The plan of today looked great on paper, but didnt start the best! Maybe because we are starting to get into the swing of traveling again.
The last words we spoke before leaving the hotel were, ‘should we take a scarf?’, these same words haunted us for the rest of the day. It was freezing, and yes, we should have taken a scarf.
First on the agenda was the Jean-Talon Markets, about a 50 minute walk north from our hotel in the Latin Quater. The markets were descibed to us as being full of colour, great food and fun. We arrived to a baron market with workmen hosing the empty halls. There was no colour, no food, and yes, no fun. Maybe it was bad timing on our behalf, so we left 10 minutes later.
Things started looking up, as from some advice we were given we headed to Old Montreal, and Rue Saint-Paul. Here we walked the cobbled streets looking for good coffee and good food. We spotted three ‘business looking’ guys our age walking into a cafe, first good sign. We followed and were greeted with a buzzing little cafe, second good sign, there were people everywhere! Only problem, EVERYTHING was in French, and had a VERY confusing order system. We must have looked lost, a lady proceeded to translate, ‘first you sit, then you order here, then there, then there….’, in the end we got in the wrong queue and were told to just sit down. They then bought us the food! The advantage of being a tourist! The fresh food was delicious!
Next was a quick visit to the Notre-Dame Basilica, where we managed to get in free. I dont know what we said but it worked! It must have been the good deed we had performed earlier by giving a man a $30 petrol voucher. With no car we had no use for it! Paying it forward, paid us back!
The Basilica was like any other. Large, stained glass windows and dozens of school kids rushing about finishing there work sheets. After traveling Europe for 2 months, they kind of lose there uniqueness (this one was modeled off the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris). Still an amazing building though!
Tonight we indulged…in chocolate crepes! Being National Chocolate day we had to, thank god a Twitter update informed us of this fact….otherwise we wouldn`t have had an excuse!
