Day 2 in Montreal

Hello all, 

On our second night in Montreal,  Cath and I spent a very fun evening in the historic old town with my brother Don and sister-in-law Gail.  We had dinner at, Bevo, an Italian  restaurant right across from our hotel. It was very casual: pizza and pasta mostly. 

 We shared a vegetarian pizza for an appetizer and got salads, seafood  pasta and mushroom & truffle risotto for the main course.  Everything was super delicious.  Our waiter, who went to McGill University (one of the best universities in Canada), was a fascinating person who we all agreed should go into politics.  Originally from Colombia, he migrated to Montreal with his family when he was a young boy.  He was super smart and could really talk.  We would probably disagree on many political questions but he was just a lot of fun to listen to.  Very interesting and entertaining for us, although the other customers may have been wondering where their waiter had gone.

It was a mild evening so after dinner we took a stroll in the old town and found a delicious ice creamery and creperie called Mlle. Catherine.  

They offered both soft serve (complete with chocolate dip coating!) and also traditional gelato. Everybody went for the gelato although I was tempted by the soft serve with milk chocolate coating.  They also offered a number of embellishments on the cones, so I opted for a cone that had a crown of Fruit Loops affixed to the rim.  What a treat! We took our ice cream to go and strolled among the old stone buildings and thought about what it might have been like in the 1700s.  

 By and by we were approached by a a group of students who said they were asking everyone what their favorite song was.  Don wowed them with the revelation that he had recently seen Bruce Springsteen perform live and that Born In the USA was maybe the best song in a three hour concert.  After that, there wasn't much for the rest of us to say! We had a nice chat with the young Canadians, and went along with our walk in this perfectly preserved town.  

This morning, we got up and took a walk down St Paul Street, one of the main walking streets in the old section of Montreal. We went to a small cafe which was recommended to us by our friends Mychael and Dan which is called Olive and Gourmando. Since we had a food tour scheduled for later in the afternoon, we thought we had better not load up too much at breakfast time, so we just had coffee and pastry. Cath said the blueberry cornbread muffin was one of the best muffins she's ever had. I had the pastry called Kouign-amann which was a very rich layered pastry that is said to be one of the most difficult to make. It was absolutely delicious The coffee was also really good. Not quite up to Tommy's standards but good nonetheless.

On our walk back to the hotel we came across a beautiful old stable that has been carefully restored.  This is just one of many sights that you see all over old Montreal:

In the afternoon we took an Uber to the Last Mile neighborhood for our Montreal food tour. We met our guide, Alex, in front of a bakery called Guillaume, where they have a fantastic selection of pastries and breads. Alex got us each a Mushroom Brioche, a very rich roll in the shape of a mushroom.  There were no actual mushrooms in the roll.  That was good but what interested me was the Cro-Cube:

This is six (6!) croissants pressed into a cube.  I really wish I had bought one.

Then it was on to our second stop:gnocchi at Drogeria Fine.  Tasty little gnocchi morsels in tomato sauce.  I knew I'd better not finish these or they might finish me.  

The gnocchi on the fire.

Next it was time to try the salami and bologna sandwich at Wilinsky, founded in 1932.  Slathered with cheese and mustard and cooked on a device that looked like a large George Foreman grill, these were so simple and perfect.  I resolved not to eat the whole sandwich but of course I did.  Man, was it good!

Are you still with me?  I hope so! But we're only half way done so on we go.

Next was a bagel place, specifically St. Viateur Bagel, founded in 1957. A huge, wood fired  brick oven fed bagels by 15 foot long wooden boards. For bagel lovers, this has to be close to the zenith. Alex got us sesame bagels hot from the oven and I don't think I've ever had a better bagel.  So delicious.  

Next, we finally got to try poutine. A first for me. This is French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. It's a real Montreal specialty, much beloved by the locals.  Obviously not a light dish. It was really good, even after all the other stuff we'd consumed.  

Finally, we had our last stop and it was pretty easy.  Espresso and mini cannoli at Cafe Grazie Mille.This cafe has been there a long while and the cannoli are really good. The owner is Sicilian so he knows how to make good cannoli.  It was a great finish to our food tour with our great guide, Alex. 

Here'sost of our team for this trip: Below are my brother-in-law Tom, Cath and my sister Sheila at the gnocchi place; 

Here are my sister Noreen, her husband Bill and my sister-in-law Gail.  My brother Don was stuck on a court call so we don't have his photo here yet. Don't worry, there will be more!

Congratulations to my niece Kate, daughter of Don and Gail, on passing the California bar exam. Great job, Kate! We were all jumping for joy when we heard the news.  

Thanks for staying with me to the end of this really long post.  Tomorrow we get on the ship so probably I'll be covering mostly buffets and shuffleboard matches from here on out. 

A bientôt!