May 11 - 14: Montreal and Quebec, Canada
[View Photos]This was my first trip to Montreal and Quebec, and I was pleasantly surprised. I had no idea how French it was...the signs, the people, the spoken language. I recommend that from this day forward they call it French Canada to avoid any confusion. Montreal is the birthplace of Cirque du Soleil, and this weekend Kooza was playing. If you've never seen one of these shows, you've got to go. It's a combination of amazing acrobatics and unbelievable feats, great music and entertaining clowns. In Montreal, the place to stay is in the historic downtown district which is full of classical European style buildings, great restaurants and antique shops. There is a public square that comes to life on the weekends, especially when it is a beautiful sunny day as it was this weekend. From the top of Mont-Royal, there are great views of the city from the Olympic Stadium to the historic district and beyond. From Montreal, it is an easy 3 hour bus ride to Quebec, and definitely worth the trip. The upper city offers great views over the St. Lawrence River as well as beautiful historic buildings including the Frontenac Castle that has been transformed into a world class hotel. A great area for shopping or grabbing a bite to eat is the Rue du Petit Champlain, where you have the very steep Escalier Casse Cou "break your neck" steps. These are not as dangerous as they sound and there are a couple of nice restaurants at the top that offer nice views over the tourist lined cobble stone street below. And if you're a fan of Foie Gras (yes, I know...WHO ISN'T?!), you've got to go to the Saint Amour Restaurant...great setting, great food, foie gras served a dozen different ways and a 20,000 bottle collection of wines from around the world with one of the best done wine lists I've ever seen. [View Photos]
