Friday August 18, 2017

Cartier Museum

It is supposed to rain all day today and it is raining when we get up. That causes us to roll over and catch a few extra Zzzzzzs. Then a nice breakfast and an extra cup of coffee. When we are done it is still raining but much lighter. We pack umbrellas and our raincoats and head back towards Old Montreal. By the time we reach our first stop, it has stopped raining. We saw on a brochure yesterday that the National Parks have the home of George Cartier here as a small museum. Since it is free and indoors we thought it would be great for a rainy day stop. We go in and check out the exhibit and home. Mr. Cartier was instrumental in the formation of the Federation of Canada. He was a smooth talker and convinced several provinces that they would be better off as a unified confederation than as individual provinces under the Queen. The home although nicely furnished had fairly small rooms and was not what we would call a mansion. Considering that he was well off and had an arranged marriage to a rich and prestigious family’s daughter, it was not all that impressive. We leave the museum and go to the Bonsecours Market. It is not what we thought it would be as it has stores in it and feels like a mall.

Rubber Train Wheels

We decide to take the metro to another part of town to go to the Jean Talon Market and then walk back the 3.5 miles to our apartment. That will take us through the Little Italy area of Montreal. The metro ride goes smoothly and I notice that the trains have big rubber wheels instead of normal train wheels. Kind of weird but it got us to where we were going.

Vegetables of Many Colors

We walk down the street from the station to the market and it is more like what we were expecting. Lots of farm fresh vegetables in all kinds of colorful arrangements. There are also fresh berries, mushrooms, cheeses, and food stalls. After walking around we settle on getting a crepe for lunch. We order a mushroom, ham, and cheese with a bechamel sauce. We share a table with Shannon and Alex who are vacationing here. They are from Traverse City Michigan and we swap some recommended eating spots and they tell us about their neck of the woods and what it has to offer.

Crepe For Two

Our crepe is scrumpdillyisious and was large enough for the two of us so we are glad we did not get two. After the market we start our walk back to the apartment. In a few blocks we come to an Italian pastry place that I had noticed when I was google mapping a walking route this morning. It is across the street from The Notre dame de Lourdes Church that I wanted to check out. It is supposed to have some nice frescoes and even one with Mussolini in it. Unfortunately, we do not get to see it as it is only open for visitors Tuesday through Thursday.

Mmmm Mmmm Good

That leaves us to check out the Italian pastries. The glass counters tell us that we have found a sort of Italian Nirvana. It is hard to choose but I decide on a fresh Lemon Ricotta cannoli and Carol gets a Mona Lisa, some decadent chocolate within chocolate, topped with chocolate concoction. We also buy a small assortment of Italian cookies for later. We sit outside at a small table and savor the delicacies. I can say that the French have nothing on the Italians when it comes to pastry. This by far exceeds the French stuff that we have tried. Now it is time to work it off and make the long walk back. We pass some Italian restaurants and then hit the main drag of St Laurent.

Cool Kraken Mural

We follow this the whole way back going from Italian to Brazilian to Jewish and then Portuguese. Every five to ten blocks the cuisine and atmosphere changes. By the time we get to our apartment, our feet hurt a bit but we are glad we went. We stay in tonight and cook our remaining Turkey Burgers for dinner and have one almond praline cookie each for dessert. Carol does laundry then we pack a bit and make one trip to load the vehicle so that we will have less to do tomorrow morning. Time for bed.

Expenses                                                                                                                                  Metro 6.50 CAD                                                                                                                     Crepes Lunch 15 CAD                                                                                                            Italian Pastries and Cookies 16 CAD                                                                                          Laundry 10 CAD                                                                                                                     Trylon Apartment 104.96 CAD                                                                                         Parking 15 CAD