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kismet09After working 8am-8pm days for most of last week, we headed out for a weekend to Montreal. The original plan was to see Simon and Garfunkel. The concert was postponed due to Garfunkel being old, but pricelined rooms dictated that we still travel.
Left Friday afternoon, and made it to Burlington in plenty of time for wandering, yarn fondling at Kaleidoscope Yarns, beer sipping at the brewery downtown (I had a sour raspberry beer that I deemed a very reasonable beer product for someone who doesn't like beer). We dined at A Single Pebble, which is officially the best chinese food I've had. I don't know what authentic Chinese food is - everything I've had is an Americanized version - but I'm guessing Single Pebble gets close to it. Happily, it was restaurant week, so we got to try lots of things: mock prawn, mock buddha beef, green beans with seitan, sweet and pungent walnuts, mock eel, and at least a couple of other things that I'm forgetting. The overwhelming umami in some of the dishes makes the food feel amazingly luxurious. The walnuts are incredibly rich and flavorful, and carnivores will not miss the lack of meat (there are plenty of meaty dishes available -- we did veg tasting menu). Take a big group if you ever go since it's family style eating, and be amazed by the food and satisfied with attentive, friendly service. Yum.
Saturday
To start the morning we grabbed snacks at the Burlington Farmer's Market (nice mix of produce and prepared food and crafty vendors), then headed to the border through the lush green Vermont terrain. Crossing was quick and painless, and suddenly the speed limits were in kilometers and the directives in French. First order of business was to see Notre Dame Basilica (good to go early before weddings take over). It was gilded and ornate and worth wandering around. We walked from there to the Old Port area, which is super cute with its cobblestones and small businesses and restaurants. On the way back, we found Salon du The and sipped oolong in a traditional style that required washing the pot, using separate smelling and tasting cups, and doing four infusions on the leaves, each of which tasted and smelled unique.
From there, it was time for poutine. This website provided some useful reviews, and I couldn't resist bacon poutine at La Banquise. Rich and ridiculous. I think I prefer Belgian frites to Quebecoise poutine. We had this around 1 and were too full to splurge on a fancy dinner.
Checked into the hotel, then walked to the Musee des Beaux Arts, two blocks from our hotel. This is one of those serendipitous things that sometimes happens when you book on Priceline - you end up in cool neighborhoods near galleries and museums. Most of the exhibits were free, including Inspiria: a collection of stunning necklaces created by a fancy french jewelry maker who was inspired by Cirque du Soleil. I wish there had been postcards so that I could capture some of the images to stare at later, even if they paled in comparison to the real things.
Ventured on to public transportation for a beer pilgrimage. Le Dieu du Ciel serves unique brews that look like they're made in very small batches, including one with absinthe, an imperial coffee stour (peche mortel -- translates as 'mortal sin'), and a bunch of others... I had a cider, Tim had the two I mentioned, and we shared a plate of cheeses and bread and fruits. On the way back toward the hotel, we stopped at the other brewery, whose name I can't remember - much more mainstream in its offerings, so if you're a beer snob, go to Dieu du Ciel. Grabbed some greek food on the way back to the hotel, including french fries. I really can't pass them up.
Sunday
The hotel had a nice continental breakfast, including frittata, hard boiled eggs, excellent pastries, strong coffee, yogurt, cereal, toast... fortified, we drove out to the Jardin Botanique and spent three hours roaming the grounds. The dandelions were threatening to take over, but it was still pretty and peaceful (glad we got there when it opened), and one of the greenhouses was filled with tropical food plants. I got to hug the wild coffee tree, and we took a picture of Tim next to the hops.
After the gardens, we headed to a public market. I think that I had reached my fill of crowds - sampled some gelato, cheese and chocolates, and then ran away. Decided not to try to smuggle plants illegally back into the US. Went to a cafe recommended by the guidebook for crepes and brioche, then back to the homeland.
it was a satisfyingly full trip - we spent a decent amount of time exploring neighborhoods, either driving or walking through, and there is plenty more that I'd love to explore with more time. I barely had to use my french, everyone was friendly, and it was easy to navigate. Almost every corner had a city map, so they make it very difficult to get lost. It would've been nice to have a data plan so that I could've yelped nearby restaurants when we were wandering around, but we did okay.
Left Friday afternoon, and made it to Burlington in plenty of time for wandering, yarn fondling at Kaleidoscope Yarns, beer sipping at the brewery downtown (I had a sour raspberry beer that I deemed a very reasonable beer product for someone who doesn't like beer). We dined at A Single Pebble, which is officially the best chinese food I've had. I don't know what authentic Chinese food is - everything I've had is an Americanized version - but I'm guessing Single Pebble gets close to it. Happily, it was restaurant week, so we got to try lots of things: mock prawn, mock buddha beef, green beans with seitan, sweet and pungent walnuts, mock eel, and at least a couple of other things that I'm forgetting. The overwhelming umami in some of the dishes makes the food feel amazingly luxurious. The walnuts are incredibly rich and flavorful, and carnivores will not miss the lack of meat (there are plenty of meaty dishes available -- we did veg tasting menu). Take a big group if you ever go since it's family style eating, and be amazed by the food and satisfied with attentive, friendly service. Yum.
Saturday
To start the morning we grabbed snacks at the Burlington Farmer's Market (nice mix of produce and prepared food and crafty vendors), then headed to the border through the lush green Vermont terrain. Crossing was quick and painless, and suddenly the speed limits were in kilometers and the directives in French. First order of business was to see Notre Dame Basilica (good to go early before weddings take over). It was gilded and ornate and worth wandering around. We walked from there to the Old Port area, which is super cute with its cobblestones and small businesses and restaurants. On the way back, we found Salon du The and sipped oolong in a traditional style that required washing the pot, using separate smelling and tasting cups, and doing four infusions on the leaves, each of which tasted and smelled unique.
From there, it was time for poutine. This website provided some useful reviews, and I couldn't resist bacon poutine at La Banquise. Rich and ridiculous. I think I prefer Belgian frites to Quebecoise poutine. We had this around 1 and were too full to splurge on a fancy dinner.
Checked into the hotel, then walked to the Musee des Beaux Arts, two blocks from our hotel. This is one of those serendipitous things that sometimes happens when you book on Priceline - you end up in cool neighborhoods near galleries and museums. Most of the exhibits were free, including Inspiria: a collection of stunning necklaces created by a fancy french jewelry maker who was inspired by Cirque du Soleil. I wish there had been postcards so that I could capture some of the images to stare at later, even if they paled in comparison to the real things.
Ventured on to public transportation for a beer pilgrimage. Le Dieu du Ciel serves unique brews that look like they're made in very small batches, including one with absinthe, an imperial coffee stour (peche mortel -- translates as 'mortal sin'), and a bunch of others... I had a cider, Tim had the two I mentioned, and we shared a plate of cheeses and bread and fruits. On the way back toward the hotel, we stopped at the other brewery, whose name I can't remember - much more mainstream in its offerings, so if you're a beer snob, go to Dieu du Ciel. Grabbed some greek food on the way back to the hotel, including french fries. I really can't pass them up.
Sunday
The hotel had a nice continental breakfast, including frittata, hard boiled eggs, excellent pastries, strong coffee, yogurt, cereal, toast... fortified, we drove out to the Jardin Botanique and spent three hours roaming the grounds. The dandelions were threatening to take over, but it was still pretty and peaceful (glad we got there when it opened), and one of the greenhouses was filled with tropical food plants. I got to hug the wild coffee tree, and we took a picture of Tim next to the hops.
After the gardens, we headed to a public market. I think that I had reached my fill of crowds - sampled some gelato, cheese and chocolates, and then ran away. Decided not to try to smuggle plants illegally back into the US. Went to a cafe recommended by the guidebook for crepes and brioche, then back to the homeland.
it was a satisfyingly full trip - we spent a decent amount of time exploring neighborhoods, either driving or walking through, and there is plenty more that I'd love to explore with more time. I barely had to use my french, everyone was friendly, and it was easy to navigate. Almost every corner had a city map, so they make it very difficult to get lost. It would've been nice to have a data plan so that I could've yelped nearby restaurants when we were wandering around, but we did okay.
