Montreal Montage

The Cutlers went to Montreal, Quebec to celebrate our 2nd Anniversary. The city feels just like Europe, except its a shorter flight and you don't have to stumble through your French. The weekend was definitely a cool one, with temps in the low 40s and even some snow!

We stayed downtown at the Opus Hotel , which is located near one of the Universities. The hotel is a unique combination of old and new and is enclosed in these two buildings.
The inside is quite modern and our room had a cement ceiling.

There was no doubt in our mind that we were in Canada. Seriously, where else can you find on the sidewalk a broken hockey stick next to a maple leaf?

Our first big outing was hiking to the top of Mount Royal. Some call it the mountain in Montreal, but its really just a big hill in the middle of the city.

There are a lot of stairs that you need to climb to get to the top.

But it is totally worth it. There is a lookout at the top with a beautiful view of the city.

For some reason, I thought there was a Chateau at the top and was slightly disappointed when I was greeted by this building. Its just a big reception hall where they host fancy parties. Although I certainly would not decline an invite.

This is the inside of the building. Please pay special attention to the decorative squirrels at the top of the pillars. And please pay special attention to this squirrel (the one in gray) who thought I was offering a handout. The camera wasn't quick enough, but he actually came much closer. Maybe even a little too close for comfort.Gotta love those Christmas card photos. When it started to rain, we headed to the Underground City for some shopping. The Underground City is the largest underground complex in the world with almost 20 miles of tunnels. You could spend an entire week here and still not cover everything.

When we entered Montreal we asked the question, do they celebrate Halloween here? Yes, they celebrate it for three days.

Our second destination for the weekend was Old Montreal, which is the original French settlement. They even have a replica of Notre Dame.

Here are some of the original settlers.

The streets are still lined with cobblestone.
This is one of the first streets built in Montreal.

Here we are on Rue d'Artiste (well I think that was the name or it's something I just made up). Given the temperature, there weren't many artists out, but it was still fun to walk through.
We had an amazing time on vacation and will definitely go back. Au revoir Montreal!