One thing about this trip is that nothing has really gone right. It's not a bad thing, but most of our plans went awry. First off, my plane from Atlanta to Montreal was delayed. There was a gate change and then no one really knew what time it was going to depart or when it would arrive. Finally about 30 minutes late the plane leaves. Once I met up with my friend we headed back to his house only to encounter construction and confusing detours. After about an hour we finally made it back to his place.
The next day my friend, his girl friend and myself went to the Tibetan restaurant that was mentioned in the last post. We work our way through China town and even more detours and we cruise around the block a couple times before finding a decent parking place. We arrive at the restaurant to find it closed due to an emergency. So after a quick walk around we choose a sandwich shop called Dagwood's. It's not too bad, but there is nothing really worthy of writing. After Dagwood's my friend and I headed to the old part of Montreal. There we saw the Basilique Notre-Dame. It was nice, but we encountered another problem: the area in front of the chapel was under construction, limiting good photography spots. I did manage a few good shots though. We bought tickets for the evening light show and then embarked on some souvenir shopping. I picked up some hockey shirts for myself and my roommate. I also got my girl friend some nice Canadiana stuff. I also toured the riverfront area and got some really nice pictures.
Evening brought poutine. Poutine is a really simple dish and I'm very surprised we don't have it in the United States, something I want to change. It's french fries with gravy and chunks of white cheddar cheese. It makes for an awesome side dish or meal. I first had it in Toronto a few years back and had it once in Memphis (not very good I might add). What I had here though was awesome. I chose to get something a little different and opted for the Italian poutine. It basically substitutes tomato sauce for the gravy. It was nevertheless great. After dinner my friend and I headed back to the Basilique Notre-Dame. We watched our show and I took some shots of the Basilique. We left the building and I, feeling a bit thirsty and unwilling to give up the chance to enjoy some Canadian beer, asked to find a nice quiet bar in order to enjoy some beer. We found a place nearby and grabbed a couple beers. I had a nice dark ale, unfortunately I forget the name of it. The company was called Sleeman's though. If you ever have the chance you should try it. I asked the waiter if I could buy a glass to take home as I collect them and was told no. I unfortunately felt back to steal one even though he said it was ok. I left empty handed.
Saturday saw a late start. I was perfectly happy with that as I was tired and the whole point of this trip was to relax, which I did. We went for a late lunch to Schwartz's deli. It's famous for smoked meat sandwiches. I got a large plate which was a bit too much food for me, but it was pretty good. I was a bit surprised at the mild taste of the meat. I was expecting something more flavorful. I still enjoyed though. Be prepared to stand in line for a long while. We waited for about 30-45 minutes just to get a seat. We then headed to the Montreal Botanic Gardens. I've been to botanic gardens in the past, but this was definitely one of the best I've ever been too. They had a very large green house filled with various plants from around the globe and an insectarium. I found both very interesting. They also had a Japanese garden and a Chinese garden. Both were very nice and peaceful allowing for more relaxation. The Japanese garden was particularly nice as the last one I had been to in the Philippines left something to be desired. I really felt like I was back in Japan at some points. The evening finished with a great steak dinner at Baton Rouge. This place is classy and a bit expensive. Steaks range from $24 to $32. But they rock and are well worth the money. The only bad thing was that they seemed to run out of stuff fairly early. I originally wanted the prime rib, but had to get a sirloin instead. One of my friends wanted seafood linguini but they were out of the red sauce. A quick ride after dinner and we were at our last stop for the night: The Comedy Nest. It was a pretty cool place. The drinks were slightly above average for bars, but pretty decent on their booze level. The opening act/host was really funny as was the second act. The third act was sadly from the US and wasn't as funny as the others. Her stuff mainly revolved around sex jokes and race jokes. It was nothing I hadn't heard from junior high school students. The headliner was awesome. He was very funny and did some great stuff. If you ever get to see Winston Spear, you should.
Today was another slow start. Again I just rested up and got ready to return home. We ate a great breakfast at Tutti Frutti and are now back at my friend's house preparing to go to the airport.
All in all the trip has been awesome. One complaint that I have is that I brought too much money. I didn't come close to spending everything at all. Oh well. I guess it's better to have too much than not enough.
And that wraps up this adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment