Mont Royal

When we got into Montreal on Friday, the weather had cleared up completely, so we were free to wander around the city without umbrellas or coats in tow. We walked down to the Old Port for some lunch and then up (literally up) to Mont Royal. It's a busier area that had all of the restaurants and one ice cream shop I'd read about, so it was exciting to happen upon those places. We got an ice cream cone and sat on a bench people-watching before heading back to the hotel. Later we went for dinner at a little hole in the wall Thai restaurant, and it was perfect. There was soup and Coke in a can and perfectly grilled chicken and rice. Something about being on vacation makes it okay to eat a big dinner at 10PM.

It was great to get a feel for the city by getting around on foot (though I was exhausted and took a three hour nap before dinner, whoops!). So much of our life in Cambridge is walking around and taking the T, so I always appreciate those things in the places I visit. Their metro is very easy to navigate, probably because it's similar to the T, which also made getting around stress-free. I would definitely go back to Montreal, but I think my next Canadian city to visit would be Toronto, though that's a bit more of a hike. I loved being able to get out of town (out of the country!), explore a new place where people don't speak our language on a daily basis, without having to shell out for plane tickets and hotels. Definitely in the top 5 birthdays.