Work life has been extremely busy with major changes, but I have still managed to squeeze in a trip. Due to this reality, my lack of free time and exhaustion and due to the fact that I took so many good pictures during my trip, this post will be more photo heavy than words. So, let start at the beginning…
A few weeks ago I finally pulled the trigger and booked a flight and hotel to Montreal by myself. After the hesitation in booking it and questioning whether I should really even go prior to departure, I finally arrive in Montreal on Friday morning. My hesitation came from this being my first solo trip. Meaning that, I was going completely by myself and would know no one. I picked Montreal because it was close (less than 2 hour flight) from DC, its heavy French influence, it being a big city with lots to do, and importantly, the fact that its known to be very safe. I happen to take all these things into consideration over and over again before getting on the flight there. I figured, if worse came to worse and I got scared when I was there, I would just stay in my hotel the entire time and veg out. Luckily, that did not happen and I did a bunch of exploring, took a bunch of photos, and had a great time all by “solo traveling” self!
My first stop was for coffee at Kafein Cafe Bar in downtown. Kafein is a two story cafe with good coffee, a good cafe menu selection and a sweet little bar downstairs. It was very chill in there and had kind of a hipster vibe.
On my walk to Kafein…little did I know there was much more of this (graffiti art) to come on day 2 – Saturday.
Thanks to my husband for letting me use some of his points for a free weekend stay at the Ritz Carlton (got to love Marriott points and being married to someone who has a boat load of them)! I plan to write a detailed post about my stay here, so more to come in the future.
I was only in the hotel for a minute before I ventured into Old Montreal. My first stop was for some poutine at Montreal Poutine. For those who don’t know, poutine is french fries, gravy and cheese curds, and its heavy and delicious. Since it was my first time, I went with the regular poutine and enjoy every bite I could get down.
Next was a stroll through Old Montreal’s quaint historic streets and a visit to Notre-Dame Basilica where I was able to capture its dramatic old world architecture.
The next two stops were wine bars of Old Montreal. Accords Bar a Vin is a super cute wine bar that prides itself on it’s natural and organic local and international wine selection. I sat down with the bartender and told him what kind of french wine I liked and he had me taste two different wines before I made the selection. My second stop was Bistro le Modavie Bar a Vin. Modavie’s was a pretty lively bar and restaurant with a large wine selection and it apparently gets even more lively during the night as it plays live jazz music 6 nights a week. Both bars had attractive wine cellars on display!
After Old Montreal, I hustled back to my hotel for a massage session at St James Spa and a sauna session from its roof top pool area.
And lastly, for dinner I went to Maison Boulud. Maison Boulud is an award winning French restaurant and just happen to be in the hotel I was staying (two birds, one stone). I sat at the bar and ordered the Gnocchetti Au Homard (lobster gnocchi, yum yum) for my entree and Chocolat Coulant (more yum yum) for dessert. They also served me a compliment starter dish. I somehow missed the server’s description but it appeared as arancini or the italian dish of fried rice and cheese balls. Regardless, it was an awesome free surprise! This meal was all things delicious!
After a crazy busy week at work, a long day (6am flight to Montreal) of exploring Montreal and a lovely dinner, I took the elevator upstairs and fell asleep swiftly in my cozy hotel bed. More to come…