Kings of the Road

Wow, what a day.

We are whipped. We just ate at Au Pied de Cochon, and now we’re sitting at a cafe in the Latin Quarter. Slowly digesting our food.

We began the day by taking the metro downtown to eat breakfast at Eggspectation on Aubrey and Tim’s recommendation. This place had more varieties of eggs benedict than I had ever seen in my life. We both ordered the Bagel Benedict, a version of eggs benedict with smoked salmon, gruyere cheese and a bagel. Yum. Here is a picture:

Then, we walked down Rue St. Catherine and checked out the downtown shopping district. We didn’t buy anything though. Will power. Then we headed to Old Montreal and walked around the narrow, cobblestone streets. Rue St. Paul is the oldest street in Montreal, and it’s filled with cute little shops. It’s really the closest thing to Europe I’ve seen on this continent.

We sampled some amazing little chocolates that melted in our mouths, full of tasty fillings like raspberry, caramel and coffee. (And we promised the shopkeeper that we’d be back to buy some…sorry nice French-Canadian Chocolate Lady! But thanks for the free chocolate!)

We found the Notre Dame Cathedral–not designed after the one in Paris, but still beautiful in its own Canadian way. There was an orchestra rehearsing inside and it was a peaceful moment.

We then headed to the waterfront. (Little known fact: Montreal is an island!) I left my precious bubble umbrella at one of the piers. (I brought it along for rain insurance, so it would be a bright and sunny day. Of course, it was.) Not to worry, we raced back to the pier and it was still there! Here’s me, enjoying my bubble in the sunlight:

We saw the coolest busker ever. He calls himself The Hug Busker, and he is a guy giving out free hugs. When he wasn’t hugging, he was standing perfectly still, like a statue. We didn’t get any free hugs, but we enjoyed watching him:

By this point, we were hot, sweaty and sun burnt, so we headed back to the hotel to cool down in the AC. On the way, we stopped off and bought some ice wine and a bottle of Unibroue beer. Alcoholic Beverage Bottle Count: 7. Gifts for Friends and Family: Still 0.

We got a snack at a cafe called “Juliette et Chocolat” - delicious chocolate crepes. Yummy.

Got to save our appetites for the magical foie gras goodness…