Towards the end of May, they said it was summer.
They also said we deserved a break. It was true though, that for 5 months through snow and shine (or winter and spring), M and I had hunkered down and worked pretty hard to land a job, and to complete a very full-time, very intense, UX course at BrainStation, respectively. Both these milestones also happened for us on the exact same day in the middle of May, really! So it was a bit of a mental break for sure. Also, in two weeks after, we were moving to Toronto, what was meant to be our arrival city to begin with.
Given that the Quebec-Ontario border would not be a stone’s throw away once we moved out of Ottawa, we decided to make a trip to Montreal. It was legit our first getaway in Canada, our first on the amazing VIA rail, our first stay at a Sonder!
But before that, we needed to buy Summer Clothes! Having arrived in the winter, to a country of perpetual cold, and during a pandemic, we were in no possession of summer clothing. Since the lockdown had still not lifted, we made online orders at nearby stores, and chose to curb-side pick up clothes for Montreal. It was a few continuous days of rampant online ordering, picking up jumpers, shorts and more shorts by walking to shopping malls around, and bringing them back and trying them at home. So exhausting, but FORTUNATELY there were no returns!
It wasn’t just shopping malls that were shut. Inter-provincial borders were still closed too, but the trains were still running. So we took our chances and off we went on a VIA rail; for the absolute train lover in me, Via rail was an experience that felt no different from taking a flight! Once onboard, we shared this excitement of being on a fancy train via video calls back home, and settled on facing window seats with a table in between, with some hot chocolate, Ham and Swiss cheese croissant with fig spread and a falafel wrap. Omg DREAM LIFE for the next couple hours!! (Anyone else as excited about trains-specially-with-window-seats as destinations, hifive!)
Our Sonder was conveniently located a few minutes walk away from the Notre dame basilica, at a 10 minute walk from the train station. We walked up into the historic old quarter, and the charming cobblestone streets, stone facades, gas lamps and pretty cafes made it feel more European than American. Mikail was already waiting to show off his Duo-lingo-acquired French!
Day 1 – Food and Neighbourhood walks
We’d arrived by lunch, so first things first, we grabbed a pizza from Pizzeria No.900 Napolitaine, something that we were recommended by our folks. Since dining in wasn’t an option due to the provincial lockdown, we carried the pizza to the Place d’Armes courtyard across from the Notre-Dame Basilica. The other great thing was that we did this trip spanning across a Tuesday through Friday, so there was no crazy crowds we encountered anywhere. It was peaceful and pretty, and the most wonderful summer weather to be outdoors. Next, we grabbed coffee and chocolate croissants from the very quaint Le Petit Dep/ Depanneur Cafe right next to the basilica, and set out on our long walk towards the old Port of Montreal. Historic, cobblestoned, walkable cities are my most favourite places in the world to be!!
Our port walk was the full stretch and over a couple of hours of wandering along the entire stretch. We gasped at the view of Habitat 67 from the city side, strolled all the way toward the river at King Edward Quay, puttered around Jacques-Cartier Pier and the landmark Ferris wheel, gawked at the Clock tower and Jacques-Cartier Bridge, before turning around and walking back toward the gorgeous building of the historic Bonsecours Market that I was so longing to go into if there was no lockdown. Coming back into the city, we made our way to the SAQ and picked up a white wine and a Rose’, and then headed into Chinatown to get our dinner fix for this wonderful first day in Montreal. There was some amazing food packed from Chez Chilli and that set us up for a great evening back at our sonder. That the wine bottles needed a corkscrew, which did not exist, was a whole other discovery we made only once we returned to the room! (Edited: I think we managed to open the white though!)
Day 2 – Museums, Murals and more Food
Day 2 was drizzly (summer is not just summer it seems), and thus, ascertained as our day for the musées. But before that, we HAD to HAD to eat at the amazing Olive et Gourmando. So more mochas, croissants, and yumm poached egg paninis were devoured. If I knew then that we wouldn’t have lunch until 5pm, I would’ve certainly not stopped at that. As luck would have it, we decided to go into the Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History first, and I’m so glad we did, because we ended up spending close to 5 hours in this ENCHANTING place, with nearly zero museum-fatigue! So glad we had time on our side, and could absolutely live the experience of the best, most engrossing museum I’ve been to till date.
The museum is situated at the historic site where the city was first formed. It covers the history of the city, all the way from when the first settlers arrived into Ville Marie, upto the making of current day Montreal. The museum building has restored portions of the original stone walls that once made up the city, as exhibits. A back-in-the-day subterranean sewer has been treated as a transition exhibition space too, and one also finds themselves walking on glass floors looking closely at the original excavations underneath! Love love how this and many other North American museums are so experiential and so so immersive. Late afternoon, we scarfed down some burgers and also visited Château Ramezay, a much smaller yet very rich governer-residence-turned-museum, complete with its interesting basement and Governer’s Garden at the rear!
With the sun now setting pretty late in the evening, we decided to go further north on Rue Saint Laurent, to hunt lots of the famous Montreal murals. Exhausting as the day was, before we wound up, we found this hole-in-the-wall pizza place called Chef Zak’s Pizzeria, which was SO fresh and way better than any other pizza we’d tried. Across from Chef Zak’s is Réservoir – Brasseur, we got fresh lemonade and some beer and sat on their outdoor benches with our brilliant pizzas. Divine.
Day 3 – Gardens and more Museum
This morning we headed to the Jardin botanique de Montréal or the Botanical Gardens. It didn’t feel like a summer day to be fair, there was a nip in the air, but we had some light throws so no worries. The garden was highly recommended to us, as a result, we went with no expectations since we’d not really looked it up before. Upon entry, there were lots of rose gardens on either side, but no roses since it was still the end of May and probably not the time in Montreal for those certain roses. The next leg was the more manicured Chinese and Japanese gardens – really pretty but not overwhelming yet. It was, when we went deeper into the garden, the ‘Flowery brook and Lilacs’ zone on the map, that took our breath away!
The two brooks were gorgeous lotus and lily ponds, and the lilacs were in bloom that week too- so so breathtaking! Perfect to spread out that garden mat in a spot under the sun and picnic away for hours, which is exactly what we did :). Further north, the Arboretum was an enchanting woodland, and within it sat the tiny jewel that was the Leslie Hancock Garden, which we are so grateful we chanced upon towards the end of our time there. That particular week, there was a riot of rhododendrons of myriad colours!!! There were delicate, elegant whites, all kinds of calming soft pinks and lavenders, but also deep scarlets, magentas and purples, and cheerful yellows and oranges.
There was still time that evening, so we went to the Museum of Fine Arts, and treated our senses to Montreal-born Jean Paul Riopelle’s abstract, surrealist, bold paintings at their exhibition Riopelle: The Call of Northern Landscapes and Indigenous Cultures. We were also lucky to catch GRAFIK! Five Centuries of German and Austrian Graphics, and Ecologies : A Song for our Planet. Dinner was some lebanese picked up near the museum and eaten at a park across. Back home, our unopened wine bottles were elegantly waiting, but all days were so engrossing that the corkscrew was not remotely on our minds.
Day 4 – A lot of Wine, Architecture, and Lunch with live jazz!
Today was COLD. So unfair for a really cold day to make an unplanned appearance in the country of scarce summer. Some layers had to be worn to survive, but we had to be out and about since this was our last day in the city. It was also the day lockdowns were lifting in Quebec, and that meant we could enjoy a meal indoors, and with live music! Before that though, the gorgeous Habitat 67 was a must-visit on our list. So we packed to check out at 11am; the plan was to leave our luggage in the Sonder cloak room. In a hurry, corkscrews were managed, and wine bottles were downed instead of coffee this morning.
Habitat was amazing to see IRL; the interlocking prefab concrete blocks, connecting corridors, corner windows, fine details, also impolite staring at terraces and sunrooms to see what life is like living in these legacy apartments. We’d heard of walking tours that took one inside the apartments, through the corridors, and into one of the apartments too; however, those were not in place due to the pandemic. Because this was a time that visitors were not expected in any significant numbers, we were able to walk into, and access the internal courtyard, facing the river, and thus gawk at the built form long enough from both elevations. What a successful day!
First and last indoor lunch for the trip was had at Nelson Jardin – which looked like it had barely any people in its front patio, because everyone was in the rear – and having lunch under tree canopies to live jazz music. More day made. And this is all when the other best bit was still coming – hopping on Via rail for another couple hours back to Ottawa!
Such a great first trip in this new country, coming out of over a year of a global pandemic.
So grateful leaving Montreal and waiting to see what Toronto had in store!
komikstrips 