We were awake relatively early this morning. We were both excited for today. So we got ready and headed for breakfast at a Canadian institution…Tim Hortons. Breakfast sandwich for Nick, maple boston (i.e., a custard filled, maple frosted) donut for me.
Food eaten, we headed outside and approximately 1 door down to the Place des Artes Metro station. We found the ticketing machines easily enough, and thankfully the machines had an English option so buying our tickets was easy. I had screenshot the directions, so once we had our tickets in hand, we pretty easily found the right platform. A train came along within 5 minutes, and we were off to today’s destination.
I was actually really impressed with how clean the Metro train was. The T trains in Boston are absolutely NOT that clean. It was an uneventful 8 or 9 stop trip to the Pie-IX station, where we figured out that Sortie means exit and found our way back to ground level.
Once outside, we walked around the Parq Olympique a bit, before we headed for the Montreal Biodome, which was why we were really here (although as someone who really likes Olympic Gymnastics, being about to walk around the Olympic Park from the Olympics where Nadia Comaneci scored a 10 was a big deal).
We found our way to the entrance of the Biodome, and once our tickets had been scanned, started exploring. The Biodome is basically 4 different ecosystems, and it’s really well done. We both were very impressed and felt that the Biodome alone made the 4 hour trip to Montreal worth it.
When we were done at the Biodome, we decided since it had been so worthwhile that we should go to the Insectarium. This was about a 10 minute walk, but it was starting to warm up, so it wasn’t too bad.
At the insectarium, we bought tickets and headed inside. This place was basically a butterfly garden with a couple extra exhibits and some additional insects thrown in. It was well done, but I definitely enjoyed the Biodome more.
When we were done at the Insectarium, we worked our way to lunch, via some more picture taking around the Biodome and Parq Olympique.
Lunch was a few blocks from the Biodome: Poutine Centrale. When we walked in, we were greeted with a full conversation in French. Thankfully, they quickly saw our confused faces, asked if we were English speakers, and switched to perfect English. We all joked around and then Nick ordered basically poutine with bacon and I ordered a classic poutine with extra cheese. Service was quick, and the poutine was amazing. Not a place I’d go to after dark, but it was worth the off the path trek for lunch. And, I could have gotten away with regular classic poutine. There was a TON of cheese on mine.
Lunch eaten, we headed back to the PIE-IX metro station, where we waited just a few minutes for a train back to Place-Des-Artes. This train was standing room only, but it was another uneventful and surprisingly clean ride back to downtown.
When we exited the Metro, we discovered that there was some sort of big event going on AT the Place-Des-Artes, so leaving was chaotic, but we made it out, and then promptly found the nearby liquor store. Always look for interesting stuff. This was a small liquor store, so after surveying the options, we bought a maple cream liquor and a strawberry maple cream liquor. Since bags are not an automatic thing in Canada apparently, we also bought a reusable bag, which turned out to be the world’s best reusable bag…separate sections for up to 4 bottles of liquor. That bag will be a useful addition to our bag collection!
The liquor store was kind of in a mall so we explored a bit more, including going to an IGA. Nick seemed surprised that I knew that IGA was a grocery store, but he forgets that my grandparents lived close enough to Canada that we could watch the Canadian news channels (don’t ever watch their weather forecasts in February; those temperatures in Celsius are terrifying!), so of course I’ve been in an IGA!. This IGA was a small one (although bigger than it looked) and we were specifically looking for interesting items. Nick got some different flavor of Coke that he hadn’t found in the States yet, and I got some Easter Cadbury Dairy chocolate and some maple cream golden Oreos (yeah, they were amazing). We then worked really hard and eventually made it out of the mall. Seriously…more obvious exit/sortie signs would be great!
It was a couple blocks back to the hotel, where we settled in for the great dinner debate. I’d made reservations at a Montreal BBQ place that is apparently an award winner for their brisket, but as we’d walked back in the hotel room, I’d gotten a text that they would be unable to open for the night due to a family emergency, so our reservation was canceled. So, it was back to figuring out dinner.
We got dinner figured out and a reservation booked, then chilled for a bit before heading out into Old Montreal. The first stop was a souvenir shop. I needed to get a suitcase sticker and ornament for me and a shot glass for a friend. That goal was quickly accomplished, with some poor attempts at French, and some fumbling with the plastic that is Canadian currency. Then it was off to dinner, very nearby at the Wolf and Workman Pub.
Dinner was excellent. Nick got the steak frites and a Canadian stout. I had an apple cider spritz cocktail and the chicken pot pie. Service was attentive, food and beverages were excellent. Prices were city prices, but with the exchange rate working in our favor, dinner ended up costing about the same as it would have in rural NH. Even without the significant exchange rate benefit, Nick and I both would not hesitate to eat here again.
After dinner, we made the walk back uphill over the cobblestones to the hotel, where we pretty much crashed for the night.
No comments:
Post a Comment