Happy New Years, my loves!
I hope you all had a wonderful, safe new year celebration! I was in Montreal from December 30th to January 1st and experienced a lot of culture, shopping, clubbing, and food! It was a fantastic time and I am so thankful that I had the chance to experience this beautiful city. It might've been my first time, but it will not be my last!
December 30th
We arrived at Hotel Espresso at approximately 8:30a.m. after an 8 hour bus ride from Toronto to Ottawa, Ottawa to Montreal. Our tour group was not expected to arrive until 3, so for the morning and majority of the afternoon, we explored the downtown core, shopped, ate, and stocked up on alcohol for the next night. Finally, once we returned to the hotel and checked in, we received the keys to our hotel room. We got to our room, and thanks to some slight rearranging, were placed in a newly renovated room with a beautiful view, two queen-size beds, and wooden floors. The hotel was clean, comfy, and inexpensive, with knowledgeable and friendly hotel staff. We ordered pizza the first night, then got ready and headed out for a night on the town.
December 31st
We awoke at 11:00a.m. and got ready for the various day trips that awaited us that afternoon. We took a shuttle bus to Old Montreal and that is where our day begin. Old Montreal is absolutely stunning. The original cobblestone, rot iron lampposts, boutiques, and the Notre Dame basilica gave this part of the city an authentic and classy vibe. It was one of my favourite parts of the trip. Here, we bought souvenirs, ate Montreal poutine, and experienced some of Montreal's most beautiful architecture. After a couple of hours here, we took a taxi to the Montreal Casino, where we attempted to win money at the slot machines, and failed miserably. After taking a cab from the casino to St. Catherine's Street, we walked towards the hotel and decided to stop at a small Italian restaurant for dinner. Though initially the waiter told us we needed a reservation, he came after us to invite us back in for some traditional and exquisite Italian dining. The restaurant was beautiful, the food was incredible, and the staff were so friendly and accommodating. After we returned to our hotel, we got ready for the new years party at Club 1234. It was a spectacular night.
January 1st
We awoke at 7:30a.m. to pack, clean our hotel, and catch our bus back to Toronto. This trip was memorable and filled with a variety of new experiences, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The locals were friendly and welcoming, and eager to help us in all ways possible, the architecture was incredible, the shopping was fabulous, as was the food and clubs.
For those of you who have never been to this city, I highly recommend that you go. I will certainly be back in the near future.
For those of you heading back to school, good luck this semester! The rest of you can still enjoy your holiday! Be safe, loves!
-Satisfy my Soul
I SO want to go back to Montreal! We only spent a day there, though, as the major destination of our trip was Quebec City. We walked around old Montreal for a bit and visited Notre Dame, and we also went to St. Joseph's Oratory (I think thats what it was called) which is an absolutely GINORMOUS church up on Mount Royal. It has the second largest dome in the world, after St. Peters Basilica in Rome. And when you stand out on the steps, you can see the whole city beneath you! It's breathtaking! We also went to the baseball stadium, as per G's request lol. There's a bio-dome in there! It's neat!
ReplyDeleteI must say though, that Old Quebec City is even more beautiful than Old Montreal. It actually felt like I was in Europe (and I have been To Malta before lol)! I didn't want to leave!
And I forgot to tell you before you left, just around the corner from Notre Dame in Montreal is a restaurant owned by Chuck Hughes, this awesome chef on the Food Network. His show takes place in his restaurant. And I think he's kinda hot lol. And he has tattoos all over his arms of his favourite foods and ingredients! I didn't know who he was back when we were there, so now I really want to go back! :P