Sept. 20 - Jean-Talon Market

"Farmers' markets remind us of the simple pleasures in life. The joy of fresh food, the beauty of community and the connection we share with the earth." -Unknown

On Saturday we took the Metro to the Jean-Talon Market located in the heart of Little Italy. It’s one of the largest farmers markets in North America and one of the oldest public markets in Montreal opening its stalls in 1933. 

The market is open year round and offers a vast selection of fresh produce, artisanal products, and gourmet ready-to-eat foods from over 300 vendors, including bakeries, cheese shops, butchers, fishmongers, wine merchants and ethnic food kiosks. There are plenty of specialty little vendors that serve ready to eat things like tacos, poke bowls, fish and chips, classic poutine, crepes, Syrian dishes, smoothies, desserts and an endless array of other delicious items. There’s literally something here for every taste. 

We love these types of markets and used to envy people who lived close enough to shop at them every week, but now we live close to this same kind of place. Although our markets aren’t as large and don’t offer the ethnic ready to eat items as this amazing market.

There were beautiful flowers in a lot of the stalls.

This was just a small part of the inside stalls.

A few of the butchers.

This little market had any kind of meat you could think of...including horse meat.

Seafood of all kinds.

There were even more stalls around the sides of the market.

Entertainment 

We shared some falafels and a beer for lunch.

Sept. 18-21 Montréal, QC

"Memories are like seashells we collect along the way." –Unknown

Today we moved from the 1000 Islands to Montréal. It's our third time visiting the city. The first time was on our boat in 2012 and the second visit was on our way to Québec City in 2018. We tried to visit a few different places on this trip. Our first stop was Mount Royal Park. The park is known to locals as “the mountain,” and is a beloved landmark and beautiful park that overlooks the city and the St. Lawrence River. Filled with walking trails, ponds and wonderful viewing points of the city below. The triple-peaked mountain inspired the renaming of what was then Ville-Marie to Montréal in the 18th century.  

Views from Mount Royal Park. Looking towards Old Montreal and the St. Lawerence River.

From the viewing area we walked up the hill to the Mount Royal Cross.

The rest of our trip was spent exploring Old Montréal. It’s the oldest neighborhood in Montréal, known for its European charm, cobblestone streets and 17th- and 18th-century architecture. Even though it’s the main tourist drawl to Montreal it’s a fun place to explore. Filled with beautiful old buildings and four hundred years of history. 

Montréal was established in 1642 in what is now the province of Quebec. It was founded as a French missionary colony and through the years it held a strategic location on the St. Lawrence River for trade, industry and culture. 

Place Jacques-Cartier is a public square in the heart of Old Montréal where visitors can find restaurants, cafés, flower stalls and street artists and performers. 

Nelson Monument at the west end of Place Jacques-Cartier.

The cobblestone streets are beautiful and filled with wonderful cafés and restaurants. 

This is the marina we stayed at in 2012. Our slip was right side the large boat in the center of this photo.

Old Port of Montréal (Vieux-Port) is a historic waterfront area along the St.  Lawrence River offers a park-lined boardwalk, the Montréal Science Centre, the iconic Clock Tower, marinas and the La Grande Roue de Montréal (ferris wheel). 

The La Grande Roue de Montréal was built in 2017 as part of the city's 375th-anniversary celebrations. 

Voiles en Voiles (Sails in Sails) a pirate-themed amusement park with rope courses, climbing walls, inflatables, water games at the Old Port. The dome in the back is the Bonsecours Market.

All our meals in Montreal were wonderful. Here are our three dinners we enjoyed. The first night we ate with a view at Terrasse Perché. We had a late lunch so we ate light this evening.

Place Jacques-Cartier and the La Grande Roue de Montréal.

Montreal City Hall

The second evening we ate at the Vieux-Port Steakhouse.

We enjoyed lobster linguini and salmon. They brought Stan a free dessert since we were still celebrating his birthday.

Our last meal was at a French restaurant named La Sauvagine. What a wonderful experience. 

The table next to us was having a Steak Flambé. We enjoyed the show. We had two small plates....escargot and shrimp. Stan also had a wonderful salmon dish served with shrimp.

Sept. 15 - Montréal, QC

SpringHill Suites Marriott 

“If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness and fears.” – Cesare Pavese

The first stop on our Québec Adventure was Montréal. We spent a few days here in 2012 and thought it would make a nice stop on our way to Québec City. Montréal has many wonderful neighborhoods to explore, but we spent our time in Old Montréal. Old Montréal sits on the edge of the St Lawrence River, it's the city's oldest district founded as a fur trading post in 1605 by Samuel de Champlain. It's composed of picturesque squares and grand old-world architecture. Today the cobblestone streets are full of museums, shops, art galleries, parks, bars and sidewalk cafes. The perfect place to spend an afternoon exploring. We got to town in time for a late lunch at sidewalk cafe at Place Jacques-Cartier. We enjoyed music by street performers while we ate lunch. 

Montreal City Hall is the seat of local government in Montreal. It built between 1872 and 1878.

Place Jacques-Cartier, has served as a marketplace in Montreal even before a European settlement was here and it's now one of Montréal's most bustling tourist areas, lined with outdoor cafés and filled with street performers.  

Bonsecours Market has been a public market for more than 100 years. It also briefly accommodated the Parliament of United Canada for one session in 1849. 

Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours is one of the oldest churches in Montreal, built in 1771 over the ruins of an earlier chapel.  

The La Grande Roue de Montréal (Montreal Observation Wheel) gives riders a breathtaking view of the river, Old Montreal, downtown and the mountains, but at $25 a person...we decided to pass. 

The best shopping in Old Montreal, in my opinion was at La Cour, a courtyard full of artist stalls filled with locally made items.

We enjoyed dinner at Pizzaiolle, our food very good and it was far enough away from the touristy areas around Place Jacques-Cartier and the Old Port to make it quiet and peaceful.

SpringHill Suites

A video look at Montréal