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Twosday XV: Montreal Edition

Published on April 29, 2014 By Emily. Updated on April 29, 2014

There’s been a bit of silence around here lately…but I have a good excuse!  Last Thursday my sister and I surprised my mother for lunch in Portsmouth, NH then whisked her off for a surprise milestone birthday trip to Montreal.   It was a trip we’d been planning along with the help of my dad for months and I’m so glad we made it happen.  My mom had no idea what we were up to and we had an awesome girl’s weekend in Canada.

family photo

Reasons I thought my mom might be suspicious that we were up to something
1. My dad’s insistence that exploring Portsmouth for 4 days in the off season would be really fun for he and mom.
2. My April 15th blog post which contained a half week of menu plans followed with “?” because I “wasn’t sure” what we’d be doing or eating.  I appreciate that she doesn’t think I’m that obsessed with menu planning, but when I make a menu plan I make it as complete as possible and breaks are the perfect time to try out new things.

poutine

“Traditional” Montreal foods I made sure I ate
1. Poutine, which was pretty darn tasty and I’d definitely order again
2. Crepes, which were also awesome, though the sweetness of the honey on my honey almond crepes ended up being a little overwhelming

basilica interior

Attractions I recommend, if you’re headed to Montreal
1. The Notre-Dame Basilica
2. The Biodome

Activities I don’t recommend
1. Walking all over the city in the pouring rain
2. Being too stubborn to use an umbrella

Things my mom experienced for the first time
1. Staying in an apartment my sister found on AirBnB
2. Going on a road trip with her daughters as drivers, complete with mix CDs

Emily and a butterfly

Moments luck was on our side
1. Getting to experience the “Butterflies Go Free” exhibit at the Botanical Gardens just days before it ended. It was a highlight of our trip that we didn’t even know about before we headed out to the Botanical Gardens on Friday morning.
2. Arriving at the Basilica just moments before a tour started. A tour that happened to be in English and also happened to be the last tour of the day.

Breakfasts I enjoyed, presented without comment

1.  breakfast in montreal

2.  croissant

Souvenirs I purchased for myself
1. Maple tea. I have no idea if it will be any good, but I couldn’t resist.
2. A tea towel with fall colored orange and brown maple leaves on it that says “Canada” in one corner. For some reason, I have a thing for tea towels.

Parts of Montreal I want to explore more, next time
1.  Old Montreal
2.  The shopping on rue Sainte-Catherine

sisters

Items on my 101 in 1001 list this trip allowed me to check off
1. #23: Go on a trip with my sister
2. #34: Go to Canada

As always, Twosday is inspired by Heather

Related Posts

No Reservations: Mexico
A Day in Hyde Park
Many Words and Photos About Montreal
We Drove 6 Hours for Ice Cream
Did you enjoy this post? Share it!

Filed Under: travel Tagged With: Canada, family, travel

« Making My Menu Plans More Efficient
Investing in March and April »

Comments

  1. Heather says

    April 30, 2014 at 9:39 am

    such a fun birthday surprise! Sounds like a great trip :)

  2. Jen S. says

    April 30, 2014 at 10:00 am

    I’m so glad she was surprised!!! It looks like an awesome trip, even with the rain. :) Also, I love that you have a thing for tea towels. :)

    • Emily says

      May 1, 2014 at 8:11 pm

      Are you surprised that I have a thing for tea towels? I feel like that’s predictable :) Come over sometime, I’ll show you my collection. It may include towels that I don’t allow to be used for drying dishes, only decorative purposes. Because I’m one of those people.

  3. Lucy says

    April 30, 2014 at 10:55 am

    So much fun! I’m glad you had a successful minibreak with Mom and Sister. My family and I went to Montreal when I was in high school and your two highlights were two of my favorite places!

  4. Jessica says

    April 30, 2014 at 11:27 am

    This looks like a fun trip! Anytime I see Canadian Style Fries I order them! Who doesn’t love fried potatoes topped with mashed potatoes and gray..can you really have too much potato ANSWER: NO!
    Jessica

    • Emily says

      May 1, 2014 at 8:12 pm

      That is exactly my opinion on potatoes!

  5. Mom says

    April 30, 2014 at 4:47 pm

    It was a wonderful trip, and I was so surprised! Thank you so much!
    And just for the record, we would have used an umbrella if we had one with us. But we didn’t want to buy one.

Trackbacks

  1. Montreal, a 5k and This Week’s Plan (CSA Menu Plan #33) says:
    August 9, 2015 at 5:04 pm

    […] base and covered a lot of ground.  Brian had never been to Canada and I was in Montreal in the spring of 2014, so it was a really fun trip for both of us.  I’m looking forward to writing more about it […]

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I don't have answers, but I'm trying to take care of myself and my biological and school families. I'm saying "I love you" a lot to my children and my students. I'm closely following and sharing the work of @everytown while contacting my state and federal representatives and the president. I'm going for walks and getting fresh air and trying not to overload on news. I'm sharing good resources in my stories as I see them.
UPDATE: the giveaway is now CLOSED. Congrats @aloh UPDATE: the giveaway is now CLOSED. Congrats @alohr3!

 @thelazygenius' second book, The Lazy Genius Kitchen, is finally here and I'm so excited! I don't purchase many books, but I pre-ordered this last July because I knew it would be right up my alley and then I pre-ordered a second copy because I knew that I'd want to give one away.

Author Kendra Adachi has been one of my favorite voices in recent years. Her principles (shared through her first book, The Lazy Genius Podcast and her Instagram) have helped me focus my priorities and give myself more grace. 

This book is NOT a cookbook (it has just 2 recipes), it is a kitchen guide - to help you "have what you need, use what you have, and enjoy it like never before". It is beautiful (full color!) and thoughtful.

I'm very excited to send this book to one of you.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below with one of your greatest kitchen struggles. 
I'll draw a winner at 8 pm on Friday, May 6.
This giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram or The Lazy Genius, Kendra Adachi.
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#LazyGenius #KendraAdachi #NameWhatMatters #TheLazyGeniusKitchen #TheLazyGeniusWay #BookGiveaway
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