Montreal Day 7

By now I was determined to get some shopping in. Sure, I’ve been to Walmart and some malls, but I’ve only gotten a few things for myself, and time is getting short. I began my day with a piece of Napoleon pastry from my favorite café, then I took the subway to one stop beyond the major mall area. I’d noticed that the bus tours of Montreal go to Dorchester Square so I figured it must be worth seeing. Unfortunately it was just another park with a statue much like other parts of downtown that I’d already seen. The only difference was that this one was surrounded with tour busses and full of tourists photographing squirrels. However, it was a beautiful day, and I was just happy to be in the sunshine.

I walked along the main shopping street towards the malls, poking my head in one shop after another, and it wasn’t long until I was drawn into the subterranean maze of malls. I’d hardly bought clothes for myself besides jeans and t-shirts since my daughter was born six years ago, and I felt now was the time to update my wardrobe. The prices were also right, so I had a very good shopping day. Lunch was a gigantic spinach salad at a salad bar in the food court of one of the malls.

When I could carry no more and my feet were in agony, it was time to take the subway back to the hotel and meet the guys for dinner. Tonight we were joined by an important colleague from another company. He had chosen a restaurant based on an internet review which he thought was only a few blocks away. It turned out to be more like a mile away, so our expectations were high by the time we finally go there. It turned out to be French and Italian food with a rather snooty staff that did not care to speak English and a menu only in French. We made out choices on the safe side, since there was a lot of the menu that we couldn’t figure out. The food was good but not exceptional. No pastries for dessert, just a choice of caramel custard or tiramisu. I love a good flan, and the walk back to the hotel was just right after this meal. The night was surprisingly warm and balmy, so we didn’t even need our sweaters.