And I Would Walk 500 Miles...

Bonjour! Yesterday we allowed ourselves to sleep in after being up so late the night before, and headed straight into the city for smoked meat sandwiches at Schwartz's - which is apparently the 'hot spot' for such cuisine in all of Montreal and possibly the world! It lived up to its reputation. After waiting in line outside for about 20 minutes, we were shuffled in through the crowd to share a table with two other hungry and eager couples. It was so authentic, it felt like we'd stumbled upon some secret joint where you needed a password to get in. We got two viande-fume (smoked meat) sandwiches, shared a plate of french fries and a pickle, and two of the traditional black cherry sodas. Mmmmm.... good.












After lunch we walked around Plateau Mont Royal, which is an artsy area of the city that seemed like a fusion between Adams Morgan and Brooklyn. Super cute! We then walked to the top of Mont Royal for some gorgeous views of the city, and finally headed back to the centreville (downtown). It was hours and miles of walking, and we were both thrilled to sit in a cafe with our lattes and relax.








We finished the day with a romantic fondue birthday dinner at Alpenhaus. It was nice to take our time enjoying the fondue and talking in the dimly lit restaurant. Three hours later, we headed back to the resort ... tired and full.

This morning we woke up to an amazing winter wonderland! We walked through the snow down to the resort restaurant for a delicious breakfast of french toast, eggs, and fresh fruit. We then took a short hike through the snow up the hill to a lookout over the town and lake. It's so, so beautiful here!










We are now headed back to Montreal to go ice skating, visit a homemade chocolate shop, and indulge in some Poutine - the traditional Canadian comfort food of french fries covered in gravy. Apparently it's a must have. We'll let you know!

Till next time... c'est tous!

Bon Anniversaire, Baby!!!

Go Caps, Go Caps, Go Caps, GO! Man, last night's game was SO MUCH FUN! Being at the Centre Belle with all the Canadian fans and feeling the energy serge through the area was amazing! I was worried that being 2 of possibly 10 Caps fans was going to be intimidating, but it actually was really great. The Canadians were super hospitable and seemed to enjoy having us there, and Ryan got several props for wearing his old school Dale Hunter jersey. :) I wanted a close game, and that's exactly what we got. The Caps tied it up with 15 seconds to spare in the last period, and then took the win in the OT shoot-out! What an awesome birthday present, baby! I wish we could go to another game tonight!

Before the game, we walked around Montreal-Vieux (Old Montreal), visited the Notre Dame Basilica, had PB&J's at a little park, stopped for some Cafe Lattes, strolled down Rue Saint Catherine, and then stopped at Brutopia for a couple pre-game brewskies, where we met "Keith-the-helpful-Bartender." Keith gave us lots of tips for our Montreal visit and we can't wait to go out and try some of them. So, c'est tous for now!

Cheers!

P.S. more pictures to come... the connection is wacked.

Keith-the-helpful-bartender

We Made It!

Bonjour!

After 13 long hours in the car, we finally made it to Lac Morency in Saint Hippolyte, Quebec, CANADA!!! The drive was pretty much straight forward and adventureless, until we got to experience rush hour traffic in Montreal - coupled with a few wrong turns and rain! But it was a fun way to see a little bit of the city and to learn the Canadian traffic rules through trial and error. :) We grabbed some food at the local IGA, got to the resort and FINALLY ate some dinner. It's amazing how hungry you can get by just sitting in a vehicle for hours. The rest of the evening will be spent relaxing as we gear up for our "Week-O-Fun!" Tomorrow we're heading into Montreal for some site seeing and an awesome, awesome hockey game! GO CAPS!!! For those of you who have time, be sure to watch the Washington/Montreal game tomorrow night. You just might see us on TV! Until then... have a great one!

C'est tous!