Canada Edition Part 1-Montreal

Packed and ready to leave, I waved the kids a sad goodbye as they headed off with dad for school. I checked for the essentials: money, passport, tickets and headed for the airport. The flight was uneventful, the way I like it, even if I was stuffed like a sandwich between two burly, talkative, cheeky, drinking chaps. I arrived on Canadian soil within 7 hours of departing Scotland.

I was met by Kate, Callum and Owen and they whisked me away when I say whisked, I mean after a tiny hunt for the car but I've not to mention that to their palatial home. I had the west wing to myself Kate, I know you call it the basement but it is pretty vast and with it's own front door, it's a wing and Matt, Kate's Scottish husband had helped her prepare a lovely meal of salmon, 'peaches and cream' corn on the cob... sweet and delicious...and a fresh, wonderful salad with the obligatory glass or three of wine. It was a great start to the holiday.

The next morning, we picked up Jill and headed for the airport to Montreal. A strong Starbucks coffee helped fuel us for the tiring trip when I say tiring, I mean not tiring at all but completely, diabolically easy and we were transported by air and then taxi to the Nelligan hotel.

We checked in early with no fuss and were shown to our suites. Yes, suites.

After jumping up and down on the bed unpacking we explored the neighbourhood, stopping off at a nearby restaurant for lunch: moules frite with a glass of chilled white and some dipping bread. We enjoyed it very much, fuelled as we were by excitement at another few days of decadent, leisurely eating and chilling out.

Jill and Kate stopped off for a massage whilst I preferred to wander the local area drink more coffee, drool at the patisseries eat the patisseries and eventually sojourn to my room with a book and some music. We met up later on for complimentary wine and cheese within the hotel and some people watching and chattering. We dressed for dinner and wandered round the local area at our leisure, eventually settling on a lovely little French bistro, the name of which escapes me, which had a great atmosphere, dimmed lighting and the maître d’ in a pork pie hat and brogues.

The Bloody Mary style drink what was that called again? was perfection, the wine ok and the food good. The service was fun and we had a really enjoyable few hours eating, drinking and being merry. Kate was in the mood for steak and a handsome, sexy and well cooked side of beef was brought out on a wooden board...I think it was wooden, it was hard to see. But, restaurant, that was not an 16oz steak; methinks a misprint or a chef with the shakes.

I was particularly taken with the booth area, decked out in white leather padding and buttons lookin' gooood, Mr Cartel! aka Austin Powers. It practically had it's own spotlight, the only light in a room filled with darkness. Actual darkness, no metaphors here. We left happy.

We headed for the Rue St-Denis district the next day after a breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, jam, croissants and coffee and after walking and shopping for hours, we decided lunch was to be at a small restaurant called 'Tomato'.

We had a shared basil pizza, salad verte, tomato bocconcini and mixed olives washed down with a pitcher of sangria; good, tasty and served with a side of cheeky waitress who kicked me....I deserved it, don't worry; it made for an enjoyable lunch, even if she did think my accent was Spanish......

Being the kind of gal that needs to stop off for regular coffee breaks, I said adieu to Kate and Jill after a further few hours walking and told them they'd find me in a shabby looking cafe, possibly called Chocolate, just up the street. Imagine my surprise to discover a modern, gorgeous chocolate shop inside yes, I know that was the name but a scabby shop front, even if it was called 'Delectable Chocolate Treats Inside; Just You Wait' is still a scabby shop front; I ordered the best looking and ultimately tasting hazelnut chocolate slab, roasted coffee and was given a free rose flavoured chocolate bite.

Kate and Jill joined me for a coffee and some chocolate...how could they not...and we headed home after many hours, tired and contented.

Later that evening, we headed to a local, well known restaurant called 'Le Club Chasse et Pêche'. The reviews of the food were wonderful and we were really looking forward to it.

We arrived early after a wander round St-Paul, stopping to look in the galleries and shops still open.

We waited in the bar until our table was ready and settled in for what was to be a memorable meal.

The menu was sublime and we were torn over what to order as it all sounded so delicious but eventually I settled on seared scallops, fennel purée, lemon confit and Jill and Kate went for the mushroom tart. I'd have had all the appetisers if I could have gotten away with it.

The scallops were cooked by roasting one side in a pan therefore caramelising it and brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. The fennel and lemon confit was perfect alongside and I was as happy as the proverbial pig/clam/fly. The mushroom tart was a delicate little basket filled with aromatic mushrooms, tasty cheddar and arugula (rocket). I had a taste of course and it was sweet, savoury and utterly delicious.

For my main course, I opted for lamb, cooked two ways, served with a trio layer, the top of which was goats cheese. It was cooked to perfection and the goats cheese with it was a revelation; guess what I'm cooking at my next dinner party?

Kate had the Halibut in a tomato broth...fresh, fragrant and a feast for the eye as well as the palate. Jill had the restaurant's version of surf and turf: duck and lobster no less. It was incredible looking and tasted just as good....I had to have/steal some of course. We had our meal with a lovely bottle of Petit-Chablis and finished off with coffee.

The next day was our last day in Montreal and we took a taxi to Ste-Catherine. It was decided that I could not leave Montreal without tasting Poutine, a Quebec delicacy; it consists of chips (fries) smothered in gravy and topped with cheese curds.

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The Glaswegian version would be chips and curry sauce or gravy with grated cheddar cheese! We went to La Belle Province, which was recommended as the best cafe for this dish; it turns out it is listed on Wikipedia as one of the best places to have Poutine. It tasted exactly as you'd imagine eating fries, gravy and cheese would; comforting, fattening and tasty but impossible to finish.

We flew back to Toronto first class no less...thank you Kate and Matt....and I said a sad farewell to my gorgeous Canadian friends and was greeted at Toronto airport by my lovely Scottish one.