It was a tough initiation to December in eastern Canada – in less than 12 hours we had gone from eating jerk chicken in 29 degree heat in Jamaica’s Montego Bay, to arriving in Montreal to sub-zero temperature and a blanket of snow. Our short but sweet Canadian rendezvous came about mainly due to proximity to NYC which was always in the plan for Christmas, and having friends in Montreal made it an easy decision to spend some time in Quebec province. The extreme weather change was welcomed (initially at least) and it was definitely a novelty renting a car where for the first time this year we had to remove snow from the windshield before we took off!
90 minutes north of Montreal we had a few days at the beautiful ski resort of Mont Tremblant. We didn’t have enough time to rent gear and re-learn how to hit the slopes, but it was magical to take the gondola to the summit for a (brief) wander about and drink hot chocolate in the snow-covered village. Sitting in the hot tub and watching icicles form in our hair was very entertaining!
Back in Montreal we had the pleasure of staying with our friends Pierre and Caroline who along with their children welcomed us into their home and their city. We met in the Caribbean over 6 years ago and met up again in Spain on our last big adventure in 2012, and on each occasion we pick up where we left off as if no time has passed at all. Meeting people like these guys is one of the great joys of travelling and we were blessed to be shown around town by locals and hang out with this beautiful family.
Spoiled would be an understatement to describe our Montreal experience which included tickets to a hockey game (with access to the Directors lounge and open bar!), tobogganing with the kids Xavier and Matthias and visiting the old town of Montreal complete with Christmas markets. But the food!!!! We were introduced to poutine (a genius combo of hot chips, gravy and cheese curds that is all types of awesome), maple toffee, bagels from a century old bakery, and also treated to a home cooked meal. We had a fantastic few days in town and have a high bar to meet when we are in the position to return the hosting favour in Australia one day.
To wrap up the eastern Canada experience we made a quick dash to Quebec City for a few nights for some more snow and Christmas markets. Three hours on a train from Montreal, Quebec City has a pretty little old town within fortified walls and was a winter wonderland postcard with snow and fairy lights everywhere. Although we were both unwell for a few days we managed to get out and street-wander as the temperature crept toward a balmy zero degrees and lost the biting cold we had experienced in Montreal.
Eight days of snow and cold was certainly a novelty after months on the beach, and once again we were blown away by the beauty of this country and its people as we were over a decade ago on the west coast. It hopefully won’t be our last trip to Canada, but it may be the last time we do the east coast in winter! Thanks again for having us Pierre and Caroline, we’ll see you again somewhere in the world.
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