Left Victoria this morning for a few days in Vancouver, visiting friends and taking in a Cirque du Soleil show called Amaluna. Bright clear day in Victoria and gorgeous stormy day in Vancouver. We enjoyed poking around on Granville Island, especially at Circle Craft, and had another amazing meal at our favourite: Vij’s. Also a great visit with a friend who has just started a new life in the big city. We’re proud of you LJS!
We headed back towards the hotel in search of sustenance. Our hotel was right beside the Notre-Dame Basilica, which is incredible, especially at night all lit up. Very near the hotel is a lovely shop and tea house called Ming Tao Xuan, which we had wanted to try since the moment we saw it. We sat down in the beautiful dining area, and were presented with a VERY extensive tea list. We chose two teas, a Green Pu-Erh and an Oolong, plus vegetarian dumplings and spring rolls. We were given instruction on how to pour each type of tea and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, the tea and the snacks.
We woke up sad that this adventure was almost over, but the day was crisp and clear and we were excited to be out in it. After a lovely breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, Sinclair (can’t speak highly enough of Le St-Sulpice Hôtel), we headed up to the Metro station. About 20 minutes later we were near the Montréal Botanical Gardens. It was open, but mostly prepared for winter so beds were empty and not too much to see; still a magnificent place to be, peaceful and quiet. It must be magical when all in bloom.

Chines GArden, my favourite. Just to the right of this exquisite view, men in hip waders were removing the apparatus of a lantern festival from a few nights before.

Lovely detail. I look forward to coming here again to learn about the creation of all these gardens.

GJ caught me admiring a beautiful yellow witch hazel in bloom. We used to have an orange one; I just love them.
We were pretty cold by the time we got to Atwater Market, which is incredible. It was the only one of Montréal’s many outstanding public markets we were able to visit. From there we wandered looking for somewhere to eat and found Midi 6. We enjoyed omelettes which included those perfect croissants for $7.75. And, of course, Hot Chocolate, my obsession. It was rich and delicious. The dollop of sweet cream on top was just enough.
Leaving Mile End we headed down rue St-Urbain to rue Rachel and entered Parc du Mont-Royal through Parc Jeanne-Mance and past Monument à Sir-George-Étienne-Cartier. We thought we may as well walk up the paths a bit since we were there! So off we went. There were a lot of people walking and running. We made it up as far as Chalet du Mont-Royal and took in the extraordinary view from the Kondiaronk Belvedere. It was almost dark as we made our way down rue Peel towards our chosen dinner destination: Chinatown.
Day 10, which was Remembrance Day, it had been very cold. So on Monday I thought I would layer up with icebreaker and smart wool. My luck, it was a weirdly warm day and I suffered! But it was a fun day. We departed the hotel around 10 and took the Metro to the Mont Royal Station. Montréal has an exceptional transit and subway system. We took it several times and found the subway clean and efficient. Met up with our TO friends and had a great breakfast at Café el Dorado. Then we walked up through Mile End, window gazing and drinking coffee (GJ says it was “No shit, shut up and drink your coffee” coffee: possibly the best coffee he’s ever had) at Café Olimpico. Left our lovely friends and walked back towards Mont Royal.
For our first full day in Montréal, we met up with some friends who were visiting from Toronto. We enjoyed some yummy crêpes in Vieux-Montréal at a café called Muru, wandered around in Chinatown, explored Musée des Beaux-Arts (which is free for the permanent exhibits) and then left our friends and had delicious salads for dinner at M Café.
Upon arriving in Montréal, we couldn’t have been more delighted with our hotel: Le St Sulpice, Hôtel Montréal, 414 Saint-Sulpice in the heart of Vieux Montréal. The lobby was gorgeous, staff friendly and helpful, our room large, quiet, clean and very well appointed. Our five nights there were perfect. Once we settled in, we headed out for dinner. The lovely woman at the front desk recommended a very nice place just around the corner called Modavie. We were seated right away, and altho we couldn’t see it, we were able to enjoy listening to the live jazz which was performing on the second floor part of the restaurant.
We were sad to leave Quebec City, but excited to be heading to Montreal. Our last day started with perfect homemade crèpes and a few last hours with my wonderful cousins. We had a last quick stop downtown to pick up some snacks and try what is reputedly the best hot chocolate in town: it was amazing! Erico Chocolat Frais and Choco Musée at 634 rue Saint-Jean is worth a visit. A huge selection of chocolate delicacies and a menu of hot chocolate: the three we tried were all fantastic. Hopped onto the Via Rail to Montréal and the third leg of our Belle Province vacances!

Two of the four pairs of slippers we commissioned from a beautiful artisan we met in Victoria along the causeway where First Nations and other artisans sell their beautiful crafts.

I wish we had had more time at Erico Chocolat. We tried three different types of hot chocolate. The largest cup was mine: thick like hot pudding!












































