Mittens & Memories in Montreal, Quebec

Using only 20,300 Chase Sapphire points (equivalent to $253) for both of us, we jetted across the pond from Paris to Montreal. And, as we landed, we knew it was safe to say we were going to get out snow fix in Montreal. After all, for about 100 days a year, Montréal has at least a centimeter of snow on the ground and we arrived during the snowiest month of January. The temperatures were in the low 20’s F (-10C) and within the first day, it had already dropped about five inches (13 cm) of the fresh powder. So, for the first day, we were mostly tucked cozily in permanent pajamas in our friend’s apartment.

Flying over the St. Lawrence River, which is the third longest in North America. This vital waterway connects the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. Our flight was mostly uneventful with three movies each, a typical complimentary airplane meal and some very uncomfortable seats.

Arriving at 1 pm, we took the 747 airport bus from the airport to the nearest metro, working our way to the centrally-located home of our friends. On our walk, we learned that apparently kids have to carry snow shoes to school here. We also found it interesting that stop signs were in French here, yet they say “stop” in France.

The street where our friends live.

We last departed from Annabelle and Yi in Phnom Penh, Cambodia during the start of the pandemic. We had hit it off with them prior to this in Sri Lanka and had future plans to travel together. Although that didn’t work out (yet!), they kept telling us to visit them bribing us with food and a free place to crash. Our first dinner that Yi cooked tasted like it came straight out of a gourmet Szechuan restaurant, thanks to his brilliant skill. His family is from this part of China and it showed. It was mouthwateringly delicious and spicy. And complete with zingy peppercorns. We had seriously been craving this after spending so many months in Europe.

Annabelle, a true native gets to work creating a passageway for us to leave the house in Canada’s second largest city of Montreal (population 4.2 million). This dynamic city has a great vibe and one of the largest French speaking cities in the world. And in the French-speaking world, the Quebec accent is much more nasal and often “sing-songy.” They also don’t use the formal form of “you” as often as in France French. Another difference between France French and Canadian French is the impact of First Nation languages on Québécois vocabulary.

Of course, everyone (at least in the city) also speaks English and all signs are in both languages so getting around is a breeze. There is a lot to see and for our day out, we only scratched the surface with our local friend guides, but we caught glimpses of Old Montreal, Chinatown, The Village and the Latin Quarter, near the University of Quebec at Montréal.

Preparing for departure feeling like the kid on “A Christmas Story.” Thanks to our friends, we borrowed several layers…Mandy’s being 3 on bottom and 7 on top. Uh…she hates being cold 🥶🤣. The temperature was “only” around freezing, which was a very “nice” day according to Annabelle and Yi. On average there are 12 days per year with a windchill below -30°C and one day per year with a windchill below -40°C.

Playing sumo wrestler in the Metro station. It was 13 Canadian dollars ($9.71) for our RT tickets into the center from our neighborhood of Verdun. Grocery prices were also quite a sticker shock to us.

Mandy and Annabelle. Annabelle is a Quebec native and her family has lived in the province since the 1600’s.

The red signs indicate we were in “Old Montréal.” So dark and dreary…

An artsy park featuring a topping of the old fire station and several shipping containers which serve as pop up restaurants during the summer months.

Watch out for the chutes de glace or falling ice! So beautiful! But also lethal!! Ironically, Mandy and Annabelle almost got creamed by a falling icicle later that day. It nicked Annabelle’s mitten less (hot 🤣) finger and caused a bit of swelling.

Mandy playing unicorn.

For over 350 years, Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours has been one of the oldest churches in Montréal.

Looking towards the river. The tourist-friendly riverfront had a giant sky wheel ($25 Canadian for a ride), an adventure course, zip line and currently, hosted the home of the Electronica Music jam known as the Igloo Festival.

The architecture was not surprisingly very similar to New England in the States.

The oldest public market in Montréal is known as Marche Bonsecours and is a two-story domed public market. For more than 100 years, it was the main public market in the Montreal area. Now it’s mostly packed with souvenirs and tourist goodies.

Place de Jacques Cartier. If you remember your history, you’ll know he was the first European to navigate the Saint Lawrence River and basically “discovered” and named Canada in the 1530’s. The name likely comes from the Huron-Iroquois word “kanata,” meaning “village” or “settlement.”

One of the many restaurants packed with tourists scarfing down Canada’s National dish…poutine. Poutine, founded in Quebec, is fries, accessorized with cheese curds and gravy. We’ve had it before and aren’t fans of its greasy heaviness, so we happily breezed right by.

But we did decide to sample a queues de castor, or Beaver Tail for $6.50 ($4.80 USD.) Beaver Tails are fried dough dunked in cinnamon and sugar. Or, if you need even more of a sugar hit, you can get it smothered in chocolate, peanut butters, or with other creams and candies.

As so many cities possess, Montreal also has a Place d’Armes, which is adjoined by the oldest bank in the city.

The Notre Dame Basilica of Montréal was built in 1823.

Entering China Town, which was absolutely packed with people. The first Chinese immigrants to Montreal arrived in March 1877.

Montreal’s colorful and upbeat area known as “Gay Village.” Known for its restaurants, clubs and bars, its Montreal’s main residential and commercial distinct for gay people. It’s the largest of its kind in North America. So great to see!

The lively Latin Quarter near the University of Montreal at Quebec is lined with lots of hip restaurants and bars. In the summer a lot of the streets close off to become pedestrian streets lined with Al fresco dining. Hmmm…that must be nicer. 🤣

Crafting vegan style Chinese dumplings stuffed with greens, mushrooms, and beyond meat. This meal was also joined by their friend Artur, their Canadian-Polish neighbor.

Yi whipping up the mandatory accompanying dipping sauce. 😋

Digging in. We also bought a couple bottles of red and were majorly sticker shocked by the $25 Canadian price.

One batch. There were at least 7. So divine.

To balance out our healthy meal, we also made Pudding Chomeur for dessert, which is a traditional Quebec dessert created during the Great Depression. This is why, in English, it translates to Poor Man’s Pudding. More cake than pudding, this sugar bomb it is made with maple syrup, brown sugar and traditional cake ingredients. It was to die for!

After dinner, we played the game “Telestrations” which is something like Pictionary. This was one of the funnier ones. If you’ve given up guessing, the answer is Wal-Mart.