MONTREAL!!!

As some, if not many will know, Kirsten and I were recently off spending some needed vacation time in Eastern Canada. My parents bought a cottage on the water of the tidal Mill River in P.E.I. We were really excited to get out there and spend some time but we wanted to make a few stops along the way. Montreal was first...
We couldn't have picked a more exciting time to be there with both La Fête St. Jean Baptiste and the F1 Grande Prix going on at the same time. This is Montreal's busiest time of year.


Planning the trip as far back as January we were lucky enough to get a room in central Montreal at a place simply called the "Montreal Guest House". It was a nice, quaint little place right in the heart of the Gay Quarter just one block from St. Catherine's Street, the main drag in Montreal. This was perfect because we were so close to great cafes, restaurants, shopping, and the major museums and art galleries as well. St. Catherine's is kind of like Montreal's version of our Whyte Ave, though not really... It's more like Jasper Ave, if Jasper Ave was a lot cooler.
Anyway, there was tons going on with La Fête St. Jean Baptiste like outdoor fashion shows and of course the F1, which takes over the city. Just off of St. Catherine's was a road called "Crescent Street" which was closed down for all the F1 street events.










Now although all of this was cool, it was hard to compete with beautiful Vieux Montreal. At first, we were so caught up with the St. Catherine's Street area that it wasn't until the 3rd day that we ventured in Old Montreal. Needless to say we were glad we finally did.

Montreal's Notre Dame Basilica.











Montreal's Old Market.
Montral at night along the Fleuve St. Laurent.


Montreal is a seriously fun city. Beautiful, full of art and culture, history and great friendly people. Between the restaurants, the music, the museums and art galleries, Kirsten and I had an amazingly great time. We walked a lot, saw a lot and ate a lot, so it kinda all balanced out nicely. For many reasons, Montreal is going to remain a very special place to both of us.