Bel and Phil's Adventures

Montreal, Canada

By belandphilsadventures on August 4, 2018

Wednesday 1st August 2018

We had a lazy start to today. We have been on the go so much and it’s starting to take its toll on me. We did some work on the blog and then headed out. Marko had told us to go to Notre Dame Cathedral and the Bonsecours Market.

We headed out to find the underground shopping centres (because in winter it’s too cold to be outside so there are many shopping centres underground that are all linked). We found them and started looking around, but we were both so hungry. We asked at information about a great place for breakfast. They sent us a few blocks away to Cora’s. We almost didn’t get there, but we are so glad we didn’t succumb to temptation and stop somewhere else. This place was exactly what you would expect from a North American diner! It was perfect! There were so many options for breakfast, it took us ages to decide. We both went with a sweet and sour option. These plates were massive.

I couldn’t finish it all, but at least we weren’t hangry anymore. We got an uber straight to the Cathedral. We lined up and paid our massive $6 CAD entry fee. (The Canadian dollar and the Australian dollar are really close in value so it equates to $6.25 AUD). We walked in the door and were absolutely amazed, like gobsmacked.

It is so stunningly beautiful. This is so special. We are very grateful for Marko telling us to come here.

We found this Cathedral to be so beautiful. We went outside and got some photos of the exterior too. It is set in a lovely square that is all just so picturesque.

We wandered down to the waterfront and went for a walk along there. There was a festival of beer (I think. Everything is in French as people living in Montreal have their main language as French, although everyone that we encountered spoke perfect English as well.) We could not another thing though, no matter how tempting it was. The Churros and frozen banana images are for Chris as I know how much he would love them.

We walked further along the waterfront and saw this crazy zipline and climbing contraption that are right up Dallas’ alley.

We then headed up to the souvenir shops and the Bonsecours Market. This whole area was just stunning.

We had decided to bite the bullet and buy another bag. We need to pay per bag that we check in for all flights in North America, so we just pay for an extra bag from here until Hawaii, where we are allowed to bring home 2 x 23kg on Qantas. We headed back to the main shopping area near the hotel. We checked out one of the shopping centres that were recommended, but we couldn’t find what we were looking for. We went back to the hotel, as I still wasn’t great. The concierge talked to Phil in terms of where to go and he went out and got a duffel bag.

We had an early night and did some more work on the blog. Up early tomorrow as our flight leaves at 7am. The car is picking us up at 4:30am tomorrow.

We have really enjoyed our time in Montreal. I’m a little sad at leaving here, but we are heading to Niagara Falls which has been on the bucket list for a long time and still in Canada. One of the reasons we have loved Montreal / Canada so much is that everyone has been so helpful and friendly. Montreal is such a pretty city. Off to Niagara Falls tomorrow!