Weekend Update: Labor Day Weekend Part Two

Jay and I planned this Montreal trip back when we decided we were going to Vermont as a mini-vacation to celebrate our first anniversary. Jay had never been and I have missed the frequent visits that I used to make while living in the Burlington area. It's just an hour north of Plattsburgh, so it was an easy drive:

Crossing the St. Lawrence into the city:
We arrived at the hotel after a little unplanned driving tour (I had printed out directions before we had changed the hotel we booked - oops!). We stayed at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth and were very pleased with the location, room, and service. Not only was the hotel conveniently located at the heart of the city (and on top of Central Station and connected to the underground city), but it was also the site of the John Lennon and Yoko Ono Bed-In for Peace where they recorded the song Give Peace a Chance. Their room, 1742, was just doors down from ours - 1756. Of course I had to take a picture :)
After a mini-nap, we got ready for dinner. I had done some research before our trip and made reservations at Au Pied de Cochon, a highly recommended "unique restaurant experience" in the city. Well, let me tell you, it was very interesting and I'm happy to say that Jay now deems it his best dinner ever! We hopped on the metro after a little shopping in the underground city and made it just in time for our reservation.

We started off with Foie Gras Cromesquis which were little cubes of foie gras that were battered & fried so the foie gras liquified. We were instructed to pop these dice-sized munchies into our mouths and quickly close our lips so they didn't "pop out"! It sounds really weird but it was actually quite good!
Next, we had our appetizers. Let's just say we ordered way too much food! This picture below is of the Plogue a Champlain which was a crepe, layered with thin slices of potato, then bacon, then foie gras (that big thing on the top) and then topped off with an amazingly delicious maple syrup reduction. YUM!
We also had a delicious raw tuna dish (I'm not a big seafood person at all, but it was sooo good!) and Duck Carpaccio to round off our appetizers.


For my main course, I had the PDC Melting Pot which was basically pork prepared in 4 different ways on top of mashed potatoes. I really enjoyed 2 of the 4 items - the others, not so much. See that black thing on the left? It was blood sausage. Need I say more?
Jay had the Beef Tartare which was sooooo good!
Enjoying ourselves...
For dessert, Jay had Creme Brulee and I had the Pudding Chomeur which was amazing!! I am definitely going to make it at home as it is the perfect maple syrup dessert! mmmmmm!
Saturday morning, we got up pretty early and wandered around on St. Catherine Street looking for a place for breakfast. We found a nice little patisserie and enjoyed panini, pastry and espresso.
After breakfast, we shopped St. Catherine Street. Jay has been on a never-ending search for a new pair of shoes as well as a new suit. We found some good options, but ended up empty handed. The search goes on...


I had to grab a picture of this sign on a stairway exiting the underground :)
We grabbed our car and started driving toward Old Montreal. Here is a shot of Mount Royal:
Notre-Dame Basillica in Old Montreal:
I just love the cobblestone streets in this section of town. You really do feel like you are in Europe, especially with everyone speaking French!


You can't go to Montreal without enjoying Poutine - a popular treat in the area that is made with french fries, gravy and fresh cheese curds. So I ordered some for lunch. So good! You definitely can't get poutine in Arizona but I wish I could!
Jay got the Smoked Meat pizza which was very interesting (pickles on pizza?) but tasty nonetheless!
We spent our last $5 Canadian on 2 scoops of ice cream before heading south to Vermont.
Before getting too far out of the city, we made a pit stop at Tim Hortons, a well-known coffee/donut chain in Canada for some much-needed coffee after a very long day.
Wow. You think we like food? I swear we did more than eat during this trip - really! Ha! Well, that's all for now. Much more to come and I promise less food, more people in the next post!