Well, our house sit in Canada is coming to an end. It’s been an interesting time – the coldest Montreal winter in recorded history. We can hardly complain as our house has been warm and cozy and the local people friendly. Alexandra has taken us on a couple of outings since we got back from New York. She has been determined to show us some more of Canada. On Wednesday we drove into Montreal – it is good to have a knowledgeable chauffeur – and we learnt more about the city. We drove over the St Lawrence River to the island of St Helen (Ile Sainte-Helene), visiting Parc Jean-Drapeau and the old USA pavilion from the 1967 Expo held in Montreal. It is now called the Montreal Biosphere. We crossed onto the island of Notre-Dame (Ile Notre-Dame) which was artificially created from all the rock excavated when the metro system was built under Montreal City. This was all done in preparation for the Expo. We later saw the 1976 Olympic Stadium. It’s amazing the infrastructure these events create in a city. We drove up Mt Royal to the lookout over Montreal and then back into the city for a “smoked meat” sandwich at the famous Schwartz Café. I guess we would call it corned beef and mustard – it was delicious! We drove to the St-Viateur Bagel shop to buy some freshly baked bagels and then had afternoon tea at the Jean-Talon markets. It was a great day out.
Yesterday we had planned to go to Quebec City but the weather forecast was for “freezing rain”. We decided to visit Mt Tremblant instead – much better option. Mt Tremblant is north-west of Montreal in the Laurentian Mountains – nearly two hours drive from Beaconsfield. We still had a lot of rain but the road was safe to drive on. Checked out the village of St Jovite and had lunch at a lovely café on the main street. We then drove a little further up the mountain to the Mt Tremblant village/resort. Apparently the rich and famous come to ski. The rain cleared enough for us to have a good walk around the village. Very beautiful, expensive shops – very upmarket. Also had a great ride in one of the local ski lifts – wonderful views. Headed home tired but very happy with another enjoyable day out. The countryside is so different now with the snow melting, the grass still a yukky green, and the flowers yet to bloom. In between seasons.
Well off to France tomorrow night. Reg is snuggled up in bed with a cold so hopefully he is feeling much better tomorrow and the cold bugs leave me alone!!
Bye for now
love Di and Reg
This entry was posted in Beaconsfield, Montreal, Canada, House Sits- house sit
- Jean Talon markets
- Montreal Biosphere
- Mt Royal
- Mt Tremblant
- smoked meat sandwich
- St Helen
- St Jovite
Have a safe trip to france. Sorry get to skype, was looking forward to a wuick chatwuick. Le me know when a good time to skype is. Heading home tomorrow so a bit nervous about that.
Love you Tarsh. Skype soon. All will be well.
Great blogs. It was nice to have you as house-sitters. Much appreciated. Just a little correction…it was the soil from the St. Lawrence riverbed, during the construction of the underwater Metro line, between the islands of Montreal and St. Helen, that formed the man-made island of Notre- Dame. 🙂
Hi Alexandra….we enjoyed your lovely home heaps. I got the info about the island of Notre-Dame from Wikipedia. Couldn’t remember the details! Maybe you need to visit the site and update it as needed. I gather Wikipedia is a work in progress. Hope all is well with you and all the critters.
Hi!! sorry we did not see you before you left. I hope you are settling in en France. I will keep in touch and watch you two adventurers every once in a while. By the way, a few people asked where you were on the Sunday after you had left and were disappointed. Always nice to be missed, eh? Peace, Victoria
Hi back…..sorry to have missed Sunday. We had both come down with very yukky colds so stayed clear. Spent the day packing, cleaning and getting to the airport for our flight. Yes, definitely nice to be missed! Love to all xxx