Montreal!

We spent four days in Montreal a week and a bit ago, and it changed my life forever. I have really missed being in a big city with hustle and bustle, with noises and people with skin in every shade. With culture! Montreal oozes in culture. I've been missing our little life in Paris... the one where there was always something to do. When we could step out of our little apartment, walk five minutes to the Metro, and easily find something free to do. I miss shopping at the little markets for our daily fresh food. I miss buying a bottle of wine and some cheese - both at the grocery store, and sitting back to enjoy it. Montreal was a lot like Paris (with a fair bit of Canadian thrown in - not to mention nowhere near as old!). None of us wanted to leave. We missed our furbabies, sure. But the city has so much to offer. We loved it.

The food and drink was delightful, too!

There was lots of Quebecois rose wine and beer shared on the deck of our third floor apartment in the crisp Autumn air.

There were crepes, one of our family favourites! Tiernan had a Nutella crepe - no surprise there! We stumbled upon the Creperie Marche on the first day we got there at the Atwater Market. We also found the same place at the Jean Talon Market. I have never seen better markets than those in Montreal. Wow. I didn't want to leave!

Avery and Rhianna both opted for the savory vegetarian crepe - filled with cheese and spinach and topped with some delicious marinated onions, tomatoes and mushrooms.

There was a breakfast on the deck of Montreal bagels from St Viateur left for us by the owners of the apartment we rented.

There was a very fresh veggie burger at a little upper floor restaurant called L'Escalier that felt cozy with it's small rooms and live music.

There was a visit to Pain Dore for a blast into my past. I used to pick these up every Wednesday in Paris. I very much enjoyed sitting in front of the big open window with my daughter, sharing our baked goods and stories with each other.

My daughter, my love. ♥

And then there was the day spent at La Ronde, where we barely ate anything. We were too busy having fun on all the rides!

And last, but certainly not least, there was the 100% vegetarian poutine at La Banquise in Le Plateau that was well worth the wait (and not in the way you would think... let's just say that the "vegetarian poutines" were not exactly vegetarian in the other places we tried in Montreal... ugh...!). This one was so amazing.. we all savoured each and every bite!

I have to admit, my cooking has been pretty lackluster since we got home. First, we were too busy, then, I got sick AND was too busy. It's back to business this week, so expect more updates in the near future. (Including another later tonight when I update with a simple pasta, a tofu marinade and a pasta salad that I tried to duplicate from one that I bought from the Cafe E near the kids' dance studio.) It feels good to be going back into the kitchen. Now I just need to rid my throat of this irritation cough!