We took a quick weekend trip to Montreal yesterday, returning tonight. It was a wonderful mini-vacation and I am so glad that we went. It was funny to see how drivers in Ontario and Quebec differ, and Ben had to remind me at one point when I was driving and complaining about all the congestion that we were in an urban area, instead of the boonies that I've quickly become used to driving through.
After checking in and getting a map of the city (we went pretty much cold, no plans, no recommendations for anything to see), we walked to the Grande Bibliotheque and then down to the old city. It was a brain-twister to try to function in French after working so hard to get my head to work in Korean. But it's always a good brain shake-up.
There were carolers and we walked around the little streets and peeked into the science center and walked on the water (ice) before heading back to pig out and drink yummy cocktails at a steakhouse. I love how biker- and pedestrian-friendly the city is. When we walked out, there was all this noise of fireworks, and we saw a lovely show - and it happens every Saturday night in December.
We considered a pool and workout date this morning but it turned into successive naps. We had walked through Chinatown on our way back to the hotel last night, so we went back for a ridiculously delicious and satisfying lunch at a Vietnamese place. I haven't had good Vietnamese in forever! It made me very happy. After a little bit of looking at the big mall shopping areas and and underground, we drove to little Italy to shop at the big market.
Somehow, we managed to stop and run errands before coming home and cooking another delicious meal of bacon-wrapped scallops and grilled asparagus. I am daunted by the workload, plus all my strategic packing for the holidays, but think I will be refreshed tomorrow and ready to have a productive 24 hours before hitting the road for Boston, NYC, Philly, and NYC again. And we will definitely visit Canada again! That was exactly what we needed.
We took a quick weekend trip to Montreal yesterday, returning tonight. It was a wonderful mini-vacation and I am so glad that we went. It was funny to see how drivers in Ontario and Quebec differ, and Ben had to remind me at one point when I was driving and complaining about all the congestion that we were in an urban area, instead of the boonies that I've quickly become used to driving through.
After checking in and getting a map of the city (we went pretty much cold, no plans, no recommendations for anything to see), we walked to the Grande Bibliotheque and then down to the old city. It was a brain-twister to try to function in French after working so hard to get my head to work in Korean. But it's always a good brain shake-up.
There were carolers and we walked around the little streets and peeked into the science center and walked on the water (ice) before heading back to pig out and drink yummy cocktails at a steakhouse. I love how biker- and pedestrian-friendly the city is. When we walked out, there was all this noise of fireworks, and we saw a lovely show - and it happens every Saturday night in December.
We considered a pool and workout date this morning but it turned into successive naps. We had walked through Chinatown on our way back to the hotel last night, so we went back for a ridiculously delicious and satisfying lunch at a Vietnamese place. I haven't had good Vietnamese in forever! It made me very happy. After a little bit of looking at the big mall shopping areas and and underground, we drove to little Italy to shop at the big market.
Somehow, we managed to stop and run errands before coming home and cooking another delicious meal of bacon-wrapped scallops and grilled asparagus. I am daunted by the workload, plus all my strategic packing for the holidays, but think I will be refreshed tomorrow and ready to have a productive 24 hours before hitting the road for Boston, NYC, Philly, and NYC again. And we will definitely visit Canada again! That was exactly what we needed.
1 comment:
Sounds like a wonderful time! I just had to go to Montreal for a conference in November and I stayed in the Chinatown Holiday Inn! Good luck with the rest of your trips!
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