Montreal

I left work early on Friday to head out to Dulles to catch my flight. Although I had to sit in the very last row, it was a great and short trip. I made it through customs with no problems and even though there were hundreds of people waiting as I exited-Josh and I were able to spot each other right away.

We took a cab to Firat's house, where we were welcomed by his three awesome boys, dog Max, and nanny. We had a wonderful family dinner, and then headed out to see the city. First, we stopped at a park that had a beautiful lookout over Montreal. The pictures I took do not do the view justice.

After a stroll in the park we went to explore Old Montreal. The cobbelstone streets and Eurpean Artictecture were truly amazing.

We enjoyed martini's on a roof top bar, and after a treat of beaver tails we decided to call it a night.

Early Saturday morning we took a drive to another park. I enjoyed the beautiful gardens on the drive. Here is a picture of the window boxes at Firat's house. Max loved running around and the fresh foliage and trails were beautiful.

We headed into the city so the boys could see Harry Potter and Josh and I could see more of the sites. We strolled Saint Catherines, a main throughfair, that was close for the annual sidewalk sale. Josh showed me the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth-were he stays when he comes for business trips.

We had lunch on the balcony of Thursdays on Crescent Street, we shared a ham and brie on a baguette and chicken salad in a pita. Oh yes, and I had two fabulous glasses of white wine. It was crisp and fruity, a perfect complement to the sunny day.

After our outing we went to another dog park in the city for Max to run around. It was nice to meet friends of Firat there. I loved Montreal because everyone spoke French, but could also speak English.

We went to an early dinner in Old Montreal. It was an outdoor restaurant in the structure of a building with no roof. It was truly unique. We shared a bottle of Chianti and appetizers of beef and salmon tartar. Firat, his friend and I each had the Roasted Cod with Citrus Risotto. Josh had the Duck Risotto. His dish was very rich and had a lot of sage-I really liked the bites I took. The excellent meal was topped off with delightful desserts. Firat and I shared the Cream Cheese Ice Cream and Strawberries with Marscopone and Balsamic Glaze. Josh had a chocolate creation with salted carmel sauce--Amazing!

After dinner, Firat dropped us off to watch the weekly firework show on the water with his kids and the nanny. They had gotten there early to save us a spot. I sure was glad that I purchased a pretty kelly green scarf while we walked Saint Catherine's earlier in the day, it was very chilly! Here Josh and I get ready to watch the show.

In Montreal there is a weekly firework show produced by countries from around the world. This week's show was presented by Argentina, and it did not dissapoint. It was set to music and truly spectacular.

Sunday morning we all woke up early and headed to Tremblant, a resort in the mountains.

We took the ski lift up to the top of Mont Tremblant, and then hiked all the way down. Five adults and seven kids. The cold temperature and rain at the top of the mountain, truly made for an adventure. Although we were soaked through-it was so much fun!

After lunch, we went street louging. I rode with a five year old who wanted to go much faster than I did-I gave in a little towards the end of our ride!

After some maple toffee and a magic show perfromance-it was back to the Montreal airport. What a great trip, we are planning to head back for a ski trip this spring!