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Monday, August 06, 2012

Adventures in Montreal

July 26th was my last day at work before starting my holidays.  After work I picked up my friend Marline and we headed to Montreal for a little overnight trip!  A great way to start holidays in my opinion.


 Marline with her Smarties Blizzard

About to enjoy my Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard

We paused on our drive to Montreal in Rigaud to visit the Dairy Queen my parents used to take me to when I was a kid on Sunday drives in the summer (Marline and I met when we both worked at the same school, but we have since discovered that as children we lived within 10 km of each other, in the West Island of Montreal).  Not only was it nostalgic to stop there for ice cream, it was Miracle Treat Day!  Something I partake in every year, usually having my favourite chocolate chip cookie dough blizzard.

 Lots of neat buildings

 What a cute little Vespa, I just wanted to take it for a spin!

Neat spots


 I laughed at this menu, something got lost in translation...

When we arrived downtown we checked into our hotel and slowly worked our way down to the Old Port for dinner and photography.  We took a very interesting route to get to the waterfront and the old part of the city.

 Waterfront at the Old Port

Train tracks running parallel to the waterfront

 In the distance you can see the back of Notre Dame Cathedral


 Marline and I

 We came across some pretty neat cars during our wandering about

Our self portrait!
Graffiti/Art

One of our main purposes for going to Montreal was to practice a little night photography, and its a great city to take night shots!

 Notre Dame Cathedral at night




This shot is pretty cool you can see the taillights from the bus going by

Friday we started our day at a leisurely pace before heading to the Montreal Botanical Gardens, a very impressive place and I recommend it if you're in the area!

Entrance to the Chinese Gardens

 Looking across the pond in the Chinese Gardens, look at the Olympic Stadium in the background


 One of the many and very old bonsai in the Chinese Gardens

Taking a moment to ponder

 Marline checking out the Koi in the Japanese Gardens

Clean lines in the Japanese Gardens

 Stopping to smell the flowers

 The beautiful rose gardens

 Marline and I had a great time together and we've decided we can travel together anytime!!

26 comments:

Clare-Aimetu said...

Wow what great photos - and by the look of it you ad an amazing time

Gabriele said...

Thank you Dani for the pictures. They bring back so wonderful memories when I visited Montréal.
Greetings from Germany, Gabi

Gabriele said...

Thank you Dani for the pictures. They bring back so wonderful memories when I visited Montréal.
Greetings from Germany, Gabi

♥ Nia said...

Great pics :D ohhhh japanese garden looks beautiful!!

Annette-California said...

Oh Dani, what a lovely trip and time you two had. I loved every single photo. I'm going to back again and enjoy some more. Just Gorgeous!
love Annette

Ann at Beadlework. said...

Thanks for sharing your trip, I really enjoyed each and every one of the photos.

Chris said...

looks like a wonderful trip. Beautiful pics :)

cucki said...

looks like a very lovely trip..
hugs xxx

Julie said...

The nighttime pics are magical, what a beautiful trip you had.

Vickie said...

Great photos Dani! I like the koi one. My husband has a Vespa.

Carol said...

That is so nice to have a traveling companion that you get along with so well, Dani. I've never been to Montreal so I thoroughly enjoyed your photos... Love the "Lamps" being served on the menu--too funny!!

Annette said...

Looks like a great trip!!

Anonymous said...

Love the train tracks picture --- the buildings in the background are awesome!

Great shots and it looked like you had a great time! :-)

Lesleyanne said...

Gorgeous photos - looks like you had a great time.

Lianne said...

I love your night shots. And your photos of the botanical gardens remind me how lovely that spot is, I will have to go again soon!

I hope you are enjoying your holidays, from your photos and adventure stories, it certainly looks like you are.

Shelleen said...

Looks like so much fun. Thanks for sharing.

Sara said...

Hope their lamp shanks were good:) reminds me of when we were in Russia and saw a menu that offered pork chops with sautéed garbage. We weren't brave enough to ask but from the Russian we think it was supposed to be cabbage.

Bette said...

Gorgeous pictures!

Lynn said...

Beautiful photos Dani! It's been too long since I've spent any time in Montreal. I really must go again.

Love the error on the menu. I wonder if they've even clued in?

Melanie said...

Love the photos! I've always wanted to visit Montreal. My husband has been a few times because a lot of his family is from there but we've never managed to go together. Thanks for sharing!!!

Linda said...

Hi Dani. Great pics and looks like you had a blast. I love the seasonal mandalas your doing and was wondering who the designer is and if you could tell me where I could get the charts.

Thanks, Linda

Mindi said...

I love your photos of Montreal, its a city I've always wanted to visit.

Catherine said...

I was in Montreal years ago and remember how pretty it was at night. How wonderful to have such a great traveling friend! Great photos!

ollie1976 said...

great pics-looks like you guys had a good time.
-jen

Karen said...

Beautiful Gardens! It's been so long since I've been to Montreal, I completely forgot about their botanical gardens. Great pics Dani!

Nic said...

Great photos. Looks like a fab time