After enjoying a few days in Toronto, it was time to head back via train to Montreal. We were to get there on Saturday afternoon and fly out on Sunday morning. Here are some pictures from the train as we entered Montreal...
I was so happy to see Montreal again. I was really glad we got a little bit more time there. I really loved it. There is something special about Montreal.
We got a hotel that was close to the airport to help us get a little extra sleep before our 6:15 flight. We were a fifty dollar cab ride from the cool stuff to do in Montreal. We were in a suburb that was more like some suburb of America.
We went for a farewell meal at an Italian restaraunt on the other side of the highway from our hotel. We walked there. There was a sidewalk and a way to cross over, but walking above a highway was not my favorite at all. Given my Canada induced fear of heights, I was not super pumped about the walk back.
There was a Wal-Mart across from our hotel. I am not a fan of Wal-Mart, but I just had to see what a Wal-Mart is like in Canada, especially one with signs in french...
One observation is Canada (and Cayman as well) does not operate on a 24/7 things must happen policy. So at 5 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon Wal-Mart was closed. Every shop around us was closed. The hours on Saturday were 9-3.
Since we were gone much longer than planned, we were running really low on clothing. We also had to pack what felt like 100 times. I was laughing as Tosh exclaimed that he found clean socks...
Finn was playing jump across the room while we tried to pack...
Saturday night we get a message that our Sunday flight has been cancelled. We weren't laughing this time. Tosh was supposed to be back at work on the previous Wednesday and here we were being told we were now going to be flying out on Monday. We also were now stuck in suburbia another day and felt like it would be stupid to spend 100 dollars on caps to go into Montreal to walk around. So....
We went to Wal-Mart (between the hours of 9 and 3, of course). My child is on the floor for some reason and at this point after being amazing for days of walking and days of changes I was like, yeah whatever. Wal-Mart is your backyard now.
We are crazy people who felt like the "heat wave" Montreal was experiencing was, in fact, jacket weather. It was 85 and 50% humidity. That drop from 90% humidity really had us shivering.
Also in suburbia was an Ikea...
and so the natural thing to do was spend the day eating $2.99 Swedish meatballs and browsing Ikea. In Ikea we always have the conversation that goes, "We could totally do this...if our house was just smaller." Only Ikea could make you wish your 1,000 ft apartment was just a little bit smaller with a few less windows.
We were all over eating out. At dinner time we decided to go to the grocery store right across from the hotel. We had fun picking out food and Finn really loves grocery stores in new towns, so it was quite fun.
He was so excited about his Montreal souvenir....
He was so excited about his Montreal souvenir....
A hot wheel from Wal-Mart. Hahah!
The next morning we made it to the airport for our early bird flight. It got delayed. I was so glad to have a good traveler at this point. While we waited he looked through a car magazine. He also had some time to make fun of his mama. On the train Tosh took a picture of me sleeping. Here is Finn's impression...
I will share my final thoughts on our Canadian vacation. We loved Montreal. Montreal is so special. When we got off the plane and saw all the signs in French and we couldn't understand anyone speaking, we were in love. Montreal feels incredibly safe. Canada in general feels so safe. Montreal and Toronto had so many New York vibes but a less aggressive version of New York (and everyone knows I love New York).
Toronto is a great city too. To me being in Toronto felt more like being in a big U.S. city while being in Montreal felt like I was in Europe. I have never been to Europe, but Tosh told me that it felt like Europe. If you haven't been to Canada, I highly recommend going. If I had to pick, I would say go to Montreal. Although it really depends on what you are looking for in your trip. Asking if you should go to Toronto or Montreal, I see now, is like asking someone should I go to L.A. or New York. It really depends on what you are wanting out of it.
The people in Canada were incredibly kind. Everyone was so friendly. Someone even offered Tosh a meal when he was standing alone on a street. I am not joking. He politely declined the left over fast food bag. :) We noticed that people are so patient there. The lines every where we went were so long and I never heard huffing or puffing. The long lines were also handled in such a quick and efficient way. We had a lot of good food and there was a good variety of food. It was a really great trip.
We were huge fans of Canada and are excited to one day visit Vancouver and hopefully Montreal again.
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