How I Fell in Love with Montreal in a Weekend

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The entrance to the EAT YUL summer food festival in Montreal.

The entrance to the EAT YUL summer food festival in Montreal.

I love languages. My first attempt at learning a foreign language was with French. As a kid, I remember reading The Adventures of Tin Tin, watching Madeline, and getting my mom to buy me some French Language books at the local bookstore. In the third grade, I participated in an art competition where I drew the Eiffel Tower. Next to the tower, there was a small little turboprop plane, with me as the pilot. I recall thinking that someday, I’d get to be a pilot and fly around the world, seeing landmarks just like La Tour Eiffel. I absolutely loved French culture as a kid.

Fast-forward more than fifteen years later from that art competition, and although I’ve yet to visit Paris (I’m saving that for a vacation with my mom – it’s her dream city to visit), I finally made it to a French-speaking city: Montreal! Although I was there for only a weekend, Montreal is the kind of city that I’ll definitely visit again. Here are my top reasons why I’d visit Montreal again in a heartbeat:

Reason #1: It truly does feel like another country

Montreal is just a few hours north of New York City, but throughout the city you’re quickly reminded that despite being a province of Canada, Quebec has it’s own unique culture and might as well be considered a country within a country. From the signage on the freeways, to being welcomed with a “Bonjour, Hello” by shopkeepers, the French language is pervasive throughout Montreal. Besides the language, the architecture is European influenced.  As a Francophile that loves architecture, this fact alone will keep me coming back again and again!

A stop sign in French

A stop sign in French

 

“Old Port” in French

“Old Port” in French

Street scene around the Old Port area

Street scene around the Old Port area

Reason #2: The surrounding landscape is breathtaking.

Montreal gets its namesake from the mountain directly west of the city: Mount Royal. The park itself, created by Frederick Law Olmstead (known for creating Central Park in Manhattan and Prospect Park in Brooklyn), is one of 17 large parks in Montreal proper. Moreover, these parks are really accessible to get to if you don’t have a car, which makes taking a breather from the hustle-and-bustle of city life just a walk in the park.

View of Montreal from Mount Royal Park.

View of Montreal from Mount Royal Park.

Staircase at Mount Royal Park

Staircase at Mount Royal Park

A fountain at La Fontaine Park, near The Plateau.

A fountain at La Fontaine Park, near The Plateau.

Reason #3: The gay scene is legendary.

Although the city has just a little over 1.6 million people, Montreal has one of the largest gay district’s in North America. The bulk of the activity happens around Saint Catherine Street, which runs for nearly two kilometers! Although I didn’t get to visit many of the places here during my first visit to the city, just walking along the street during the day gave me a sense of how much activity must happen here.

Pink lights hanging atop the length of Saint Catharine Street

Pink lights hanging atop the length of Saint Catharine Street

A statue along Saint Catharine Street

A statue along Saint Catharine Street

A special-interest store along Saint Catharine Street

A special-interest store along Saint Catharine Street

Reason #4: The eclectic food and art scene

I love food and art. Montreal has both! I’ll let the pictures below do the talking.

Romados, a popular Portuguese-style restaurant specializing in rotisserie chicken. 

Romados, a popular Portuguese-style restaurant specializing in rotisserie chicken.

Fancy poutine

Fancy poutine

Street art around Le Plateau.

Le Plateau #2

 

Le Plateau #1Street art around the Art Museum.

Art #3

 

 

Art #4Conclusion

I’ll end this blog post with a caveat: I visited during the summer. I’ve heard that Montreal can be brutally cold during winter. I’m going to see just how cold it gets when I visit again later this year in mid-December. Here’s to hoping that Montreal continues to appeal to me in the future, despite the frigid temperatures.

One Day in Burlington, Vermont

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I had a few hours to spend in Burlington on my way back from a weekend in Quebec before my flight back down to DC, and for a city of less than 50,000 people, Burlington had a lot of activities to choose from. Here are my top three picks on what to do if you’ve got a day in Burlington.

#1 Take a cruise along Lake Champlain.

I love being out on the water, and the first thing I did when I got to Burlington was hop on a tour of the lake with The Spirit of Ethan Allen. The ticket cost about $22.50 for about an hour and a half cruise around the lake. The guided tour was really well done, with the tour guide explaining in great detail the history of the lake and surrounding area. For one thing, I learned that the lake is a little over 100 miles long and 12 miles wide at it’s largest point, and is often called the “West Coast of New England.” Here are some pictures from what I saw:

Waiting for the ferry at the Burlington Pier.

Burlington Harbor

Sailboats with the Adirondack Mountains and New York State in the distance.

Lake Champlain #1

(Nerd alert) Check out the clear layers of rock on the cliffside!

Lake Champlain #3

Water as far as the eye can see!

Lake Champlain #2

View of Burlington from the lake.

Burlington - View of Downtown

Pro-tip: There are signs that say no outside food or drinks are allowed on the boat, but fear not, you don’t have to force yourself to drink all that water you just bought. Before boarding the ferry there’s a cooler where you can drop your stuff off and pick up on your way after the cruise ends.

#2 Walk along Church Street.

After stopping at a local restaurant along the lake, I walked north towards downtown. Burlington itself is a pretty small city, and probably because of that fact, is very walkable. The main street with a ton of activity is Church Street, which from what I understand is generally pedestrian-only on weekends. Great place to people watch, check out boutiques and just relax!

There was a bike race tournament going on when I visited that went right through the city!

Burlington - Bike Race

View of Church Street.

Burlington - Church Street #2

At the end of Church Street. 

Burlington - Church Street

#3 Visit the Shelburne Museum.

I’m a big fan of art, specifically landscape art, and had read a lot via TripAdvisor about the Shelburne museum. Tickets to the museum cost $20. That might seem a bit pricey, but the tickets are good for two days. Moreover, this place is HUGE! They really shouldn’t call it a museum. A compound or estate seems more fitting. The museum is known for it’s collection of American Art, a heritage boat The Ticonderoga which once plied the waters of Lake Champlain, as well as early New England history.

The Entrance to the Shelburne Museum

Shelburne Museum - Entrance

 

 

The Ticonderoga

Shelburne Museum - Ticonderoga

Everything at the museum can be explored. Here I am inside the boiler room in the Ticonderoga.

Shelburne Museum - Inside the Ticonderoga

A view of the museum grounds. There are more than a dozen different buildings to explore.

Shelburne Museum - Grounds

My favorite part of the museum was the Webb Gallery, home to the Shelburne’s collection of American art.

Shelburne Museum - Webb Gallery

One of the many paintings inside the gallery.

Shelburne Museum - Vulture

How to Get There?

Getting to Burlington is pretty easy. I flew into the city’s main airport, BTV, but you can also fly into Montreal, an hour and a half drive due north, or a 5.5 hour drive up on I-87 from New York City. The Vermonter also offers train service from New York City to Burlington.

Conclusion

Although I was in Burlington for a few hours, I could easily see myself spending at least 3 full days exploring Northern Vermont, especially during the Fall Season as the leaves start to change. I definitely hope to make it up there sometime soon.