Monday, November 3, 2014

montreal in the fall

dear montreal, 
you were a dream.

i felt like i was transported straight to france when we
arrived. i love that everything is in french, everything
is charming, and that old montreal is straight out of a 
storybook. i love the cobblestone streets, horse-drawn
carriages, the old world charm, the sophistication, the
endless parks & cafes, the fall leaves, and the fact that you
even rained for us...my favorite. safe to say we loved you!
i'd move onto this street...just saying ^^
^^ boxes of apples + french pillows
these old gorgeous buildings looked like europe,
and with the fall colors i was swooning x 100.
loved this pretty horse with a feather in his cap ^^
a crepe lunch in a little creperie overlooking the old 
cobblestone streets...AKA a very happy girl. ^^

crunch, crunch!

again, did not feel like we were in north america.
i love the european architecture here!

metro rides that felt like the paris metropolitain!
i was very tempted to take an $80 ride around old montreal
but realized it was just a tad steep. pictures will do!


the square in front of the notre-dame basilica was
bustling and a fun place to people watch (and horse-
carriage watch). chase got some amazing footage here!



and how about noël éternel, the all-year christmas store. ^^
^^ or how about THIS restaurant? 
on the bucket list to eat here!
hi, perfect fall street!
j'aime l'automne.

although my favorite part of the city was the old french
quarter vieux montreal, this city also has different parts -
from a more modern downtown, to a chinatown, to a funky
latin quarter a lot like the one in paris. we walked all the
way through it on our way to la fontaine park.

fun fact: as soon as we got to this park after walking
for 45 minutes to get there, the rain began. literally
the second we crossed the street and stepped foot in
the park. ha ha! it was like a movie scene where we felt
one drop, then it became a downpour in 2 seconds. it
was amazing and we had to run across the street to an 
apartment building's steps and sit together under the
awning hiding from the rain for a good half hour debating
what to do. it was a torrential downpour, we had no 
umbrella, and we were far from our hotel. the closest
metro was a 15 -minute walk, and we saw zero cabs + 
couldn't use our cell phones in canada. so we sat on the 
steps, chatted, and ate sour watermelon candy that i 
had in my bag. we finally spotted a bus coming down 
the busy street through the pouring rain, and chase 
said now or never! so we held hands and sprinted 
down the street and caught it. we only had american 
cash, and the driver said ...CANADIAN ONLY...
as we stood there in the pouring rain!! luckily the nicest
canadian swapped our american cash for some canadian $
and we packed onto the bus and made it back to our hotel 
+ warm fire :) this was one of my favorite memories and
made me have a soft spot for montreal even more since
i got caught in the rain with my husband here :)


we loved you, montreal.

xo

23 comments:

  1. Montreal looks so charming. Love that story of you guys waiting out the rain. Those types of stories make the best memories!

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    1. they really do! mishaps and change of plans sometimes are my favorite travel memories :)

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  2. This looks and sounds so dreamy. I love your romantic caught-in-the-rain story. I've never been to Montreal, but it's definitely on my list!

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  3. Looks like a dream! Those streets are charming.

    20somethingfashion.blogspot.com

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    1. it was! you need to take a bus up from DC!

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  4. Even when you guys get caught in the rain, you make your travels look so amazing! Looks like a blast!!

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    1. :) rain makes everything better if you ask me!

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  5. This sounds like a storybook and the fall colors are to die for!

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  6. lovely pictures! And I adore your outfit (as usual!)

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  7. I can't believe how European Montreal looks! So dreamy, Canada is a must visit for me (eventually). And I agree with Katie, I adore your outfit too!

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    1. i know, i kept needing to remind myself that we were in north america!!!

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  8. I love Montreal!!! I traveled there in June with a couple girlfriends!! The French city in North America made me want to travel there too! It looks amazing in the fall! Such a cute story about being caught in the rain :)

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  9. Every province in Canada has a lot to offer, I'm glad you're seeing a lot of it - Montreal is gorgeous. Toronto in its own way is too. My home province: Newfoundland reminds me of Ireland. :)

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  10. Wow, it looks so lovely there! My husband is Canadian and we've been talking about all the places we want to visit in Canada. Thanks for moving Montreal up on our list! ;] That architecture IS amazing!!

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  11. I would love to go to Montreal! I am Canadian, but i live in BC, and Quebec is quite far! Haha! One day!

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  12. What a quaint and delightful place! I love all of the old buildings, I would love to visit there. Do they speak mostly french in Quebec?

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    1. So... This comment was definitely supposed to be on your post about Quebec, not this one... Whoops!

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  13. I started a new series on my blog that was inspired by your post on curing the travel bug without taking a trip. I hope you'll check it out! And thanks for letting me live vicariously through you :)

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