back on July 12 2007, when R's sister brought her family out to visit us in Ottawa to celebrate R's milestone birthday. I had this entry nearly finished, but it got lost in the frantic pace of things as we prepared to move. Instead of letting it slowly fade away, I decided to finish it off and post it.]

As if we didn't do enough touristy stuff last week, we packed up the rental van and drove out to Montreal for the day on Saturday, mostly in an attempt to grind our visitors into the ground.



To build up stamina for the big day, we stopped 3/4 of the way to Montreal at the newly opened franchise of "La Belle Province" which had opened in the town of Rigaud. I'll never forget the first time I ate at "La Belle", because it was unbelievable. We had enormous plates of poutine and mile-high smoked meat sandwiches. Unfortunately, none of my experiences since then have measured up. This visit was pretty good, but R was appalled to find her cheese curds fused into three enormous wads, completely unaffected by the gravy. I think I ended up eating it.

After spending a windy few minutes in the square in front of Notre Dame Cathedral (which was closed), we headed through the Old Port sector of Montreal checking out the winding cobblestone streets that lead to Place Jacques Cartier -- a popular spot for buskers. This particular busker was offering free hugs (although I think he preferred to get generous donations for his gentle embraces). Our little niece was both intrigued and intimidated by him. I think that's a safe reaction.



After strolling along the promenade of the Old Port, we drove up to the top of Mount Royal, to climb the stairs to the top of St. Joseph's Oratory, which is Canada's largest church. It got to the top at sundown, and the lighting was exceptional. Unfortunately, I have neither the camera nor the photographic skills to properly capture such moments.

Everybody is smiling for the photos, but it was a pretty draining experience. I hope that J & L took something worthwhile away from their experience in Montreal -- aside from a stomach full of cheese curds.