2017 Oct Quebec and Montreal

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 今年算是和加拿大耗上了，帮人家庆祝建国150年！两个月不到又来到了加拿大。因为“孤单而灿烂的神“把Quebec的priority moved up再加上EZ不在家中，叫上闺蜜来了一场说走就走的旅行。
DAY1
Arrived in Montreal 7:30am, and met up PL at Jave U, later learned it's a popular local cafe brand. Took free shuttle to the railway station which is less than 10mins away. To our surprise, the train tickets to Quebec were sold out and the only available tickets for the day were 1st Class and over C$250. We ended up getting a Hertz rental car driving to Quebec City which we were going to do on the way back. 

 We based our scenic drive on this article from National Geographic website, but  didn't have that much time so had to compromise, but still end up driving 470KM and 10 hours. 😅
  • Shortly after getting out of Montreal city, we stopped by Chambly locks 
  • Stopped by Magog visitor center and was told that Abbaye De St-Benoit-Du-Lac wasn't to be missed. So we drove along a fairly scenic road next to the river to the abbey. Unfortunately the garden is the back wasn't open, so we can't admire the tranquil setting of this picturesque monastery.📸image
  • Parc de la Gorge de Coaticook📸image: famous for its suspension footbridge—one of the world's longest—that spans the 164-foot deep gorge 
By the time we returned the rental car at the airport and took taxi to the hotel in the old Quebec city, it was already 8pm. Had dinner nearby Buche Restaurant and learned 猪油渣 📸image is also a finger-food 小食 in local cuisine.

DAY2: 📸image
Started journey in old town to find all the scenes used in the TV drama. Had dinner at Aux Ancient which serves traditional local Quebec food.
The 1st page in the menus📸image shows all the game meat that the restaurant serves, which was pretty interesting.

DAY3:
  • Breakfast at the Fairmont Chateau, PL thought it was "over-rated" 😛
  • Walked to Lower Quebec for ferry to Levis across St. Lawrence River that has a superb view of the old Quebec City.📸image
  • Walked around Lower Quebec area📸image, then to the Fountain in front of the parliament building. 可惜树颜色还很绿，无法媲美电视剧里展现的那种秋色
  • After two nights of Canadian meat dinners, we changed to some Cambodian food for lighter things. 

DAY4: 4.2miles
  • Had breakfast/brunch at Au Petit Coin Breton which was like stepping back in traditional Breton
  • Strolled back to the hotel to get luggage before heading to the railway station
  • Train back to Montreal was easy and relaxing
  • Had dinner Kazu near the airbnb which turned out to be highly recommended

DAY5: 7.3miles
  • Our apt room was located in a very convenient area, across from the Concordia University.📸image It's next to the green metro line and steps away from tons of restaurants, even the very authentic boba tea at Nos-Thes from Taiwan 
  • A whole day in the old Montreal following walking itinerary from Frommer's
  • Dinner at Chinatown, finally some Chinese food! !

DAY6: 6.7miles
  • Stop by to have pastry at Vasco Da Gama before heading up to Mont Royal.📸image
  • Bus 11 which circulates Mont Royal was out of service due to road closure, we had to walk a lot to the lake and down the mountain. Again the leaves weren't as stunning as we've hoped.📸
  • Took bus to downtown and walked around
  • In the afternoon rain started, so we took a break in the Art Museum.📸image
  • While "Love is Love - a Wedding bliss for All" by Jean Paul Gaultier📸image was very eye-pleasing, the "Revolution" multi-media exhibit was beyond our background and age can comprehension. 😓

DAY7: 6.8miles
  • First thing in the morning went to the metro service station in the Little Burgundy area to exchange PL's ticket, and found a very nice local market to roam around, lots and lots of pastry, vegetable, and meat!!!
  • Went to Mont Royal again to finish the other half of the park
  • Walked around in Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood. Starting on Saint Laurent to admire the various wall murals. 
  • Famous smoke meat restaurant Schwartz's was very popular with long queue, we end up getting some take outs for lunch/snack
  • Stopped near Square St. Louis and went to the row of old houses, continued to Rue Rachel and onto Saint Denis to complete this neighborhood. Break for more pastry at Marius and Fanny 
  • Took bus to try the traditional award winning donuts at Cremy Patisserie 
  • Had a multi-course French meal📸 to close off this wonderful get-away

Note: Montreal's public transportation system is very well developed. With the help of Google Map, it was very easy to exchange between Metro and bus to get around. Though many signage are in French only, Montreal was still one of the easiest city to tour 
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