Bonjour, Montreal!

To say we had a fabulous time is an understatement! The following blog post falls under my "this is my family album" clause.

To begin with, our flight to Montreal was my magical transition out of mama world - of managing logistics, upholding schedules, and being the resident expert on three small human beings - to just being Jake's wife. On vacation. In a French-speaking city.

It was divine.

Here was our first sight upon landing in Canada: an hour-long wait through customs. But guess what? I had no one to entertain but Jake and I! Amazing. Long line, schmong line.

Montreal's weather was as expected- rainy and in the 40's every day except Friday, when we left. Even with as much of a sunshine person as I am, the weather made our week so much more of an adventure!

Our hotel was fantastic: it was right where Jake's conference was being held (the purpose of the trip), and also right in the middle of downtown. Along with using the metro here and there, we did a huge amount of walking- which was fabulous. We love pedestrian urban cities! Another thing we did a lot of... trying to speak French. I think I only had one transaction that was entirely in French (meaning they didn't break to English upon realizing I was no Montreal-er). I was proud of that one. Here's the view out the front of the hotel.

Dinner on our first night was at Wienstein and Gavino's. I insert Jake's picture here, because he maintains that MY salad that night was his most memorable meal of the trip, in a good way. He discovered goat cheese.

Tuesday morning, I went for a run that turned out to be my only outdoors run during the trip. But it was so neat to run through Old Montreal, by the port, then just chasing down anything that caught my eye.

I found McGill University that way, and we walked through campus when Jake had a break from sessions on Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon was when the rain started, and I retreated to what became my FAVORITE coffee place for some "therapy"...

This picture is significant because I bought this cute, preppy apple green umbrella right there on St Catherine's Street that first full day. Two days later, it broke as I walked through sleet and huge wind gusts. It was fun while it lasted.
After Jake was through Tuesday afternoon, we took the metro to The Plateau and Environs. We loved it. Where we were staying was sort of like the Montreal version of Time Square- very busy, flashy, big stores, lots of shopping, etc. The Plateau was more like a less exclusive Upper West Side- cute cafes, shops, parks, more quiet.
We had our favorite dinner experience at L'Academie. You could bring your own bottle of wine, which we did, and you could tell from the vibe that it was the local fav. A classic moment while there: after me attempting to roughly translate the French menu for Jake, we discovered that Jake's menu was in English... and he was trying to figure out why on earth I kept referring to various dishes in French! Delish meal with fabulous company- great night!
On Wednesday, we took the bull by the horns and decided to brave the cold drizzle and go for the hike up Mont Royal, which overlooks the city. We were asking our concierge some questions about the hike, and she stopped and said, "Now... you do know it's raining, right?" But we were determined to not let the weather keep us from a good time. It was a good call, as the rain was intermittent and light enough to keep away any crowds, but still allow great visibility. Here's part of the view from the top- so pretty! That rainy mornings was one of the trip's highlights.
Excuse the waterlogged-look...

The beginnings of spring in Canada!

After a delish lunch at a cafe we came upon after descending the mountain, we went to the Marche Jean-Talon, which I had been eagerly looking forward to. It was a huge marketplace with tables and tables laden with all kinds of produce, herbs, specialty olive oils, etc. etc. It was amazing. I could have just sat right down and eaten a second lunch right there.

Wednesday night, we joined Chris, a dear friend from Pepperdine, for dinner at a Portugese place called Ferreira Cafe. It was wonderful catching up with him and enjoying another amazing meal.

Thursday was a pretty full day for Jake, including his first research-based presentation at an academic conference! Some of the presentation material relates to his dissertation, so it was great to have had such a good experience putting forth their research.

With the day to myself while Jake was busy at the conference, I went to the Museum of Fine Arts.

The architecture through the windows was as much art as what was within the walls!

Then I took the metro over to Old Montreal, where I eventually took refuge from the cold and rain at the Creperie Chez Suzette. The following hour and a half was so luxurious. It was not crowded, given the weather, so I took up a table by a window and enjoyed a great lunch, and followed it with a wonderful coffee and book reading. Taking time with a meal, an after-meal coffee, and reading... alone... is not something that happens during my daily life, and it was cozy and delightful.

That night we joined Jake's faculty advisor Alex (with whom he presented), our friend Chris, and a new friend named Zollo, who was from Mongolia, for dinner at The Beaver Club. I so enjoyed getting to hear all of their conversation about various types of research, etc. But the best part of the meal was a unique opportunity for all of us Americans getting to share the Lord with Zollo after she asked some questions after we blessed our meal. Pray for her to continue asking questions! She is a Ph.D. student in Korea and will have continued contact with Alex.

As that was our last night, Jake and I went back out for dessert after dinner, and, for the first time the whole trip, absolutely ate more than we should have. Ironically, the place I stumbled upon in the rain and the cold earlier in the day was the concierge's top recommendation for a Montreal crepe. So back we went. I am ashamed to say we polished all of the following off. It was awesome.

Friday we awakened to sunshine!! Wow- so this is what Montreal looks like in the spring! Sunshiny walk, sunshiny park,
sunshiny breakfast spot...

and a few croissants to pick up and bring home to the moms as part of their massive thank you's. Then we bid "au revoir" to Montreal!

Though it was hard to leave such an amazing week of being AWAY and ALONE with my amazing husband... we were both pumped to get to go home to our precious baby girls!!!

The one thing Abby Jane asked us to bring back for her was... drumroll... M&M's. Not that she cared, but here's proof we actually bought them in Montreal. The pretzel kind.

The reality is that it's going to be a long, long time before Jake and I have that kind of time away again- but we couldn't have asked for a better or more perfect trip! It was so, so good to spend that time just us- not as Mama and Daddy, but as Jake and Em. Abby Jane told me this weekend that Jake is "the best boy in the whole wide whaled [world]" and I absolutely agree! I sure love my man, and it was beyond sweet to have this time with him.