road trip

Road trip to Montreal for the Victoria Day long weekend.
For some, this trip was a bunny-hunt but for me it's about enjoying the outdoor space that Montreal offers. Streetside cafes, roof patios, terraces and courtyards...

We (matt, mos, cris, timo and I) arrived Saturday on a sunny day so right away we made our way to Santropol. It's a restaurant that has one of the nicest patio at the back filled with plants and a fountain - with a nice sandwich selection to match, like a ham and cucumber sandwich with mint jelly; or ones with nutella and banana; how about strawberries and chocolate!

Then it was about a little shopping and walking around St Laurent, St Denis and St Catherine until shops closed at 5pm!! 5pm!!! That's way too early imo.

Sunday morning was a bit chilly but sunny, so we visited the Atwater Market where there was a flower market outside perfect for spring planting. Since we don't need any planting done, we went straight to the patisserie at the south entrance of the market. The selection at this bakery/patisserie was just amazing. We were all mesmerized by the selection of cakes, pastries, bread, tarts, tarlettes... French pastries all the way! Their selection matches the ones at Paul but at a very affordable price!

The exhibition at CCA was nicely put together. There was some interesting work by two architects that shared the ideals of making the environment more sustainable, but their approaches were varied. One was about creating and maintaining the Third Landscape, residual spaces created by urban developments, while the other was about optimizing the living environment in terms of user comforts. Then we met up with my friend jason and had lunch in the village, at one of his favourite restaurants. Shopping until dinner at Janos, the purpose of the trip "bunny-hunt". It's a family-oriented restaurant that serves up delicious Portuguese grills. A mixed grill for two will settle you in for the rest of the evening. I had rib steak that was grilled to perfection, very tender and juicy. Hmm... that's when I realized that we're such carnivores!

Monday was super gorgeous weather so we hit old Montreal and rented some bikes. Of course we started our day at the patisserie at Atwater Market, it was like a sunday so a brunch was the perfect choice of meal. Pastry rolls with choice of ham and cheese/spinach/turkey, fruit tart and capuccino... mmm MMM!
The weather was so good so everywhere was packed with people sunbathing on lawns; drinking, eating at sidewalk patios; biking, rollerblading, jogging... so outdoorsy...

Montreal is still one of my favourite cities.

PS: Pictures to follow...