We had a fabulous weekend in Montréal to celebrate the wedding of two dear friends. The vibe of the people in Montréal was very Berlin + Paris + Canada. Chic and friendly. The city boasts great wine and food, and is extremely walkable and bike-able. I will absolutely be going back to Montréal whenever I want to experience Europe without flying across the Pond!
- What I loved in Montréal
- What’s not worth the hype
- What I wished we had time for
- Life Update: What’s making me happy
What I loved in Montréal
Nature
You can walk and bike everywhere in Montréal. It is super pedestrian friendly. The weekend we were in town multiple main streets were shut to cars for a weekend-long street festival. Walking down the middle of the road felt luxurious!
Parc La Fontaine: We stumbled upon this park on a walk from Mocchione all the way back to our stay in Chinatown. The evening sun had turned golden and my partner and I walked hand-in-hand through the series of idyllic ponds and verdant meadows that compose this park.
Nestled adjacent to the Old City of Montréal are miles of river-front running paths. I ran here twice during our weekend stay, 4 and 6 miles respectively. As you run twoards Bota Bota (the floating spa), continue under the underpass, keep the river to your left and you’ll discover a thriving network of biking and running paths. Running was the perfect way to explore the city, orient myself, and start my mornings with some good, old-fashioned cardio.
Food
Foodie Lab: We were in Montreal for the wedding of two dear friends. The couple hosted their swanky welcome party at Foodie Lab. The kind staff, delicious food, and a stunning rooftop patio made Foodie Lab the perfect spot to kick off a celebratory weekend.
Pichai serves Thai food good enough to commit crimes for (mostly joking). We ordered five delectable plates. Don’t sleep on the tapioca dumplings, red curry with maitake mushrooms and celery root, silken tofu coated in chili oil, herby-tangy mushroom salad with sticky rice. We may have ordered one dish too many. Four small plates should be enough for two people. But you won’t hear me complain!
Mocchione dishes up small-plate Italian food. The fried squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta were excellent, as was the curated natural wine list and mushroom gnocchi. Somehow I lived 29 years on this planet never having eaten a fried squash blossom. It was worth the wait!
Coffee coffee coffee
Café Névé: Good vibes and LGBTQ+ friendly. Open almost all day.
Café Pista serves both coffee + natural wine in a calming, modern space.
Café Dep: Coffee + wine + cocktails in a colorful, playful space. From the detailed hanging glass lamps to the marble countertops to the hidden door, Café Dep does it all. They also have a great selection of local chocolates, confections, and snacks to snag for gifts. My moms loved the set of mini caramels we got to thank them for taking care of our cats.
Relaxation
I was unsure what to expect from the floating spa, Bota Bota, and its ‘water circuit’. It was a calming, excellent experience. The perfect end to a busy wedding weekend! Bota Bota offers a full menu of spa activities, including massages. Not to be missed! (Phones aren’t allowed, so I don’t have any photos.)
So good that we went back twice
Kem Coba : I can’t remember the last time I ate a twist of soft serve ice cream (or crème glacée as they say in Quebec) in a cone. Maybe when I was 10 and I’d venture in the Montana summer heat to the local soft serve spot that was down the street from my grandparents’ house. Kem Coba changes their flavors weekly. The lemon ice cream and passion fruit sorbet twist was excellent.
Kouign Amann: Uggggggh. As its name would suggest this bakery specializes in Kouign Amann, a classic French pastry layered with caramel and flaky dough. However, they serve a distinctly Canadian version here. They bake the pastry in a circle and slice it into triangles as you would a cake. Buy 1-2 slices or buy the whole thing. No one’s judging.
What’s not worth the hype
Don’t @ me, but the bagels in Montréal aren’t worth it. Everyone I knew raved about them, but I found them kind of dry and lacking flavor. Toppings help! There are so many good food spots in Montréal that I’d recommend you try before you go out of your way for bagels.
What I wished we had time for
Because we were in Montréal for a wedding, our days were pretty packed! When I next go back to Montréal, these are the new spots I’ll make time for:
- The Botanical Gardens looked stunning online but they were super far away from our stay and the weekend was packed with wedding events!
- The Montreal Museum of Fine Art: You know ya girl loves to go to museums for three hours and journal in front of the art. It’s kind of my thing.
- We walked around the edge of the extensive Mount Royal Park but chickened out from hiking up the big hill itself. I want to go on a long, winding run throughout its many miles of paths.
Life Update: What’s making me happy
- Scaling my company. I’ve spent the last six months building my company: yoga teaching and marketing consulting. And it’s starting to pay off, literally. I’m close to bringing on two new marketing clients which would be enough to sustain me and allow me to do things like pay my mortgage. I cannot wait!
- Not buying things I don’t need. The last six months have been an interesting experiment in resisting capitalism. I don’t have the funds to buy everything I want to buy right now. I’ve had to resist buying things just because. (I’m talking hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of things.) I don’t need that many candles! The American drive to buy-buy-buy seems to be ingrained in my very being. It’s uncomfortable to suddenly not be able to buy fun things, but this time has forced me to sit down and assess what I need vs. want and think long-term about how I want to spend my money. I know that I’d rather save money, invest it, and go on an annual trip to Paris than just buy new things (candles, clothes, home decor, art, skin care). At the same time, I already know the first fun purchase I’ll make when I’m more cash solvent: a monthly membership at my local yoga studio.
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