figarofigaro1 | Le weekend à Montréal, August 1-3

I'm behind on the blogging, but didn't want to let the last two weekends go without comment. We met our friends J&L from the UK in Montreal.

The original plan was for SH to join us, but he couldn't make it. J&L fly standby as J is employed by a major airline. Earlier in the week, the flight they wanted was oversold and things looked bleak. But they went to the airport anyway and made it on the flight after all.

B and I both took off work and we drove up Friday morning, and met J&L at our hotel, the Place d'Armes again (and we were even in the same room as last time). They were on the roof having drinks when we got there. It was a joyful reunion. We sat and talked for a while, reconnecting. You may recall, we met them in Palm Springs in 2006 and became fast friends. Then they met us in Paris after the Tour de Mont Blanc, later that same year. B had seen them at least once in London, but maybe twice. I can't remember for sure. But this was the first time I'd seen them since Paris.

We walked around and ended up at the restaurant at the Auberge du Vieux Port. We had a nice lunch and strolled a bit more. J had planned to go to a garden festival up north, on the Gaspé Peninsula. So they were off to the airport mid-afternoon.

After they left, B and I went to the museum to see the Yves Saint Laurent retrospective exhibit. It was keen. They had lots of designs and even had films of many of the things on the models on the runways. We loved it!

We'd left dinner to the last minute, since we didn't know if SH was coming or if J&L would be around. The concierge at the hotel was able to get us a table at Le Club Chasse et Peche. It was earlier than we'd prefer (19:45), but they didn't rush us once we were in and we had a leisurely dinner. We both had oysters. They take them off the shells and put them in shot glasses. Yummy. The hunting and fishing special was too good to pass up: crispy veal sweetbreads paired with a butter braised half lobster. Dessert was a chocolate tart and ice cream for B and I had a coconut and berry cake with basil ice cream. After dinner we went back to the rooftop bar at our hotel and had a drink and then went to bed.

Saturday after breakfast, we decided to go find the other big market in Montreal, the Jean-Talon. We took the metro up there and it was HUGE. In many ways, it is better than Atwater Market. More stands, more variety, and better prices. We didn't have any way to keep cold things cold, and we can't bring produce back into the US, so it was mostly a browsing and reconnaissance trip. We had a lovely lunch in an Italian place near the market and then made a final pass back through to buy non-perishable items that had caught our eyes (mustards, dried sausage, etc.). We'll need to figure out how to get to this market on surface streets and where to park. It looked like a traffic mess.

It was threatening rain, so we took our items back to the hotel and got our umbrellas. We decided to go find the pub that serves the beer we discovered at the Brewer's Festival, Dieu du Ciel. So, back on the metro and it did start raining. We found the pub and it was busy. We tried four different beers and confirmed that they did sell it at Atwater. The guy we talked to I recognized from the Brewers Festival even.

We metroed back to Ste. Catherine to the shopping area to a store that B likes. Then back to the hotel for a short nap. J&L were due back late and the finale to the Montreal fireworks festival (?) was slated to start at 10 PM. We met them in the lobby of their hotel and then we walked down to the waterfront and watched the fireworks and talked. It was cloudy but the rain had stopped and the fireworks were good, but the clouds kept the smoke from dissipating.

We knew we were in for a challenge to find someplace to eat very late. We walked to a couple of locations but they were already closed or closing. Then we passed by an unassuming bistro that I know we've walked by about a hundred times. They were open and they seated us. It turned out to be a nice meal. They seated others after us and it was nicely busy. After dinner we walked down to the gay village. It was late, but still busy. It was Divers/cité which is a big party... supposedly bigger than their gay pride. We walked the length of the village and then J&L started to crash. So they left and B and I had a drink in Tools before we walked back to our hotel. Everything was very busy, but we were tired.

Sunday we met J&L before noon for a final visit. They were reconnecting with other friends who used to live in Montreal and happened to be in town. And we had to get back to Burlington for a dinner event on Sunday night. So we strolled a bit and got some coffee and then they took off to rendez-vous with their friends and we drove to Atwater market for some cheese and other items that we could only get there.

Of note: I did the entire cheese purchasing en français, even getting the guy to go in the back and find me some Beaufort. A small victory. I have no trouble making myself understood, but my comprehension is really bad. Really. Bad.

No pictures from the weekend because everything was of J&L and I don't know if they want to be published on my blog. Instead, I will share this one sign that was on the side of a fire station near the pub. It's particularly eloquent, I think.