Indian Summer

So we just returned from the most terrific weekend in Mtl. Totally spur of the moment - a brief respite before school starts and a way to break up the incredibly busy and somewhat stressful time I'm having at work. When I say that the weather was awesome, it was so fucking amazing I cannot stand it! 15 - 22 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. That's utterly perfect when you're climbing up mountains.

This trip wins the award for most Montreal-trekking (in approximately 20 years) because my kid veritably mandated a number of tourist excursions. Usually we stick to the walking and eating and shopping in the east (French) side. But we went kind of Anglo this time, trying a bunch of new restaurants and experiences. It was great.

Our most intriguing restaurant moment (though not the best, if extremely delighful) was half way up the mountain at a place called La Pavillon. It was oddly elegant given that it is niched in a public (albeit cool), Olympic-era building that is largely occupied by a cafeteria. Like abutting the chichi restaurant. Dicey proposition, dining in the middle of tourist-central next to a queue cafe, but it turned out to be an excellent meal at an instant of utter exhaustion and hunger. And, most hilariously, we ate at a table next to Gilles Duceppe and his wife. The average patron was older than Scott, M's and my combined ages, and tres properly dressed. It was a bizarre time culminating in a dessert of chocolate ganache, mounds of whipped cream, meringue and vanilla ice cream - a puff-ball combo about the size and shape of a bunny, which is to say huge for a dessert.

I've got a pressing deadline on Friday - the first of many between now and mid-November so it's likely I'm not going to have a chance to post for the next week.

Having said this, pls. stay tuned for some fun and maybe even transportative-by-proxy travel posts in the works, namely:

• Photo essay of the Mountain - including a trek to the famous cross

• Photo essay of the Oratoire St. Joseph (it's commercial religion at its consummate best) and Westmount - probably my favourite neighbourhood in the world

• Photo essay of Atwater Market - the best market I've ever been to, bar none - and I'm not just talking it up. It's world-famous! Oh, and I'll throw in a few shots of the Lachine Canal.
  

• Fun post about the shopping M and I did. It was brief, but very satisfying!
  

• Photo essay of the hotel room - not my usual place (it was booked, given how spur of the moment this trip was), yet a place I've stayed in before. I'm happy to tell you that it has improved immmeasurably with renovations - and it was a very adequate boutique hotel in the first place.
  

Hopefully I've hooked you! Please stay tuned.