JULY 19/11 – Off to Montreal

It’s a long & winding road from Val d’or to Montreal – 7 hours to be exact.  There was lots of “Travois” (construction).  Since there are NO English road signs,  my trusty little translator guide on the Iphone came in very handy.    The terrain again is very beautiful with lots of lakes & trees and as you approach Montreal they have their “mountains”, at Tremblay.  We arrived in Montreal just at the peak of rush hour, not something you should plan unless you have a death wish.  Again, thank god for the Tom Tom – he lead us straight to our hotel & we only needed 2 stiff drinks when we got there!!

Tuesday evening we had dinner with my dear friend Josee.  In the last year she has gotten married, left a long term job to start her own health/weight loss/massage business & recently lost her mother.  We had a great time catching up!

Wednesday morning we were two tired puppies!!!  The temperature was only +35 with 90% humidity so it was a good day to head to a near by shopping centre for 2 pedicures, a manicure & a little shopping then some down time.  Wednesday evening we were picked up by our friends Guy & Sylvie (Guy bought our Ribbon Exchange business) and driven into downtown Montreal.  It really doesn’t matter what time you go to downtown Montreal, it’s rush hour!!  Dinner was at Le Piment Rouge in the old railway station on Peel Street.  The most elegant Chinese restaurant we have ever been to.   Actually, it is probably the most elegant “any kind” of restaurant you could ever go to.  The food was absolutely outstanding, see if you can find “crispy spinach” any where, it is to die for.  As  you do in Chinese restaurants, we ordered several dishes to share.   At Le Piment Rouge  it’s “French Service Chinese”, complete with the white napkin over the waiters arm.  A must if you are in Montreal & have just robbed a bank!

During July & August it is the International Fireworks competition, every Wednesday & Saturday evening.  We did not have tickets, but our host, Guy, found a great parking spot on some side street, tuned the radio into the sound track & we watched the fireworks.  It was the “Wizard of Oz” by the USA & really quite spectacular.   The temperature at 11:00 PM was only +37c (again with 95% humidity).  Not a city where you walk around a lot when it is hot.  I know we slept well that night.

Thursday is actually the reason we are here.  It is the day we receive the final payment for our company, Ribbon Exchange.  It is also the day we are being taken for lunch for our first real Quebec “poutine”.    We toured the Infolaser office, said hello to people we knew from the take-over, & headed to a little blue-collar type of restaurant for authentic poutine.  For those who don’t know what poutine is, let me describe it for you.  French fries, covered in cheese curds (also know in Quebec as “squeaky cheese) then smothered in gravy, serving size – slightly over 1 POUND.  Excellent source of cholesterol, carbs, calories and everything else that you should not eat!!!  Taste – different, but good.  I don’t think we need to have poutine again for about 5 years. 

After our poutine, we headed to my friends salon for a massage & special foot treatment.  The tiny little thing that did our massage was very good & left us both weak kneed.  I had a foot treatment, however, the lady doing the foot treatment looked at JD’s feet & said “they are excellent, you don’t need me”.  Do you think I will ever hear the end of that???

Thursday evening was a family BBQ with Guy, Sylvie, Josee, Michel, Maxim, Valerie & Louis.  First a swim in the pool (again, +39.5 & humid) so it really hit the spot then dinner with lots of good food & laughs.  Sylvie made us a very special dessert, Quebec raspberry dumplings, smothered in cream.   Again, no carbs, no calories, no cholesterol!  I think by the time we get home, we will have to have our mouths wired shut for a month.  As we were being driven home, the skies opened up, thunder & lightening was all around and the temperature was still +37 at 11:00 pm.  And we thought Calgary weather was wild!!!   Tomorrow we head for Quebec City.  We have now visited everyone we know in the east so we are on our own from now on.  The Real Canadian Adventure is about to begin.