montreal calling

this past saturday i took a road trip to montreal with my friends goron, lindsay and melissa. montreal holds a special spot in my heart. home to my beloved canadiens, quante bistros, excellent shopping, and great memories of my high school buddies and i highjacking my parents minivan for our first encounter at club supersex. and then there was youpi. who could ever forget the expos lovable mascot?

i woke up earliest saturday morning to shower, and pick up some genuine trade-free organic coffee from bridgehead coffee house, and some fresh pastries from the brown loaf bakery, both on elgin st. soon after, we loaded up the car and made our way down the 417. i had to make a quick cameo in casselman to lend an assist to my co-worker, but all in all, we were on schedule.

at 10:30, we rolled into montreal. the most distinguishing and stereotypical characteristic that would clue you in to being in quebec is that suddenly the drivers around you get increasingly more aggressive. though we made friendly with a family driving a ford tempo, who continued to wave at us for at least a good 17 kms.

the biodome was our first stop. i had never visited the biodome before saturday, a revelation to which most of you might be thinking "what?", but i'm glad i was finally able to make it. crocodile exhibits were followed by tropical toocans, which preceeded the monkey jungle, which led to the lovable penguins. all were fun to see, but most impressive was the sleepy lynx tiger, paws up, snoaring. zzzzzzzzzz....

after the biodome tour, we headed downtown on the metro for some lunch. we stopped in at a unique montreal bistro. pint of stella was the perfect rinser for my smoked salmon salad.

lunch was followed by a blitzkrieg of shopping that i had never experienced before. we visited numerous malls, independent shops, and accessory stores, plus a hudson's bay store, and even made it across town to hit up h&m. with only 23 minutes til closing time, we managed to spend a combined $400! i came out of there with a new fall jacket that i'm totally psyched about.

after the flurry of shopping, we decided a pitstop for drinks was necessary. we found another uniquely montreal bistro, but this time ordered 2 great sample platters - prosciutto, smoked salmon, roast beef, and a variety of cheeses that would make king out of a mouse. one thing i will say is that the french know how to eat! and that day we were francais a le maximum, oui le!