Is a wonderful saying that can be comfortably used for those of us that have adult children. On a Friday, my last Friday off for the summer, my dear husband, who took the day off, woke up and asked me what I wanted to do for the day. In my mind, I wanted to blow the joint… have a mini vacation, but where? Driving distance would be the way to go. He went for a run as I pondered the question of what I wanted to do with my last Friday off. Then it hit me, I wanted to be in another country all together!
When he came back from his run, he asked me if I decided what I wanted to do. Without hesitation I said “I want to go on an adventure, I want to go to Montreal”. We lived in New Jersey. He looked at me, thought for a couple of minutes and said “OK, let’s go”.
After all the necessities were packed for a day or two or three, we packed the car and headed out the door with a group message to the kids: “We’re running away from home, probably to Canada.” From one I got a reply to bring back maple syrup and Canadian bacon, please. The other one thought it was funny and was more practical, reminding us to take our passports (which we had). Most importantly, we had the ever present Google Maps App that told us we would arrive there at 7:03 PM, 6 hours’ drive. Score!
As we drove up, the landscape was breathtaking and the ride was easy. It was interesting to see that on the New York Thru Way there were specific “Text” stops. We were also making mental notes that if we did not leave so late from home we would have probably been able to explore some of the places along that corridor; Lake George, Lake Placid to name a few. Some of the brochures showed natural trails, which would have been great for the hubby and the kids, and there were additional things to do.
We were about an hour away from the border to Canada, and Google Maps jumps from one route to another, adding an additional 2 hours to our now tallying 6 hours and 45 minutes trip, due to stops. I lucked out that my eyes were on it at the time that I noticed the difference. It was starting to get dark and we were about 15 min to the border, Google Maps started flashing that the time on Rt. 15 now is 1 hour and 30 min extra. It directed us to an inside road that got us to an immigration station in the middle of a suburb. Then Google Maps took us through cornfields and farms. No cars to be seen, even though we left at least 10 cars behind us. We finally merged on to the main road and were back on our merry way to Montreal!
We ended up choosing a hotel that was by the airport, mainly due to financial reason… the spur of the moment thing was also a factor. I love luxury, but I don’t believe in paying over $150 for a place that I am literally going to sleep in for a night…or two. Novotel was avant-garde and their décor modern and classy, and the staff very French, just what I wanted. Still, everyone spoke perfect English.
Before we did anything, we went to the dining room, since we did not have lunch or dinner yet at 9:00 PM (thank you Google Maps). The Putin French Fries were delicious, even though they were not fresh cut fries and the gravy was probably made in-house, from a thin can or a packet. But the consistency of the gravy was nice and it was not smothered in cheese; the scallions gave it some flare. My husband ordered the grilled salmon and I wanted prime rib, but they only serve that on Tuesdays, so the next best thing was the prime rib sandwich. Or so I thought, but not so much. I switched with my hubby again. Unfortunately, his salmon was dry and the fresh haricot vert that came with it had an eggy aftertaste. So we switched again. At least he ate half of the sandwich and helped me out. I must say though, I loved the pickle.
We picked up our suitcase and headed up to the room. After being on the road for 8 hours we were tired and ditched the idea to drive into Montreal. Tomorrow was another day. As we get to the elevator banks, I was disappointed with the advertisements that they had on the elevator doors. It cheapened the whole lobby. The rooms were minimalist and beautifully appointed and I was impressed with the use of the spatial layout of the bathroom. In hind sight, we should have stayed one more day!
In the morning, on the spur of the moment… we decided that we will look around Montreal and then head to Toronto. But first and foremost we needed breakfast, we visited Kitchen 73. It was exceptional. My husband ordered an everything kind of breakfast, eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, roasted potatoes and bread, which came with fresh fruits. I ordered eggs benedict. That came with roasted potatoes and fresh fruits as well. But I have to say that the hollandaise sauce was hands down the best hollandaise I have ever had. It was not of the artery clogging thick and heavy type. It was light, it had flavor and when you were done eating it did not feel like you need to head out to the nearest emergency room. All in all it was the best breakfast/brunch we have had in a long, long time.
We headed into the center of Montreal and had to find parking. They ripped us off. Word to the wise, use Canadian dollars when dealing with parking and such. The area is beautiful, and since everywhere you turn, everything is in French (with translation in English), you really feel like you are far away from home.
We saw the Notre Dame Basilica, we walked by old building storefronts with little shops, including Starbucks and McDonald's, the architecture was very European and the plaza was beautiful. We did not make the reenactment or the farmers market, which I would have loved to, but we were heading to Mont Royal. The overlook point. We drove and naturally followed Google Maps. We ended up in the middle of a neighborhood. In front of a school. Back to the drawing board.
Three o’clock was fast approaching, when we finally found it, but because we were not familiar with the place we passed it and had to find a way to turn to come back.
We found a parking lot, we turned in and as all the cars were parked facing towards the left, we turned to the left. A truck followed us in, as an SUV was coming towards us, with 2 more cars behind him. No one is moving an inch. Two more cars pulled up behind the SUV facing us and we have a truck that is not budging. My husband would’ve loved to back up and pull out (which was our original plan), but there was this big black truck, which apparently was invisible, because here comes a lady… slamming her car door, and another guy from another car (I guess as back-up), walking up to our car. She says ‘I am sure you do NOT realize this, but you are jamming everyone’. The guy chimed in ‘Yeah, you need to back up’. (Us with our NJ license plate in Canada). I asked ‘And where would you suggest we go?’ The guy says ‘you need to back up so we can all move’, I was ready to blow a fuse. My husband goes ‘would you like us to drive over that big black truck (who at that moment started to back up and tried to park)?’ They had the nerve to say, ‘Oh, we did not notice’. It was only the size of a F250!
As the truck finally pulled into a tight spot, we backed up went back to the Mount Royal, the view was nice, a bit hazy. You could see the bay and the Olympic Velodrome,now the Biodome, but it was all enveloped by these buildings that took away from the beauty. Getting home, my husband goes, oh by the way, that is not the real outlook either. After that we decided to hit the road to Toronto. It was almost five. Two hours behind schedule.
Wanting to avoid the hunger from the previous day, we decided to hit a McDonalds on our way to Toronto. Honestly, I am not a McDonald’s gal at all, far from it. Unfortunately, it was the only thing we had at the moment in the area. I was surprised. It was definitely not your momma’s old McDonald. The place had upholstered chairs and table service. Most of all, gourmet burgers! I was impressed! My husband thought it would be interesting to order from the computer and when they brought us the burgers and fries it was beautifully served on a cutting board style serving plate. It was delicious. We also paid almost US$30, but it was grass-fed Canadian beef.
On our way to Toronto I was frantically looking for a place to stay, because all the places that were available at midday were now suddenly gone. By 11:00 PM I finally secured a room through Priceline. Agoda (a subsidiary of the Priceline Group) even called me back to confirm as a security check, giving me all the information. We arrived at the Quality Inn Suites around 1:30 AM. As we did, I saw a couple sitting on the sofa, quite unhappy, on the phone with another hotel. The attendant looks at me and I said “we have a reservation”, he said “I’m sorry, but they overbooked our rooms, we don’t have anything available”. In retrospect, I must have been so tired that it did not sink in, because I was still telling him that “oh, it’s all payed up; they even called to confirm”. It wasn’t until the phone rang and he picked up and started losing his patience with the person on the other end; to stop booking people; that he does not have any room; that the sixth set of guests that they overbooked were standing in front of him and he does not have a place to put them…” That’s when it hit me. We don’t have anywhere to sleep, in a foreign country. I know there are no rooms available, I checked, I spend 4 hours checking. He helped me find the last room in 30 miles radius, a Motel 6 with no air-conditioning, for US$100, at that point for less than 4 hours. We went to the car, as I was still fuming at the Agoda representative, who asked if I would like them to refund me my money, my husband fell asleep and I told myself that I will give him 10 minutes. I closed my eyes for a second and suddenly he shakes me…’hon, its 5:45, we need to wake up’. We started our day with no shower, no bathroom, and no nothing! I wanted an adventure, I was getting one.
We got on the road after we gassed up and drove the forty five minutes to Niagara Falls, where we originally wanted to go. I always believed there is a reason for everything. To me, the reason we ended up sleeping in the car was so we would have the early dawn start and have the opportunity to observe the majestic play of light as the sun was rising.
In Niagara Falls everything was so quiet. No one was rushing anywhere; there were almost no cars on the road, no tourists. We stopped to go to a restroom and then headed to the main event – the falls!
The falls on its own is a magnificent phenomenon of nature, but the way the color changes from a grayish white to bright blueish white as the morning progressed is astonishing. The gardens were impeccable and at 7:30 AM it was quiet. Not so much around 10:30, as vacationers started their day and were walking around. And even though we were in Canada at the end of August, it was hot, humid and hazy. So where would can you head out to, to freshen up? Walmart! We got baby wipes so we could freshen up a little and head to the all you can eat sushi. Remember we last ate around 7:00 PM the previous day. We headed to Wind Japanese and Thai Restaurant where we had a wonderful experience. The food was delicious and fun to order. I thought it was going to be a regular buffet, but the all you can eat was ordering from a tablet. That was fun.
You cannot leave Niagara Falls without stopping at the duty free store. And that we did. We made it our last stop before heading back home. We discovered Ice Wine, which the way it was explained to us was an interesting process. We got our wine and Canadian bacon (actually, bacon cured in Canada) and a bottle of maple syrup and we headed home. I just wished Google maps would stop rerouting us in uncharted territories and steering us through the longest way home possible. It took for ever…
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