Day 5

Tuesday, 04 December 2007

Sadly no hockey game for us today.

We must have been tired as we all slept in. Plus Dinah was up to late trying to finish the last 100 pages of Harry Potter. Today will be a lazy day in the hotel room. Dinah has said that she and Rose are not up for much.

This morning we decided to venture out for breakfast and go to Eggspectation around the corner. It is still snowing but not nearly as hard. Not an easy walk since I don't have boots and the stroller struggles in the deep now. But we only had 2 blocks to go. Rose seemed unaffected by the snow today. Not like the first time nearly a year ago in Vermont.

Breakfast was awesome. I cannot get over home much better the restaurants are here than back home. It's a combination of ambiance and taste. Not everything everywhere every place tastes the same. I think we have lost that in America. Rose pounded down two and a half sausage links, better than any Bob Evans links. Then she had a little bit of the most beautiful strawberry covered waffle you ever saw. It was a square waffle with the quarters all cut and laid overlapping in a line covered in strawberry halves. Dinah had scrambled eggs with sliced potatoes and sausage links and what she claimed to be stellar French toast. I had the Yoke Around the Clock which was two toasted bagel haves with a sunny side up egg in the hole, covered in bacon slices and melted Swiss cheese served with a side of sliced potatoes. I also got the most beautiful Caffé au lait I have ever seen and it tasted perfect. No need to add sugar or anything. Incredible restaurant. Open for lunch but not for dinner which I found strange as they have a full bar selection. They have a few restaurants in the US but only in Maine and Maryland.

We trudged back to the hotel and Dinah made a reservation for a massage at 4:30. It was already noon so Rose would be napping soon, as would Dinah. Maybe me. Perhaps we will try a cab to Schwartz's Hebrew Deli for dinner. They are suppose to have excellent smoked meat. The Bio Dome, if we go, is on hold until tomorrow.

Montreal is so far wonderful. if you have to choose though between Montreal and Quebec City, choose Quebec. Quebec is more laid back, more of a destination while Montreal is a business center. And that is not to take anything away from Montreal. Our hotel was the right price but given a second opportunity I would choose else where. I think if we were here in the spring it would be a good location to walk down to Old Montréal, but not in the snow. If we were to come again in the winter I would opt to stay closer to where we spent so much time trying to walk to yesterday, Centre Eton. We are more in the business district and much closes at night and the restaurants are more upscale and more expensive catering to business clientèle.

For a late lunch we ventured outside. Now we have just flurries. Today is the warmest at around 20°F and it really is not uncomfortable. Our hope is to eat at the Kremlin, a Russian restaurant we saw on the way back from Briskets on Saturday night. We trudge through the snow uphill. Not easy in my flat soled shoes. I'm hoping I don't slide back down hill. I have to shove the stroller forward a few feet then catch up. Unfortunately we get to Kremlin's and they are closed, only open 11-2. Too bad, I love Russian food.

So we push onward up to the top of the hill where Briskets is. We get inside and are the only ones there. Dinah orders the poutine again and a grilled cheese which she'll split with Rose. I ordered the smoked meat again. Everything arrives different than before. The poutine is petite, I suppose he changed the order since we didn't say we were sharing. Today's has large curds of cheese instead of the slivers we had the other night. My smoked meat comes as two huge sandwiches rather than a plate of meat with bread on the side. It was all good though and worth the difficult walk. Rose again loved the cheese, had a little meat and pounded down some fries and grilled cheese. I had kept the stroller outside by the front door so as not to make a mess on the floors. I went out to get it right before we left and Dinah said Rose freaked out as if I was going to leave her. It's good to be loved.

We got back just in time for Dinah's massage. Rose has been playing with her shoes, something she can do for hours, attaching and re-attaching the Velcro. Now she is playing with her kitty and my ski hat. The hat is either a blanket for kitty to take a nap under or kitty needs to be in the hat like it is a bag. Very cute

***

Apparently Rose is becoming famous even here in Montreal, at least in the hotel. Dinah said the massage therapist knew exactly who Rose was and commented about how outgoing she was. The people at the front desk have commented about how happy Rose always seems to be and one of the doormen says he is happy to call the elevator for a star. Rose is all of that and more.

For dinner I thought we would go across the street to Le Steak Frites – St. Paul. The concierge has not recommended them nor can I find anything on line but it is too close not to try. What have we to lose? It is a nice but small restaurant. Looks like business dinners. We are seated in a far corner with Rose in a booster chair. That's fine because we are unsure of her mood. This trip Rose has been in more booster chairs than high chairs and has done very, very well considering she does not get strapped in.

Rose gets to draw on the paper table cover with a ball point pen until she pokes a hole in the paper. Then she became obsessed with picking at the hole until the paper tears. We even turned the paper and still that was all of her focus.

Dinah order the salmon with green beans as a side. all meals come with all you can eat fries, but they weren't that good to order seconds. I had the escargot as an appetizer and order the confit de canard (duck confit). The escargot was good and Rose ate a whole snail by herself. That's my girl! She wanted more but I had eaten the rest. I had never had duck confit and it was out of this world. Salty and savory with a hint of raisin, maybe red wine? It would give the best barbecue pork a run for the money. I have know idea if this restaurant has “good” confit but it was one of the best dishes I have ever had. I'll be on the look out for more.

Once again for desert Dinah had crème brûlée. She rated it better than Chez Plume's but not as good as Vieux Port's. I had the Fondant au Chocolat which was basically a small lava cake with a scoop of ice cream. It was wonderful. Rose ate about half. She also had a few bites of crème brûlée tonight and seemed to like it, but not as much as the chocolate.

One the way back we let Rose stomp around in the snow on the side walk. She seemed to think it was the best until I pushed her down into a snow bank. Daddy's mean. She got over it quickly though as soon as we stepped into the hotel lobby.

Looking at the map tonight it looks like we could have walked underground to Briskets. That would have been nice to know. That's part of any great destination no matter how much you enjoy it. The first time you are learning the ins and outs. If you can go back a second time, you are past the learning curve and can really enjoy things.


Rose getting ready for the snow:
Is this pretty coffee or what?






Outside of our hotel. The building with colored windows is the Palais des congres de Montreal:
Rose with a tasty plate of poutine:

My smoked meat sandwich at Briskets:

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