Christmas Lights Around Montreal

As the days get shorter and colder in December, Montreal starts to become a little magical as the various Christmas displays appear around the city. Here are a few neighbourhoods worth braving the cold to enjoy the lights.

Old Montreal

When you add some white snow and Christmas lights to the cobblestone streets, old stone buildings, Notre Dame cathedral, and Marche Bonsecours, Old Montreal transforms into a Christmas wonderland. It's a great neighbourhood to explore in early December to get into the holiday spirit.

Downtown

Every year, downtown Montreal has impressive Christmas light displays along and around St. Catherine's, McGill-College, Crescent Street and Place Ville Marie. Wrap up your walk with the charming classic mechanical window display at Ogilvy's, which has been a family destination for generations.

Plateau Mont Royal

Plateau Mont Royal has a different Christmas display in the square around metro Mont Royal. From there, enjoy the lights along Mont Royal, St. Laurent and St. Denis.

Square around metro Mont Royal, Dec. 2012

The Village

Each year, there is usually a colourful light display along St. Catherine between St. Andre and Papineau.

St. Catherine's looking toward The Village, Dec. 2012

While the weather is not too cold, it's a good time to grab your camera and get out and enjoy the Christmas lights while the season lasts. Happy holidays!

Cronut Wars!

In 2013, cronuts became a hugely popular sweet treat in many major cities in the USA and Canada, creating long line-ups outside pastry shops and even a black market in New York City. Originally launched on May 10, 2013 by Dominique Ansel Bakery in NYC, other bakeries and pastry shops quickly caught onto the craze, creating their own versions. Montreal was no exception.

A few weeks ago, a friend posted an event on MEETin to find out what all the fuss was about. We sampled the treats from three different shops around Montreal. Unlike our In Search of the Best events, we were not able to determine which one we liked best. Each interpretation of the cronut was very different, so which one was best depended on personal preference.

La Cornetteria (6528 St. Laurent)

This charming pastry shop in Little Italy put an Italian spin on the cronut with a choice of vanilla custard or ricotta filling. Thinking the ricotta might be a little rich, we chose the vanilla. The pastry turned out to be very light, along with the vanilla custard, with the sugar coating providing most of the sweetness. The host of our group compared it to a churro, but the pastry was more layered, out of respect to the croissant part of the cronut. To me, it was an Italian pastry - a sweet little treat to be enjoyed with a shot of espresso. Since the vanilla version was so light and tasty, I bought a ricotta one to bring home to my husband, which was just as light and not as sweet as the vanilla.

Les 3M Pâtisserie (1459 Mont-Royal Est)

Next was Le 3M Pâtisserie in the Plateau. These were cronuts from the French point of view. While we were tempted to try the caramel, we stuck with the vanilla to make the comparison easier. At first bite, it was clear the croissant part of the cronut was the focus. The pastry was layered like a buttery croissant, but the outside was fried instead of baked with the vanilla frosting providing most of the sweetness. The pastry was a little on the greasy side, but overall a tasty cronut.

Simplement D'Liche (3964A St. Denis)

Only made on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, these cronuts were not part of the MEETin tasting event. However, since these were the first cronuts I had ever tasted, I had to include them in this comparison. I first tried one of D'Liche's vanilla cronuts during the In Search of Montreal's Best Lemonade event last summer. As I expected from a pastry invented in New York City, it was big, rich and decadent, channelling both the croissant and the donut. 

To be sure I was up-to-date on the D'Liche cronut, I bought one shortly after the MEETin event. I was delighted to discover their recipe got better since the summer! Still maintaining its New York inspiration, it was still the largest and most decadent of the three, but the ratio of pastry to filling to frosting was more balanced so every bite had the right amount of crunch (pastry), creaminess (filling) and sweetness (frosting).  

Conclusion

With Italian, French, or New York interpretations, each of the cronuts were too different to decide which one was the best. Which ever one you choose, it is a decadent treat which should be enjoyed with a good coffee or tea and conversation with friends.

Montreal Adventures - A Look Back At 2013

With the year winding down, it's a good time to reflect on adventures I wanted to have in Montreal in 2013. Most of the year was consumed with finishing and shipping Batman: Arkham Origins, but I still managed to get out and enjoy myself from time-to-time.

Embrace winter (if it ever comes)

Go skating, tobogganing, maybe even snowshoeing - at least once a week.  Find and enjoy more tea or hot chocolate.

We had a short, fairly mild winter again, so I only managed to go skating three times in January/February, but two of them were during winter festivals: Fête des Neiges and Winterlude. I hope we get the same ice skating path in Parc Jean-Drapeau this year! As for new tea places, we enjoyed tea at Maison du Macaron and at Birk's Cafe. Highly recommend both places!

Embrace summer (when it comes)

Find and enjoy new terrasses.  Eat outside on my own. Finally attend a show at the Just For Laughs festival.  Spend time at the Jazz Festival.  Have a picnic in a park.  Watch the fireworks from Jacques Cartier bridge.  Find and enjoy more shop-made ice cream.

D and I finally went to two Just For Laughs shows - one gala and one of the smaller shows at Club Soda. I also happened to be walking around Place des Arts at the time and enjoyed a bit of the street festival. A friend got some tickets to the Fantasia Film festival and invited me to a film from Taiwan made in the style of a 1950's American musical (but sung in Mandarin). In September, I spent four crazy days exploring Montreal with tourists from the USA and Europe during the MEETin Invasion. That was about it for this goal. Fortunately, many of the other goals are summer-related :)

Walk or ride my bike just for the fun of it. 

This was by far my most successful goal of the year. In the Spring, a friend at work got me to join him on his daily walks at lunch. We usually walk 30 to 45 minutes through either the Village or Old Montreal. Those walks have really helped maintain my sanity. In August, a friend and I started doing major cycling, with our longest ride being about 60km, taking us to and around Iles-de-Boucherville. 

More solo street photography (outside of my monthly MEETin photo walks)

I didn't do any solo photo walks outside of a brief wander around Queen's University campus after the ice storm this week. However, my lunchtime walking buddy found the Wiki Loves Monuments photo contest, so we spent September seeking out and photographing the monuments around work. It was a lot of fun and we discovered some places we didn't know were monuments.

Go to Jean Talon or Atwater market every week.

It wasn't every week, but I did go to the market regularly. As a result, I cooked and brought my lunch to work more regularly.

Go to the Botanical Gardens (my favorite) or some other park once a month.

With Mosaïcultures at the Botanical Gardens this year, the outdoor gardens did not have free admission for Access Montreal card holders from July through September. However, I did get to see the Mosaïcultures exhibit twice this year and it was spectacular! The bike rides usually went to a park, so there were still plenty of nature moments.

Visit museums.  

I took advantage of a web deal and became a member of the Musée des Beaux-Arts this year. So far, I have seen three of the temporary exhibits, my favourite of which was the glass art by Chihuly. I also thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the new planetarium and the Canadian Centre for Architecture. Both are worth visiting.

Explore more restaurants, especially in my own neighbourhood and around work.

Sadly, I didn't do much in this area. Most of the new restaurant experiences came from travelling, rather than around Montreal. However, I did finally get to try Les Filles du Roy during MTL à Table. The food is delicious and the historic setting is worth experiencing.

Wear fashionable clothes.  

My wardrobe continues to evolve. I have been investing in some items from Katrin Leblond, a local designer who has a boutique in my neighbourhood. I love shopping there and always leave feeling fabulous!

Do more travelling.

Almost all of my travel was work related, none of which I would have predicted at the beginning of the year. I went to Frankfurt in May, Los Angeles (with a day trip to San Diego) in June, and New Orleans for the annual PMI Leadership Institute Meeting in October. The only vacation travel was spending a week at the same cottage where we spent our honeymoon and a Thanksgiving weekend roadtrip to Bois-Franc and Arbraska tree-top adventures in Rigaud.

Update this blog once a month.

This will be the 15th post on this blog this year. It wasn't exactly a monthly schedule, but I'm still happy with the amount of content I posted. I also wanted to make this blog more interesting. I didn't do anything special for that, so I don't think I made much progress on that goal. My weekend at Blissdom got me thinking about what I could potentially do with this blog. I'll do some more thinking this week and include any new goals with my 2014 goals.

As for my 2014 goals... I will be publishing them in the first days of January. If you have any suggestions on adventures in Montreal I should try, please let me know in the comments! I would also love to hear about any of your most memorable adventures this past year.

I hope everyone had a great 2013 and hope you enjoy the rest of the holiday season!

MEETin Invasion!

Monty, our MEETin Montreal mascot, at Jean Talon Market

Each year, one of the MEETin cities hosts an annual global celebration with the help of a bunch of enthusiastic volunteers. In 2010, D and I had a fabulous time at the MEETin Amsterdam celebration where we explored the city with locals and made new friends from Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, London and all over the USA. We must have also done a great job talking about how fun Montreal is because this year the MEETin Celebration regulars decided to gather in Montreal. To help us out with the organizing, the Celebration became an Invasion, where event planners from the other MEETin cities would plan and host events in Montreal.

Sept 18 to 22, we welcomed about 40 people from Amsterdam, LA, Portland, San Francisco, San Antonio, Austin, Denver, New York, Boston, Providence, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, DC, Virginia Beach and Sacramento.  Over 4 crazy days and nights, D and I joined them at events ranging from poutine lunch, to museum visits, to dancing at an 80s night club. D even finally became a MEETin member and hosted an event of his own at Dieu du Ciel, his favourite microbrewery.

One of the best parts about having visitors in town is that we took the opportunity sample the poutine we had been meaning to try for years, reacquaint ourselves with favourites in our neighbourhood, like St. Viateur Bagel Café, Schwartz's, and Chez Chose, or discover something new like the cafe near where I work that asked D what country of origin he preferred for his coffee.

Below are just a few pictures from the weekend. A big thanks to all the fabulous Meeps who came to Montreal and made it such a fun four days! We'll keep in touch and will see you again at another Celebration.

Poutine lunch on the terrasse at La Banquise

Caught the Chihuly exhibit at the MBAM

Roses from Snooky The Rose Man at House of Jazz

My very first beer... ever! 15th Anniversary Porter at Dieu du Ciel

Mothershuckers at Jean Talon Market

In Search Of Montreal's Best Lemonade

When you are thirsty on a hot summer day, ice cold, slightly sweetened lemonade is a great way to refresh yourself. Inspired by a Nightlife.ca article on the Top 5 Best Lemonades in Montreal, I set up a MEETin event "In Search of the Best Lemonade" to sample three of the five lemonades featured in the article and decide for ourselves. 

First on our list was the classic lemonade at La Petite Cuillère on St Denis, across from Square St. Louis. A quiet, eclectic cafe, they offered three different kinds of lemonade, along with tempting cakes and snacks. Deciding that there was only one fair way to compare, we all ordered the classic lemonade and grabbed a spot on the terrasse. Served in frosty mason jars, our drinks were tart, lemony and topped with frothy slush. While everyone appreciated the distinct lemon flavor, most of the group started looking around for sugar after their first sips. 

Next was D'Liche, winner of last year's "In Search of the Best Cupcakes" event. This also turned out to be a snack stop for most of us, since we had to try their version of the cronut and some had to verify that D'Liche still had the best cupcakes. We almost forgot that we were there to try the lemonade! The lemonade was slightly less lemony than the first one, but everyone appreciated that it was just the right sweetness. It was a nice balance to the rich cronut and paired nicely with a lime mini cupcake.

Stuffed with our delicious treats and two glasses of lemonade, we were happy to walk over to St. Laurent for the final place on our list. Laïka is part cafe, part bar, part hangout. When we sat down, we were surprised that lemonade was not on their menu. We showed the server a printout of the Nightlife.ca article. She verified that it was all true... and recommended we try the house iced tea as well. Half the group ordered lemonade and half ordered iced tea. While the lemonade was fresh, it was the least lemony of the three. Since we could barely taste the lemon, sweetness was not an issue. The iced tea was the better pick. Made with properly steeped tea, we could taste a hint of lemon and mint and it was sweetened just enough. 


In the end, we decided D'Liche had the best classic lemonade of the three places we tried. If you like your lemonade really tart or want to customize the sweetness, I would also recommend La Petite Cuillère. Order the iced tea at Laïka. 

There may be another contender in the near future. While walking along Duluth, one member of our group stopped in at Blüming Gateaux and discovered that they also have interesting house-made lemonades. We may have to repeat the event before the summer is over.

Exploring The New Planetarium

More than a year after the old Dow Planetarium closed it's doors, the new Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium opened this month. Having been an astronomy fan all my life, I couldn't wait to explore it.  I posted it as a MEETin event and a number of people were interested in attending.  Several dropped out due for a variety of reasons, one of which was because the Planetarium was BUSY.  The website advises visitors to buy tickets online and they are not kidding.  The 2:30pm show was sold out well in advance and one member hadn't bought her ticket so she bid her farewell and enjoyed the beautiful spring afternoon outdoors.

Planetarium with the Biodome (left) and Olympic Stadium (background)

A friend and I had bought our tickets in advance, so we explored the interactive exhibits on meteorites and life in the universe before getting in line for the first show. Before entering Continuum, the staff give you a bag so you can take off your shoes for a really immersive experience. While it's not mandatory, I recommend giving it a try.  If you are near the front of the line, you also have the option of watching the show from really comfortable bean bag chairs.  The graphics and music are amazing as you are taken on a journey from your back yard, through the universe and to the beginning of life.  It is hard to describe - you will just have to see it.

The next show, From The Earth To The Stars, is a more traditional Planetarium show where a charming narrator acquaints you with the stars currently in the sky above Montreal and then takes you through the solar system, galaxy and universe.  The graphics from the new projector were fantastic.

As great as the shows and exhibits were, the highlight of the visit for me was looking through a solar telescope set up outside the entrance.  

One of those rare moments where I'm in front of the camera

I was even allowed to put my camera up to the telescope and take a picture of the sun.  You can see the solar flares on the edge of the sun.  If you look closely, you can also see a sun spot (a slightly dark spot)  in the lower half near the middle.  That sun spot is about the size of the Earth.

Our sun through a solar telescope

I definitely recommend checking out the new Planetarium.  Just remember to get your tickets in advance.  You can get regular and Quebec resident tickets online.  Student and Access Montreal discounts are only available at the Planetarium, so arrive early.  The early morning shows were not sold out.

Related articles

• Newly built Montreal Planetarium ready to open after 18-month absence

Sweet Treats

One of the benefits (or curses) of living in Montreal is the fabulous food.  If you have a sweet tooth like I have, there are many wonderful temptations.  In the last six weeks, I had the pleasure of sampling a long time favorite and trying some place new.

Olivier Piffaudat Chocolatier Alchimiste is the inspiration of my good friend Olivier.  Over the last two years, he has been building his business and his collection of tasty and unusual chocolates.  Just before Valentine's Day, he was part of Je t'aime en chocolat - a celebration of all things chocolate at Marché Bonsecours.  I went to check out his latest inventions and to get acquainted with Montreal's other chocolatiers.

The exhibition space was packed!

Olivier's table was filled with a selection of every chocolate in his collection.  With Valentine's Day coming, I bought one of each of his chocolate cocktails.  What are chocolate cocktails?  They are a re-imagination of your favorite, classic cocktails in chocolate form, such as Bloody Mary, Cosmo, Pina Colada and, my favorite, Margarita.  For the exhibition, he was also selling Mexican Hot Chocolate.  I love a good Mexican Hot Chocolate, so I had to get a cup.  It was thick, sweet, rich with the kick of hot chili.  Perfect for a cold winter day.

O.P Chocolatier Alchemiste's Collection  

In March, I held a tea and macaroon event with some friends at La Maison du Macaron in my neighbourhood.  With over 20 different flavours to choose from, it was hard to pick just three to have with my tea.  Almost all of us had the macaron du mois, a delicate maple and cashew nut.  I am always a fan of seasonal products, so I selected the Pailleté Feulletine and caramelized banana macaroons to round out my trio.  If you're looking for a small, quiet and delicious dessert place to have a coffee or tea with friends, I can recommend La Maison du Macaron.

Tea and a trio of macaroons

Good thing Spring is around the corner.  The warmer weather will get me doing more active things outdoors, distracting me from these sweet treats.

Fête Des Neiges

When I first moved to Montreal, I was looking forward to attending Fête Des Neiges, the annual winter festival encouraging kids and kids-at-heart to get out and enjoy the season.  Unfortunately, it was cancelled that year due to a labour dispute.  When it was finally brought back, I never found the time to go - until this year.  After a freezing cold week, the weather warmed up to a balmy -13C, so I grabbed my skates, my camera and my snow gear and checked out the fun in Parc Jean Drapeau.

Here are some photos from that afternoon:

The previous week was SO cold that even the snow sculptures were shivering!

Snow sculptor in action

Snow creations

Awesome skating path along the St. Lawrence River - 1.5km total length

View of the river and Notre Dame bridge from the skating path

Beaver Tail with cinnamon, sugar and a squeeze of lemon. Best way to wind up the afternoon!