Montreal

 Never having been to Quebec, we were very excited to experience all the "Frenchness" of the place.  The first thing we found that was different from Ontario?

 

Snow White brand pop.  It was the only thing in the gas station that we hadn't seen elsewhere, besides cheddar jalapeno Cheetos (but we'd already eaten a bag of Cheetos on the drive to Quebec, so having another bag so soon seemed just a little bit unhealthy). In case you're wondering, the pop - Orange and Cream Soda - tasted like all other pops.

But then we got to Montreal, and there were many things to take note of.  One thing we hadn't considered, however, was the age of the city.  This road was built in the late 1600s - how many roads in North America are that old?  NOT MANY.  We drove down it once and only made it about 3 blocks before turning off; it was so incredibly bumpy.

    

Most of our time was spent in Old Montreal, the part that contains many government buildings as well as beautiful architecture.  We already posted about the Notre-Dame Basilica but here's a photo featuring "the belly" taken in the square in front of the church.

The number one thing people told us to do while in Montreal was to eat, and did we ever eat!  I won't share all the photos of the food we ate but here are a few of our favorite things:

French Onion Soup - you already know we love it!  The ham, cheese & apple crepe I had at this restaurant was the best food we had on the trip

Except for perhaps the poutine.  This Quebecois dish is traditionally just French fries, cheese curds, and gravy.  We went to a poutinerie that is open 24/7 and has over 30 varieties on the menu, so we had to try a different variety as well.  I got La Reggae, which was the traditional topped with peppers, tomatoes, and guacamole, as lots of people were ordering it.  Delicious but we prefer the traditional - it's just so good there's no need to change it!

 

There are all kinds of rules about language and the use of it on signs, in stores, etc. in Quebec.  If you're interested, here's a short recent article about the language police.  So anyways, all signs are in French and possibly other languages.  BUT with the age of Montreal, and the stone construction of some of the buildings, you do see signs that are only in English.  The below - which really makes me curious of what used to be there - is an example of an old English-only sign!

One thing that Montreal is well-known for are its staircases.  There are two big neighborhoods in the city that have outdoor staircases that lead to the second floor - and sometimes the third.

No, these are not fire escapes.  These staircases
lead to the front doors of these apartments.

No one is really sure of why these staircases were built.  One theory is that residents didn't want to share their front doors and the then required inside area for a staircase, so the outdoor stairs allowed everyone to have their own.  Another is that at one point lot sizes were larger, thus requiring builders to set the homes farther back.  A staircase, however, could be built closer to the road, which then allowed the homes to have more space. 

Whatever the reason, they really are fun to see.  Some of the streets we walked on looked so crowded with all the wrought iron coming down from above, but others had so much character. 

Montreal was a fun place to go.  It was very European feeling, and had a lot of charm without it being fake.  No one seemed to mind that we didn't speak French.  

All in all, we'd be happy to go back :)