End of the Road

So I'm back in America, but I thought I would update on the rest of my trip.

My foot is back to normal. After Quebec City,we returned to Montreal. The hostel in Montreal was a bit miserable, so spending time out of it as much as possible was preferable.

Montreal was quite nice. It was a place that I would rather live than visit, though. We spent five days in Montreal, and frankly it was too much time. We had run out of things to do by the end of our time there. That doesn't mean we had a bad time though. The food in Montreal is really incredible. We had smoked meat (known in the States in pastrami) at Schwartz', possibly the most famous restaurant in Montreal. We were crammed into a table with a bunch of other people. We ordered the "medium" fatty cut of meat, and ate a humongous portion of it. Delish. Boy do I love meat.

Bagels are another Montreal classic. Some assert that the best bagels in the world are made in Montreal. Now I haven't tasted the bagels everywhere so I can't tell you if this is true or not. What I can tell you is that they are definitely different from the bagels I've had in America. The ones here are very doughy. The ones in Montreal are very chewy. They get made in a brick oven and the dough is soaked in honey infused water. The result is a chewy, slighty sweet bagel. First we had bagels at St. Viateur's. These bagels were on bagel sandwiches. The sandwich itself was good, but the bagel was hard and not that tasty. Towards the end of our trip we went to Fairmount bagels. These bagels were very good. They sold only bagels, no bagel sandwiches. You could buy cream cheese but only from a tub. So Leah and I bought a tub of cream cheese and a bunch of bagels and tore off our bagels piece by piece and dunked them in cream cheese. We had two each. And this was AFTER we had just had lunch. Tells you that we really couldn't wait til the next day to eat them.

In the center of Montreal there is the aptly named Mont Royal (after which the city is named). It is Montreal's equivalent of New York's Central Park, only with more altitude. Our first day in Montreal we had no idea where we were going and ended up on this hour long hike up the mountain, to places unknown. By our last day there, we had figured out that there was a bus that would take you up the mountain. On our last day there we took the bus up, then walked a short distance to the Chalet there.



Leah found out quickly on our trip that I am a sucker for a good view. As Montreal and Quebec City are quite hilly the trip became an ever evolving game of finding the best view. The view from the Chalet was probably the best view. Our guide book told us that you can see the Northern Appalachians from here, though I'm not quite sure about that. I do know that the view was incredible, and you could definitely see a lot of mountains from Mont Royal.

We also visited the Oratorie, the largest shrine to St. Joseph (Jesus' earthly father) in the World. It was quite magnificent. Very Montmartre looking. Another climb up it. I thought I would get a bit of a rest on this trip, but it turned into a lot of climbing. Well, at least all the food we ate didn't go straight to our hips. Even with four meals a day, I think I might have lost weight.

Travelling with another person can be an eye-opening experience. One thing I never realized about myself is how much I eat. I can REALLY put it away. One day we had a really pleasant picnic by a lake in Montreal, and Leah would have a piece of bread with some cheese on it, and in the same amount of time, I would eat two sandwiches with cheese and roast beef. I don't know really how to explain this, except maybe I just have a really high metabolism? I do walk much faster than everyone I know. Hmm... Might also explain how inevitably all talk on this blog turns to food. I blame my food obsessed family for this. When you grow up with a family who talks about dinner while we're having lunch, you do become a bit focused on food. That and having a lot of good cooks in a family, I suppose.



We also visited a BBQ place out in the suburbs of Montreal. This was a sort of bizarre trip. We got off the subway and entered the restaurant and everyone was speaking English to one another, even the people who worked there. Although I wanted to speak French I figured I'd fit in here not speaking French. The chicken was good, but there was no BBQ sauce to speak of like there is on chicken in the South. There was this spicy gravy to dip it in. Very different, and I have to say I like the BBQ in America better.



One day we also headed to the Jardin Botanique (Botanical Gardens) in Montreal. I figured that this would be fun for a couple of hours, but we ended up spending the whole day out there. It is the second largest gardens of its kind in the world, after Kew Gardens in England. It is pretty neat. There is a Japanese garden and a Chinese garden there, an Alpine garden, a poisonous plants garden, a functional plants garden, and a huge arborium. Plants are neat, that's all I can say after seeing some of these incredible plants.



On the way home, we had a stopover in Memphis. Boy am I glad we did. I had the best BBQ in the airport, Jim Neely's BBQ. It was incredible. Memphis is a small airport, but it has good food. It made the next flight, where we were flying above a tropical storm bearable. That, plus the nice grandmother, Pat, who I sat next to and chatted with for the flight.

Hope you enjoyed my blogs about Canada! Next time I travel...you'll know where to find me.

Emily

Incapacitated in QC (and not in a good way)

Hey all!

Still in Quebec City. On Monday morning (early, early, 6 AM) we leave by train and head back to Montreal.

Today was a bit of a bust, for me at least. I did something really bad to my right foot, and each step on it is pure pain for some reason. I don't think it's broken- but it is really sprained. Today I stayed at the hostel most of the day and slept, trying to let it get better. We went shopping a bit at the end of the day and went to get dinner, but otherwise I didn't do much. We did head to Mountain Equipment Cooperative. This is a bit like REI in the States, a huge outdoor sporting goods shop. Perhaps something most people don't know about me is that I'm really into outdoor goods. They're just built to last, plain and simple. They're also small, compact and heavy duty. I picked up a hat, from the same company as the hat I wore in Moorea (that hat was my dad's so it went back to him). This hat is pretty awesome. One of the best things about it is that it has a forever warranty. Not just a lifetime, but a FOREVER warranty. So I fully expect my great-great-great-great grandchildren to be wearing this hat. Camping gear rocks.

So anyways, a little bit about the concert we attended last night. It was located at the Baie du Beauport. To get there, we had to take two buses, which took about 40 minutes. Once we got there we walked for a little over a mile to get to the location. Apparently everyone in Quebec was also interested in attending- there were probably a couple hundred thousand people there. We saw this strange Cirque du Soleil like show, then two musical acts before we decided to leave. On the way back to the bus my foot was really killing me. I've never had such intense foot pain before, but it was really hell. The worst part was to come- there was a crowd of a couple hundred people waiting for one bus that would take us the the city. It took forever to fill a bus, then forever for a new bus to come. We must have waited through 5 buses before we finally got on one. The woman next to me exclaimed, "C'est terrible, terrible." I've never seen the rationale for people rioting before, but I could see people rioting there- and I would have freely joined in. In the end, it was a good story to tell later, but a bit of a miserable experience at the time.

Last day in Quebec City tomorrow. I really like Quebec City. It really doesn't compare to Paris, besides the fact that they speak French and it's old. There are not boulangeries and patisseries on every corner. Most people speak English perfectly (at least in service positions) with a Canadian accent. But it has a soul of its own, plently to see, and it's very safe. Just don't come expecting France-it's not the same.

More later,
Em

Days in Quebec City

Hey everyone!

Yesterday we took the early morning train into Quebec City. It's complicated why we decided to spend a day in Montreal before moving to Quebec City, but we will be heading back to Montreal in a few days.

Quebec City is really beautiful. Some say they can't believe that such a European city exists in North America, but it does. It is very different from Montreal. Montreal is more a city I would want to live in, while I'd rather visit Quebec City. There is a lot to see here. Mainly though, I just like walking around the streets. It is much hillier then pretty much any other city I have been in. Up and down hills, over and over. My feet are killing me. I gave in and bought a pair of knock off crocs. All I kept thinking was that my Aunt Cat swears they are the most comfortable shoes she owns. They make me look stupid, but they are more comfortable. There are croc stores all over Canada, so I don't feel that bad.

Today we headed up to the Citadelle, which currently houses the "Van Doos" or the 22nd Royal Battalion of Canada. They are the only all French speaking Battallion in Canada. They have fought in a number of wars and peacekeeping operations. So it was pretty cool to visit.

Did you know that Canada has had 3 women gouvernour-generals?

Anyways, mostly we walk around and eat a LOT. The plates are huge, and we have tried all sorts of Canadian specialities. So much maple syrup- I never knew there were so many uses for maple syrup. Cookies, pies, bread. Yummy, yummy! And lots of meat pies, including some with wild game. I have ate way too much.

The hostel we are staying in is really nice. A very traditional hostel, that is, really loud and noisy, but really friendly people and everyone hanging out at night together. It's a fun atmosphere.

Tonight, there is a free Moby concert, so that is where we are heading. More later!

Love,
Em

Oh Canada!

Greetings from Montreal!

Well my latest travels take me to our neighbor, Canada. I decided that I wanted to travel here because I wanted to go someplace without jet lag, with a currency exchange rate that wouldn't kill me, and somewhere where I could speak French. Thus begins my trip to Montreal and Quebec City.

This time, I'm accompanied by my friend Leah, who is always up for my crazy adventures and loves travel as well.

We arrived last night around 8 PM and didn't make it to our hostel until 10 PM. My limited and rusty French got us there, which I was proud of.

As for the hostel, as I told Leah, there are hostels and then there are HOSTELS. Ours is the latter. We are in a huge room in the attic-y like upstairs. We're sharing a bunkbed with air mattresses as mattresses, in a huge room that is subdivided by curtains. Yeah, it's no Miss Sophie's (see posts from Prague).

Anyways, the people here are nice, and the location is good, and at $20 a night, who am I to complain? We decided to get up at 8 AM which seemed good at the time, though we were the last people to get up. When we finally got out on the streets, there was no one there. Apparently, the rest of the world doesn't run on hostel schedule.

For our first visit, we headed to the Biodome. This is a natural history museum/zoo/aquarium. There is a huge exhibit for a tropical rainforest, an arctic area, and an area that is based on the traditional ecosystems of Canada. Personally, I liked the Canadian part the best- it was just different from what I'd usually seen in museums. And we saw puffins and penguins in the Arctic part which was neat. We also saw divers cleaning out the tank in the Canadian exhibit. They all wore drysuits and full face masks-apparently, if they are in the water for 15-20 minutes with just drysuits, they get hypothermia. Just another reason why I like to dive in tropical environments.

By the time we left the Biodome it was about 11 AM and we were starving. This wouldn't be unusual, except for the last meal that we ate was at 2 PM the previous day. We weren't even that hungry. I guess this is how people slowly starve to death. You just lose your appetite.

Anyways, no starving to death for us, we made it to this famous bagel place downtown. Montreal bagels are renowned- they are supposed to be much better than inconsequential American bagels. Frankly, I wasn't impressed. They were chewy and very bread-like rather than dough like. But you know, now we know.

After that I introduced Leah to my way of sightseeing, which basically consists of aimlessly wandering until you see all the important things you're supposed to. We walked nearly a mile (maybe 2) from the bagel place to reach Mont Royal. There are a number of important things you're supposed to see on the mountain. Our strategy was probably not the best for seeing all of them-we just kept walking around and around the path on the mountain. The path isn't steep, which means it's nice to walk, but which also means that it takes forever to get to the top. After about a mile or so, we ran into a set of stairs, and me, believing that there is wisdom in groups, decided to follow the crowd up to the top. It wasn't bad- a beautiful view of the city. Then we made our way down the stairs and the mountain in general. There are a number of other important sights on the mountain, but frankly, I had had enough of the slow windingness up it, and Leah, in flip flops, was more than happy to acquiesce with me.

Our travels had put us near McGill University, an English language speaking university in Montreal. We wandered around that for a bit, and then took on the epic task of finding a way into the underground.

Under Montreal, there is a maze of shops and restaurants that connects the city. During the cold Montreal winters, you never need to go underground. As there were eight entrances around McGill alone, you think it would be a breeze to find an entrance, alas, we walked a mile before we could find one. It was a huge mall, but frankly, it was overwhelming. If you knew exactly which store you wanted, I don't know how you'd ever find it. By this point we were exhausted, and headed back to our happy hostel.

The weather is beautiful here, 70s, and next we head out on the town. More later.

Sending smiles and moonbeams from Canada,
Emily