Canadian Capital 6/18/19 (Old Montreal)

We started this morning with our group picture.  Walking across the street from the hotel to the Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, we lined up on the steps, smiled a few times and we were done.

This morning we are off to the Old Montreal walking tour with a few food tastings thrown in.  Since the streets in the old area are pretty narrow, Guy dropped us off on the outskirts where we broke into four groups, each with a local guide.  Old Montreal was first settled in 1624 by the French as Fort Ville-Marie.  Many structures date back to that era of New France.  This is where the cruise ship docks are now located.

Our guide told us about many of the buildings we passed and how their uses have changed over time.
We saw the original Molson factory.  Molson has a long history in Montreal dating back to 1786.  As the city grew in size due to immigration, many of the new arrivals brought communicable diseases which threatened the water supply. The original brewery was started and flourished, as much of the water was not safe to drink and beer became a viable alternative!

We also walked into the Montreal World Trade Center.  Inside was a great court yard and with  plants and fountains.  On display was a piece of the Berlin Wall

We toured the inside of original Royal Bank of Canada headquarters built in 1928.  Today it is used  by the Crew-Collective.  The Collective offers work space for small business owners and also has a large cafe that is open to the public.  They maintained the teller windows and many of the original bank structures.  Much of the original architecture has been maintained and is beautiful - visible throughout the level we visited were the ceilings which are high and very ornate.

Now on to the food portion of our show!  Our first stop was Marche de La Villette for two types of pate.  The first was pork and veal, the second was duck.  Both were served on a slice of baguette with sparkling apple cider.  Brie cheese was available to those that did not want to try the pate.

Moving on, we headed closer to the St Lawrence River.  Our next stop was Europea, a small shop where we were offered three kinds of cheeses.  Over 450 types of cheeses are produced in Quebec province.  All three were quite tasty and enjoyed by both of us.

Stop number three was Le Resturant-Smoking Meats.  Everyone was given half a Montreal bagel with cream cheese (one of the yummy bagels like the one at the St Lawrence Market in Toronto) and half a smoked meat sandwich.  The smoked meat was similar to pastrami and is made from brisket rather and the pate; the texture is very different - there is no stringiness.  Both are cold smoked, but the spices are different and less sugar is used.

Our last stop was for a choice of sorbet or gelato at DeLices.  All the choices are sweetened with maple syrup and it was wonderful.  The shop also had a large selection of all products maple.  Maple salt, maple pearls (not sure what those are), syrup, cookies, sugar....in other words....any and all things maple.

Dinner was a group event at the Bonaparte Restaurant in Old Montreal.  Located in a boutique hotel, the food is very French.  We were seated in small groups and could select from an abbreviated menu that includes escargot.  Mary had the butternut soup and dijon pork and Bonnie opted for the mushroom ravioli and lamb chops.  Dessert was several small bites which included cheese cake and creme brûlée.

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Pictures 6/18/19


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