Road Trip to Montreal

Ever since my mother’s brain injury last year, I’ve been visiting Boston more often to check in on her. Things are different and will never be the same. A fact of life I have to accept. Life is short and I want to take advantage of the time I have with my mother. I thought it would be nice to take her and my stepdad on a road trip, to change up their environment and do something new, especially since the last year has been challenging for them. For all of us really. A couple years prior, I took them on a road trip up the coast of Maine to Acadia National Park. This time, I contemplated where we should go next—Cape Cod, Rhode Island, Vermont? But my mother is not a nature or beach person. Then my stepdad mentioned Montreal and immediately, I thought YES YES YES.

My stepdad is from France and he speaks French. He had been talking about Montreal for awhile now and it totally slipped my mind. I had been a couple times in my early twenties, decades ago, but had only been in the winter. I had never been during warm, summer weather. Only a 5 hour drive from Boston, Montreal was a great choice. So of course after he suggested it, my Type A side went straight into planning mode.

We spent 3 nights at the Hotel Place D’Arms in old town, located diagonally across from the Notre Dame Basilica. This hotel was in a great location within walking distance of some great restaurants and historic sights. We arrived late afternoon and started our trip with cocktails on their Terrasse Rooftop. Then we walked to dinner in the downtown area at the most special spot, a restaurant named Toque. Twenty years ago, I first dined at Toque. This restaurant has survived over two decades, which includes a pandemic. I remember it being quite fancy and impressive even when I was young. It was nostalgic to get the opportunity to revisit so many years later with my parents. Even my younger sister dined there once before upon my suggestion years ago. I have a more refined palate now and also higher expectations. Did my 20 year old self know good food back then? Apparently, YES. Lol. Toque is French fine dining with excellent service, excellent cocktails, and excellent dishes that were delicate, indulgent, and beautifully plated. As an adult with my parents, I got the chance to order a variety of cocktails, appetizers, entrees, and dessert to share. When I was in my early twenties, I went with friends and I think we only ordered one main dish each. We were simple. Even though we didn’t get to sample very much back then, I still remember being impressed. I’m still impressed. My parents were impressed. It was the best way to celebrate our first night in Montreal.

On our second day, we walked through Rue St. Paul in old town near the port, which is basically a cute cobblestone street with souvenir shops and restaurants, and across Place Jacques Cartier where there are street performers and more shops. We had lunch in Chinatown, visited Atwater Marche, saw the canal, stopped at Rue Wellington. So many blog posts were suggesting Rue Wellington, including TimeOut Mag, which stated that Rue Wellington was one of the best streets in the world. I have to STRONGLY disagree. Rue Wellington is lame. Not worth your time. It’s a promenade of outdated stores, vintage shops (but not the cool kind), what looked like old furniture stores or shops from the 50s. There may be some cool resto bars but I was not impressed at all. I also was disappointed by the canals. When I talked to a local, he said that there are parts of the canals that look dingey but other areas that are nicer. However you really have to walk awhile to find the nicer spots. But it was too hot and we didn’t have the energy to do that. Atwater market was lovely though. Lots of fresh flowers, as well as produce, and little shops selling artisanal food products. I regret that I didn’t use this day to visit Mile End and Marche Jean Talon instead. Maybe that area would have been cooler than Rue Wellington, the canals, and Atwater Marche.

At night, we dined at Iberico Taverne e Tapas Espagnole in Mont Royal. Mont Royal was really cute. Another promenade but much better than Rue Wellington. Mont Royal was lively. Lots of people. Ice cream shops, restaurants, boutiques. Plus Ibericos was so delightful. Charming little Spanish tapas bar. All of the tapas were delish. I was disappointed with the seafood paella though. I didn’t think it was that good, but I enjoyed all the other dishes.

On our 3rd day, we visited the Botanical Gardens. It was about $15 USD for a ticket to get in. It was such a beautiful and peaceful way to spend a couple hours strolling. I loved the rose garden, the Chinese garden, and the Lily pad pond. They also have an herb and vegetable garden. Great area for photos too.

For lunch, we returned to Mont Royal and ate at L’Avenue. This came highly recommended on Tripadvisor though I’m not sure why. It played loud club music. We had to wait in line for almost 30 minutes. The dishes were gigantic and just a lot of food with not much flavor. I would not recommend this place either.

On our last night in Montreal, we dined at Monarque, within walking distance from our hotel. I believe it’s a newish French restaurant that has been open for less than a couple years. It has a fun, trendy vibe in the brasserie and a more formal dining room in the back. We enjoyed our appetizers and dessert. Our main dishes were good too but not the amazing-I-want-to-lick-my-plate type good. But in general, we enjoyed the food and the experience.

All in all, we had a great time in Montreal. Prior to going, I did so much research. But it still can be hard to decide what to do and where to dine when you visit a new city because articles and blogs all come from the experience of people who may not have your same preferences. I also read so much conflicting opinions in group forums and on TripAdvisor. For myself, I think I chose a couple bad options for lunch and day activities (Rue Wellington + L’Avenue). But you just never really know sometimes no matter how much research and planning you do. But I must say, all of our dinners were excellent, especially Toque.

So glad I got a chance to take my parents on a road-trip to Montreal. They would not have done it on their own otherwise. If you want to see all the yummy food I ate, you’ll have to check out my Instagram because there are too many to post here.

East Coast Adventure

Due to the pandemic, it has been two years since I have last seen my parents. Now that we are all fully vaccinated, I was finally able to make the trip out to Boston to see them again and it was bittersweet! It felt like no time has passed at all due to the benefits of Facetime and the unchanging dynamics and quirks of a mother-daughter relationship. With my flexible schedule, I bought a one-way flight and decided that I would figure out my return while in Boston.

In the past year of the pandemic, I have grown so much because I was forced to do a lot of introspection and self-reflection in quarantine. I continued therapy during the pandemic consistently, which I had not done since I was in my twenties. Turns out, I still had a lot to learn. Therapy is not a one-time class and there is no cap on growth. Had my mother noticed while I visited? Maybe. Maybe not. Did it matter? Not really because all of that self-work was done for me. Although I do think it benefits everyone around me.

During my visit, we ate so much good food! My mother and I both cooked different dishes for each other to try. We had wine and dessert every night. I hosted at-home happy hours with charcuterie boards and cocktails. I made a surf and turf al fresco lunch for my parents and my sister on Mother’s Day. I planned a road trip with my parents up the coast of Maine to visit Acadia National Park. We stopped in Portland on the way there and had lunch at Eventide Oysters, which was amazing. We stayed overnight in Rockland and enjoyed a lovely farm-to-table dinner at Primo. Maine was a fun weekend adventure and I’m grateful I had the opportunity to experience it with my parents because they would not have done a road trip on their own.

For a brand collaboration, I stayed in The South End in Boston for a couple nights at Stay Pineapple Boutique Hotel. It was a nice break from staying at my parents’ and it felt good to have my own space again. While staying in the city, I went on a solo date at Barcelona Wine Bar, ordered everything, and had a wonderful time with myself. I also dined at Toro, Ostra, and Row 34 during my visit and all of them were delish. I love seafood and ordered crudo at every restaurant. It was so fun to be a tourist in my own city. I am convinced that the northeast has the best food.

Even though I had a great trip, I physically struggled everyday throughout my visit because of the pollen dust storms. My allergies totally kicked my butt. My allergist has once told me that I’m the worst he’s ever seen, and pills don’t help. Every day, I was drained and exhausted from just being outside for an hour or two and would feel compelled to nap afterwards. In addition to sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes, itchy face, and itchy internal body, allergies also give me brain fog and extreme fatigue. I really could not function. I’m envious of people who don’t suffer from allergies!

After almost three weeks away, I am finally back home. My body feels better and lighter. I am starting to feel like myself again. Back in my personal space with all my comforts and routine. It was a great trip and fun little adventure, but three weeks was a long time to be away especially after over one year of quarantine. I’m still adjusting to life, normalcy, and reemergence into society, which can be draining. Everything just feels extra nowadays. So I am going to listen to my body and give myself the rest of the week to recover.