toronto stories

the call of montreal

I've been wanting to take advantage of being out east to see some of the other major Canadian cities. So off it was to Montreal. It's a pretty city and reminded me a lot of Quebec City - except this time I wasn't slipping and sliding all over icy sidewalks. While there I had to indulge in Schwartz's Deli, a famous landmark. I was impressed with the mouthwatering smoked meat sandwich, but not with the way they served it (plates stacked unhygenically one on top of another.) Apparently that's a Montreal thing. When I walked into the Burger King and ordered an ice cream cone, the girl grabbed a cone with her bare hands, topped the cone off with ice cream and then wrapped a napkin around it. Uh, hello? I ended up asking for a spoon (which ironically was wrapped) and scooped off the ice cream before tossing the cone.

Other highlights included being there during the jazz festival, staying at a hotel that had once been a bank, eating tons of gelato, and visiting Notre Dame, where Celine Dion got married. Apart from spending hours at the airport waiting for my travel partner to arrive (flights cancelled and delayed resulting in having to be bussed in from Ottawa), and almost getting heatstroke, it was a good time.

posted by toronto girl @ 8:03 PM