Anne and I decided to go to Montreal for our Honeymoon. We had been there once before, but only got to spend a couple days on our way to the East Coast. When we were trying to decide what a good destination would be for our Honeymoon, Montreal was always at the top of the list. So we went with it. We decided to just fly in, stay by the hotel and rent a car. That way we could pretty much do whatever we wanted. Seeing as how I don’t mind driving in the larger cities and Anne being an expert navigator, it was a match made in heaven.
Upon arriving at our hotel, we were amazed. It had to be one of the nicest hotels we had ever stayed at. We joked throughout the trip that we didn’t really even need to leave as it almost felt like a resort. Obviously we ended up exploring a lot of Montreal but it was always nice to come back to such a beautiful home base.
The day we arrived we settled in, took a bit of a break, and then ended up going downtown for a bit. We found a great pub on the main stretch and quenched our thirst and hunger. Seeing as it was extremely hot and humid the whole time there, lets just say that any excuse to stop in for a drink somewhere was welcome.
Our next day there revolved around the outlet mall just outside of Montreal. We must a couple turnoffs along the way but Anne made sure we got there. There was no way we weren’t going to make to the outlet mall that day. Once we arrived I was amazed how large it was. It was all outdoors and there were a ton of stores. One of Anne’s favourites was the Coach store. It was very cute watching her hum and haw about getting this purse she really wanted. In the end, before leaving, she ended up getting two things from there and was extremely happy. I imagine it was the equivalent of watching me in a camera store.
We walked around there for a few hours, grabbed a bit to eat at the food court and did a bit more shopping after that. Then it was time to go back to our hotel. We ended up going down to Old Montreal that evening to search for a bite to eat. We got much then we bargained for. After eating we headed back to the main square and watched a really street performance. We were 2 of the first people there and Anne immediately gave the performer some change as he was setting up. He joked that he hadn’t even did anything yet but promised he would give us a good show. The funny part of the whole performance was that he didn’t really do all that much with fire, it was just a ploy to get people to come watch. By the end of it, there was a huge group of people and he put on one of the funniest and entertaining shows we have seen in a long long time.
The next day was also full of a few surprises. We grabbed some breakfast again and another local diner and then we headed back down to Old Montreal. We wanted to make sure we saw it during the day. This time around I really had a chance to take a lot of photos. As you can see from the images below, Anne was once again my model of choice. How could anyone not want to photograph here. There was a lot of cool things to see down in Old Montreal. One of the highlights was the zip line they had going at the Pier. It was another scorching day so it was nice to walk around. Not sure what to do next we made the choice to go to the island across the water to explore. Once we got there, we decided to do a drive around first to see what there was. As we pulled into one of the parking areas, we paid the steep price of $25 for parking and then saw La Ronde in the distance. So.. instead of parking and walking around the island, we drove straight to the amusement park and spent the next 6 hours getting whipped around on rides. The first ride I took Anne on was the biggest and fasted rollercoaster at the park. She tends to get a bit nervous for the larger rides, so what better way to get those nerves out of the way then to do the scariest ride.
It was smooth sailing after that and we had a ton of fun. We ended the day with some food from the local ‘Saloon’. One of the things we found strange was that you could basically walk around with your beer in hand anywhere in the park. That’s Quebec for you I guess. We weren’t complaining. The last rides we went on, which didn’t make sense, were the water rides where we got completely soaked. In hindsight, we should have done them at the beginning but it all worked out.
If my memory serves me correctly, once we got back to the hotel, this was the night we met some very interesting people at the bar. There was the pilot beside us that Anne befriended over the mutual love of wine. Supposedly he was flying out later the next day so his ‘consumption’ of wine was not out of the norm at all. Then there was the older couple beside us. They were so much fun and the fact that the husband would routinely get up, stand up beside us, and test out some of his comedic material was priceless. Almost as priceless as the way his wife would bury her head in her hands each time he did so. I laughed at all his jokes though and it certainly made for a memorable evening. I knew it was time to head back to our room when Anne and said pilot considered purchasing a bottle of wine. For fear of the passengers the next day and Anne potentially passing out, I grabbed her by the arm and took her back.
After a good nights sleep we decided to head to the waterfront area just on the way to Montreal. We rented a bike and rode around the small little inlet and some of the town area. It was a really nice bike ride and I wish we could have done a bit more but we wanted to still do more that day. Plus, Anne was anxiously awaiting her call from the Lakehead Board to see if she got a full time position. Once we finished up there, we eventually decided to make our way to the water park north of Montreal. I was actually really looking forward to it. So we hopped on the highway and drove the 40 minutes it took to get there. Just after purchasing our tickets and entering the park, Anne got the ‘call’. She found out she got a full time position. Yay. That only made the rest of the day that much more relaxed and fun. Overall the water park was a lot of fun. I just wish we had more time there but it all worked out.
By the time we got back to our hotel we were wiped. But that didn’t stop us from treating ourselves to a nice dinner at the Keg. We took a cab there and back so I could have a couple drinks. The meal was fantastic and the biggest surprise of the night was me pretty much eating a whole cheesecake. Anne had a a few bites but otherwise it was all me. Very rare indeed for anyone that knows me. But if there is one weaknessI have it’s Keg cheesecake.
Our final day in Montreal was actually still pretty action packed. We checked out of the hotel and still headed to the gay district. We had accidentally ended up there briefly a previous night and it looked really cool so I wanted to head back during the day to take some photos. We walked that street and then eventually headed back to downtown Montreal. Anne attempted to do some shopping and then we eventually found a great Irish Pub for some food and drink. After that, it was time to head back. It was a bit rough with traffic heading back and I almost got side swiped by a transport on a merge but other then almost getting killed it was fun!
We headed to the airport, dropped off the rental car and then made our way to our gate. We had time to kill so we walked the entire airport, checking to see what kind of places there were to eat. We ended up going to one of the restaurants closest to our gate. I got a $11 beer, but Anne declined to pay $13 for a small glass of wine. I can’t get over just how much they were charging for food and drinks. All the places were like that by the way. We finished off with a drink at other bar just across the way. The bartender there was just plain awesome. He told us a few stories and was super friendly. Plus, Anne was able finally have her glass of wine.
The last stop was Toronto. We definitely like flying through Toronto because the Porter lounge is fantastic. Unfortunately we had a very fast layover so we didn’t really get a chance to enjoy it as much as we wanted to. And then we were back in Thunder Bay. The whole way thorough we upgraded each flight so we had the front seats and it was heaven. Lots of leg room and first off the plane could not be beat. All in all it was a great trip. Spending 5 days in Montreal with my beautiful wife Anne was something I will remember the rest of my life. I can’t wait until our next trip. Plus I was able to capture some great photos along the way. Although, probably more food photos then I would normally include. But that’s what happened when you spend a lot of your time eating and drinking!
