Montreal, The Trip, Day 2

Ahhhh, our first full day in Montreal. I forgot to mention that I had come down with a bit of a cold, so was a bit stuffed up and coughy, but slept well and woke up feeling pretty good.

What to explore today? So many choices. Sharlynn thought we would be good to go a little further away, so we decided to walk Rue le Saint Catherine, the main avenue of Montreal, with arts, shopping and a lot more.

Before we left the hotel, we found a little breakfast cafe around the corner called Cafe St.Paul's (for Rue le St. Paul) which our hotel was on. A nice breakfast, nothing fancy and pretty cheap, with good strong coffee. We would eat there several times, and I highly recommend it.

After asking at the hotel, they advised to not do the Metro, and instead just walk. So we did. On the way we stopped by Montreal's few blocks of Chinatown. and then went on to St. Catherine.

It is an exciting street. A huge arts center with all kinds of venues and museums at the east end, and shops, restaurants, historic churches and strip clubs galore. Yes, this is Montreal. This also a long street, going for a few miles. We meandered, going from side to side as things elicited interest from us. The churches were amazing. The shops were varied. The restaurants intrigued. And the strip clubs intrigues even more.

Now Montreal has a rep for good strip clubs. With full contact lap dances that run quite inexpensive compared with say, Vegas. So, I was marking these out as we walked- in between the churches that is. As we came to a certain part of St. Catherine, Sharlynn pointed out the road that led to the mountain, Mont Royal. "Let's do that walk," she enthused. After coughing a bit, I agreed reluctantly.

Mont Royal is not really a mountain, but a pretty steep hill, with A LOT of stairs that lead to the top, and great open parkland all around. A true metropolitan park, with tons of grassy area that Montrealers were enjoying.

Now we did get a great view of the city, but I was pooped from this extra excursion, especially considering the long walk back to come. But it was fun, and as I said, great views of the city, changing at each level we stopped at.

The weather was great, and Montrealers were out enjoying the 65 degree sunny day. As we walked back to hotel, we realized how far we had walked out, and knew that this was a 4-5 hour walking day. But it felt good, despite the lingering cold. As we returned to Vieux Montreal, we needed to get a bite. So we stopped at Chez Suzette, a nice crepe place, and split had some of the best crepes we ever ate. We needed our strength for the night to come.