As it turns out, we’re travelling on 4 long weekends in a row this year. For the Labour Day holiday weekend, we are heading to Montreal. I haven’t been there other than overnight stays close to the airport for… 20 years? It’s going to be fun!
The trip started out well in 2 ways. One – we got our seats upgraded last minute just before boarding. And two – when we boarded the plane, sitting right in front of Ellie was a former colleague of mine who I hadn’t seen in 8 years!
Ellie makes a face about the kids meal. But she ate most of it, so it couldn’t have been that bad.
Her main course was macaroni and meat sauce with melted cheese on top.
Here’s my meal. The mezze plate was really good!
I had fancy Truffle Mac and Cheese while watching Dumb and Dumber since we got upgraded into the last seats in the middle section. It has been a very long time since I haven’t been able to look out the window on a flight. It felt different to watch something on a screen! Flavour was good but some spots were a bit dry…
A few glasses of champagne helped.
On arrival in Montreal we took the bus down to our hotel. An all weekend pass for the transit system was only $15. It was nice to ride in the empty bus lane past all the backed up traffic near the Mercier Bridge.
We dropped our stuff at the hotel and then headed out for dinner. Urban Ellie was excited about the alleyways with trash piles.
Reuben’s was our spot for dinner – good smoked meat without too far of a journey, and a nice pizza for Ellie.
After supper we walked down Ste-Catherine Street a bit and found another one of these stores that was all claw machines, so we had to stop in!
Ended our walk at Place des Arts…
The next morning was a bit dreary with intermittent, very heavy showers passing through. So we used the Underground City to get around a bit, past where someone had just spilled their coffee.
We were foiled before long and had to pop outside since part of the pedestrian network was closed on the weekend. This entrance to the Metro in Square Victoria is a good spot that can make some people think you’re in Paris!
The rain showers stopped for a short while, so we walked over to the Eaton Centre.
Hence arriving at Ellie’s favorite store… <groan>
Thankfully I was able to discourage her from wanting to buy anything. We toured around the mall for a bit and then grabbed some lunch in the Time Out “high end” foodcourt on one of the upper levels.
Later in the afternoon we went over to the Notre Dame Basilica dating from 1824. Always gorgeous. Unfortunately, the exterior was under renovation but the inside was as beautiful as ever. It was crowded, but I managed to creatively get some photos without people in them.
That evening we met some old friends from Calgary who now live in Ottawa, for dinner at a Portuguese restaurant. They were also visiting Montreal for the long weekend. I’d arranged this surprise meeting with Eric, so his wife Joanna had no idea that we would be there. It was a good surprise.
The restaurant was on St-Laurent Street, which had been turned into a pedestrian zone. We were pretty much right next door to Schwartz’s of Montreal smoked meat fame.
We all took the Metro together back to the area of our respective hotels – we were only about a 5 minute walk away from each other.
But first we stopped for ice cream around the corner from the Basilica.
Next morning we were out to a familiar neighborhood for breakfast. Not as trendy and cool as some of the places but it was delicious, fast, and filling.
We took a short bus ride from Snowdon Deli over to this place, which was my Grandma’s home for a very long time, until 2004.
Ellie was still energetic to march up the long escalator at the Square Victoria metro station.
But after a rest back at the hotel she said she wasn’t feeling 100% and didn’t want to go out in the afternoon. She was snuffling a bit and more tired for a few days after that but it never really developed into anything. Whatever it was, I picked it up the next week and was just whacked by it. Thankfully it moved on as quickly as it arrived.
While Ellie was relaxing at the hotel room, I went out to enjoy some walking before the forecast rain started again.
First at the Mount Royal stairs.
Up to the Kondiaronk Belvedere in front of the Mount Royal Chalet, with its postcard view.
Mount Royal Park was a beautiful place to walk.
Having seen this prominent landmark many times over the years, but never been close to it, I wanted to visit St. Joseph’s Oratory. Admission was free which was a nice touch.
It was also nice to get in, as moments after I walked in the door the heavens opened.
I got back on the Metro, exiting at Lionel Groulx – such a cool interchange station with the direction you’re most likely to change to directly across the platform from each other, rather than having to change levels.
My last poutine stop of the trip – Green Spot.
I don’t think much has changed here in years. The smoked meat poutine was one of the best I’ve ever had.
After I was done pigging out, Ellie was feeling better after a few hours of playing continuous Roblox and FaceTime with her friend back in Calgary. So we went to La Grande Roue de Montreal for sunset.
The views were great. And they were giving each group their own private cabin, which made the outing super enjoyable.
Dinner time in Place Jacques Cartier on a busy Sunday evening.
On our last morning I got up for a quick walk around while Ellie was still sleeping. It was a gorgeous morning. Too bad the weather was so hit and miss the rest of the trip.
I’m surprised they still put Mirabel Airport on these directional signs on the highway. Not like anyone really needs to know where that is.
A short while later, we were lifting off on our flight on a previously confirmed upgrade, so I got my coveted window seat rather than settling for the scraps.
Bon voyage!
Ellie's Adventures 