Friday, November 5, 2010

Bienvenue a Montreal

by, Jan Ross

When you drive from the Montreal airport into Old Montreal, it's roughly like journeying from the 21st Century back to the 15th Century and into a story from Grimm's Fairy Tales. Aside from the people strolling the streets in skinny jeans clutching cups of designer coffee, of course. You drive by towering skyscrapers which comprise the supremely modern cityscape of Montreal and suddenly you are driving down narrow alleys hemmed in by small buildings hewn of rough stone with your tires bumping over cobblestones. It is quiet, serene and lovely with people strolling the sidewalks, hand in hand, visiting the shops and restaurants.

But it wasn't until we reached the door of our hotel that we fully appreciated the timeless beauty and fairy-tale quality of this part of Montreal. I'll be writing in more detail about the wonderful Auberge Bonaparte but, for now, just let me say that when we stepped into the small and precious front lobby and felt the warmth of the fireplace which was matched only by the warmth of the greeting we received, we knew we had arrived at a truly special boutique hotel.

We will be touring the city tomorrow and I'll be sharing with you all about that experience, as well as more information about our hotel but for now let me just tell you that if you are ever in Montreal? You seriously need to stay here. And one of the reasons?

Is the Auberge Bonaparte restaurant. After a delayed flight, we arrived late in the dark, cold and fog just in time to check into our completely fabulous suite (whirlpool jaccuzi! balcony overlooking the park!), spiff up a little and head down for our dinner reservation at 7:30.

And. OH. MY. WORD. This is the place you want to have dinner in Old Montreal. SERIOUSLY. It's warm and cozy and the wait staff is absolutely wonderful in every way.


Beautiful flower on our table. In a POOL OF LIGHT. Not sure how they managed that so beautifully.






My dinner. Chicken breast with Brie and Sage Sauce. Melted, warm Brie. YUM. I would have taken a picture of the completely fabulous bread which we ate with a veritable slab of some of the best butter I have ever had IN MY LIFE but we ate it too fast. Um. SORRY.






A veritable dessert montage because really? Who can pick just one? And again...YUM.

Our only problem at this point is waiting for breakfast to find out what culinary delights the restaurant has to offer.

So. My first post about our whirlwind tour of Montreal, Amsterdam and a wine-tasting river cruise with AmaWaterways and it's all about the food. Not sure what this says about the future vacation posts, but you might want to have a snack close by.

When you are ready to travel to Montreal and stay at the Auberge Bonaparte, The Travel Authority is ready to help you plan that trip. You can call 1-877-AXP-1515 for information and details about these cruises. Be sure to print out this post or mention the code BLAMA to get the best deal on your trip. I would love to hear your suggestions for future blog posts. You can comment below or contact me by email at jan.ross@thetravelauthority.com. Thanks for reading - I truly appreciate it!

Safe travel!





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