Our third day in Vancouver was completely magical. Spent a good part of the day with my old chum, the extraordinary gentleman writer Mr. Ken Hegan. Ate a hearty meal and then partook of some Christmas shopping on West 4th Avenue. We were privileged to finally meet Kyle, a hound of some renowned, whose vivacity and affectionate nature won our hearts immediately. The coolest sighting of the day:
A second wonderful day. Had a relaxing sleep-in at The Sylvia, which we love, delicious breakfast at Central Bistro, fascinating tour of the Vancouver Art Gallery, extra delicious hot chocolate at 49th Parallel in Kitsilano and wonderful dinner at Nuba on Hastings. Picture taking failed me today, but check out all the links!
Super rich and strong hot chocolate, beautifully presented at 49th Parallel.
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!
Burr, chilly wait for the bus this morning, but so clear and beautiful!
The festive lights at Granville Island.
Two days ago, on a rainy and warm December 1, the city threw an outdoor party they called Snow Day. It was a well attended family event in Centennial Square with ice sculptures, large piles of “snow” (probably the Zamboni shavings from local arenas) for sliding and throwing, refreshments and a machine that periodically blasted snowflakes out onto the crowd. It was actually quite magical!
A beautiful snowflake rests on the edge of the fountain at Centennial Square in downtown Victoria for Snow Day.
After a short rest at the hotel, we ventured out again, back to Musée des beaux-arts. Until January 20, they have a special exhibit: Once upon a time… Impressionism, Great French Paintings from the Clark. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings from 5 pm, the admission is only $10. It’s a beautiful show in a beautiful part of the museum. There were a lot of people visiting. It was wonderful to see pieces by Renoir, Pissarro, Boldini and one of my favourites: Danseuses au foyer by Degas. We wandered home admiring shop windows and bought some dinner and airplane snacks on the way back to the hotel. A memorable adventure to be sure!
We weren’t sure if we could take pictures in the show, much less post them online, so we took architectures shots instead. The entire gallery is gorgeous, the old bits and the modern.
Stunning hallway.
An elegant detail.
The Holt Renfrew Holiday windows were very beautiful.
We want GJ to have this ensemble. The velvet jacket was over the top!
This would be a fun place to shop.
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.
Notre-Dame Basilica.
Our tea service at Ming Tao Xuan.
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.
Sinclair Restaurant at Le Hôtel St-Sulpice.
Les écureuils partout! Jardin Botanique Montréal.
Lovely displays of alpine gardens from different parts of the world.
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.
“Infinite Pleasantness” – yes please!
A beautiful pavilion.
Art shot in the Japanese Garden.
Winter sun makes for long shadows.
GJ caught me admiring a beautiful yellow witch hazel in bloom. We used to have an orange one; I just love them.
This was an interesting sculpture. The view from this chair is of hundreds of squirrels foraging for, and/or burying food.
Twisty trees, shadows and reflections.
Swallow nesting boxes in the marshy area.
The vibrant colours of autumn have gone, and left these subtle, mysterious hues behind.
We wandered back towards the Old Port through these wonderful neighbourhoods, looking for a few galleries and shops we had found on the internet. Three galleries we recommend visiting are: Arsenal, Darling Foundry and Parisian Laundry. Back to Vieux-Montréal and a warming snack. We ended the day having a delicious Vietnamese dinner in Chinatown.
Loved these dressers in an antique shop window.
Detail.
We passed our hotel, seeking something to warm us up. We found a gorgeous building that turned out to be an art gallery mall on rue St-Paul. It had a sweet little cafeteria where we had hot chocolate, coffee and a little pear tart.
Heading back to the hotel past Place Jacques Cartier.
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.
The upper floor of Atwater Market is mostly butchers.
Warmed me up right to my toes!
Absolutely superb breakfast at Midi 6 in St-Henri.
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