Montréal en hiver

Instead of heading back to the West Coast for the holidays, I decided to venture east to Montreal to experience that city in the winter.

The Montreal skyline - view from the Port of Montreal.

 

The trip on Via Rail made for some snowy train stop vistas along the Toronto-Montreal corridor.

The Queen Elizabeth on Boul. Rene Levesque on the right.

My home for three nights in Montreal was the Fairmont La Reine Elizabeth Hotel.  Located above the central train station and built in 1958, the hotel is billed as the largest hotel east of Toronto and is famous for hosting heads of state at Expo 67 and being the host hotel for the International Olympic Committee for the 1976 Olympic Games.  And it’s the place where John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged a "bed-in" in 1969.  OK, these are some trivial facts, but all contribute to the history of the hotel.

 



The owner of Beautys:  Hymie Sckolnick.

 

Of course, the focus of any trip is experiencing local food.  A lunch stop was at a luncheonette called Beautys. It has been serving meals since 1942 in the heart of Montreal’s Jewish garment district. There's plenty of atmosphere. I had the Special - a bagel sandwich made with lox, cream cheese, sliced tomatoes and onion.

 

A trip to Montreal is not complete without smoked meat sandwiches and poutine. Waiting in line (left) with the tourists for a sandwich à la viande fumée lunch (right) at Schwartz's Deli.

  A colleague recommended a “Montreal Special” at the Montreal Pool Room.  The street location isn’t great, but the meal inside, poutine and two “steamies” hot dogs, was tasty.

 

My search for decent mandarin oranges here in parts east continued with a stop at the Jean Talon Public Market. Again, as in Toronto, I found clementines. At least the oranges were sweet and easy-to-peel.

The most local food was a traditional holiday meal at the home of my Quebec friends Ginette and Yvon, They welcomed me to a family celebration – complete with jambon (ham) and Tourtière (French Canadian meat pie).

Bonne année!



The Montreal skyline from Mont Royal.

Eight weeks in Toronto

As we head into December, I am heading into my third month of living and working in Toronto. Here are some random photos and thoughts - in no particular order or preference - summarizing a few highlights of my first eight weeks here in T.O.


The ever-changing views of Lake Ontario from my 36th-floor window.

 

Christmas window at The Bay on Queen St. reminds me of the famous Woodward's windows in Vancouver.

ONroute stop on Hwy 401 between Toronto and Kitchener. These are "one-stop shop" locations on some of the highways in Ontario with services such as Tim Hortons and Starbucks, tourism info and gas stations. They're called "beacons of hospitality, convenience, innovation and safety." I think it's a great idea.

The Royal Canadian Curling Club on Broadview. My first on-ice curling experience in Toronto. This club deserves a full, future blogpost!

St. Paul's Basilica Parish. I've been to mass here a couple of times. Established in 1822, this is the first Parish of the Diocese. Located on the east side of downtown Toronto.

The Spadina Garden on Dundas and Bay.  I found a ginger beef and hot and sour soup lunch special. It was good, but my quest for this dish and soup will continue.

First snowfall of the season on Nov.23. The view from my window after a quick 10-minute snow flurry - or snow squall as they're called here.