La Vie en Languedoc: What North America Almost Was

Anybody who is reading this would probably agree that Philadelphia (our previous stop) is a long way from Montreal. It didn't seem so long when we were in California planning the trip, but in reality, we had to drive through Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, & the entire length of New York State to reach the Canadian border, & then drive some more. After a looooooong day of driving we arrived in Montreal around 8:30 in the evening, and felt, as always, immediately at home.

The hotel we stay in when we can get a reservation is the Auberge Les Passants du Sans Soucy. It is not the least expensive place in Montreal, but it's definitely a favorite of ours. Wonderful location in the old city, in a building dating from 1712. The rooms are tastefully decorated & the staff most welcoming & accommodating. The breakfasts are absolutely delicious & filling.

Speaking of filling food, we ate lunch at Schwartz's Chacuterie Hebraic. They are famous for their smoked meat, a variation of pastrami, but with a different taste & texture. Absolutely yummy, & definitely not suited to someone who is trying to limit calories, fat or salt, but hey, you only live once! The place was jammed so we shared a table with an Indianfamily (the daughter is apparently a college student there). Her younger teenage brother could stand to lose some weight & get some exercise, yet he ordered the smoked meat platter, which is 24 ounces of meat....& he managed to eat the whole thing. We stared in amazement, as we shared 1 sandwich & were quite full.

The weather was damp & chilly & we both came down with colds, but we still very much enjoyed our time in Montreal. Even so, it was sad to leave this great city, which is a mixture of old & new, French & English. This is what the US might have become if the British had not taken Canada from the French.

From there we drove northeast, & the closer we got to Quebec City, the more French it got. It's quite common to meet people who speak no English in this part of Canada. Upon arrival at the Hotel Sainte Anne, we were warmly greeted. The room decor was a bit strange, but the welcoming & helpful staff as well as the location more than made up for that.

The weather was still rainy, but because of that we were treated to a rare sight: a triple rainbow over the St. Lawrence River. Sadly, we didn't manage to capture the entire thing on our camera, but here's what we did capture:

We spent our time there walking around, revisiting some of our favorite places & discovering new ones, eating great food incuding moules/frites (mussels & fries). We realized that this was likely our final time in Quebec, so we wistfully said goodbye.