Planes, Trains and Automobiles (the sequel)

If you have followed our blog….not many have, you may be aware of our previous trip of a similar theme taken in 2024. Planes, Trains, Automobiles and buses

It is important to note that the first part of this post was written prior to departure; with great anticipation and expectation. Edits have been made with original text left for comparison.

Our trip this time is quite a bit longer and oh so much grander disappointing. They say sequels are never as good as the original…they be sooo wrong  right.

Sun Mar 29 

Getting everything together…

We spent the weekend making sure we were packed, the house was prepped and the cat’s necessities taken care of.

Mona has made a variety of packing cubes that will keep everything organized. We made sure our travel apps and calendars were up to date and the paper version of our itinerary was thoroughly detailed. Brent has a plethora of checklists on his various devices to help ensure nothing is forgotten. (Hopefully) 

We are ready for the drive to Vancouver starting early Monday morning (March 30).

Monday March 30 Automobile (Nelson to Vancouver)

A reasonably early start to the day, however, a broken zipper on the suitcase made for a slight detour into Castlegar so we could go to Canadian Tire to buy a new one. Not our first choice for suitcase shopping but better to get it done early rather than trying to find someplace along the road.

Had a nice brunch in Osoyoos. We showed up at 11:54 am; brunch ended at noon. Just in time.

The GPS on the car is clearly not up to date and we ended up getting lost trying to get onto hwy 99 from hwy 91 to go to our hotel. That led us on a bit of a detour as the GPS kept “finding a new route”. I don’t think there was a hwy 91 last time we drove this way. We used to come through Langley…and then right when the GPS said turn left, we would have turned left. Nobody told us, or the GPS, that the left turn was replaced by what was probably a series of ramps that get you onto Hwy 99. Hopefully we have better luck when we go home.

Dinner at Moxies in the hotel reminds us that travelling is really just finding new places to eat.

March 31 Planes…okay…Plane singular (Vancouver to Montreal)

Shuttle to the airport…security has the new CT scanners for our bags…we didn’t have to take out the electronics, or take the lids off our water bottle as long as they were empty…and best of all the CT scan results show that our bags are in perfect health.(except for having to ditch the large tube of toothpaste…but not until the return flight).

Ate breakfast, post security, and bought something for lunch on the plane. Last year when we flew to Toronto we found the onboard meals they you can purchase are awful, so we purchased food before getting on the plane.

Took a taxi from the airport to our hotel. A lot easier than the bus.

The hotel is wonderfully placed, a great pick. We’re one block from the Chinatown gate, two blocks from the Notre Dame Cathedral which is in Old Montreal.

The Chinese themed dining room in the Hotel has a spectacular pond loaded with koi. They are suckers for the cameras. Such characters. 

After months of planning and anticipation….we are finally here.

April 1st Automobile (Montreal)

This day elevated our thoughts on how to experience a city.

With only one day to visit we thought of the Hop-On Hop-Off bus, but it does not operate until the end of April. We considered using the transit system, but that would have limited the number of places places we could see. Renting a car for the day would have meant struggling with parking etc. So we decided to book a car tour. 

So the plan for the day: 10 am - 2 pm car tour and the Aurora light show at Notre Dame Cathedral at 6 pm.

Although the booking was from 10 am until 2 pm. Kian picked us up at our hotel at 10 am and dropped us off at Notre Dame Cathedral at 5:30, he gave us 3 ½ extra hours. He didn't have a second booking for the day, so he just kept driving us around.

Wow, what a day.

We toured old Montreal, where Kian took us into some amazing buildings.

This bank was built across from and in response to the Notre Dame Cathedral

There's a story to that, but I'm not going to turn this blog into a history lesson.

Notre Dame Cathedral (We were very excited to see scaffolding. So European)

Kian took got us into the original Trudeau residence…not actually spelled Trudeau in that day, but Truteau. The house is now a restaurant, and not exactly open to the public off hours. Someplace we would never have seen had we not had Kian as a guide.

Don't ask

One of the things that must be done in Montreal: lunch at Schwartz’s Deli. 

Brent was excited to try out his French skills having spent many hours on Duolingo. He wanted to order a pickle, which was recommended by our travel agent. He ordered a cuchon (a pig), then quickly recognized the error and asked for a Corichon (pickle). The waitress was very amused.

Kiran drove us through the working class, middle class, upper class neighborhoods as well as the Golden Mile, and through McGill. It was interesting to see the various styles of apartment buildings. Most were row houses, with several narrow apartments on each level, and very few windows. The middle class apartments slightly larger than the working class ones. The upper middle class buildings get to be quite nice. 

Definitely upper middle class

We made our way up to the top of Mount Royal (and us from British Columbia are not quite sure how they get Mount in the name. Maybe it was mistranslated and was supposed to be Mound Royal.) 

There are two major attractions on top of the mountain. One on either side.

First Saint Joseph’s Oratory, the original one and the huge cathedral built in St Joseph's honour. It is quite a story. 

While we were in the cathedral they started to tune the organ. We were excited that we might here it as it is one of the largest in the world. Unfortunately they only tuned it, which after a couple of minutes is very hard on the ears. (and this coming from someone who spent decades teaching beginning band)

A sculpture dedicated to immigrants

On the other side if the 'mountain' is the Kondiaronk lookout, and the Mount Royal Chalet

Can you spot Leonard Cohen?

After 'Mount' Royal it was time to eat fresh, hot butter dripping bagels from Fairmont Bagels.

Yummy

At this point, the tour was a bonus. Kiran took us to the two Islands that made up Expo ‘67. (Brent says it looks a bit different than when he was there for Expo ‘67. But you know when experience something at 4 years old it’s natural to remember it differently when you are older)

We drove on the Formula 1 track…the speed limit is 30km. (When they’re not racing)

The highlight of this part of the tour was the Jardins des Floralies. It must be spectacular in summer, because it was amazing even without the flowers and greenery.

Okay, raise your hand if you went to both Expo ‘67 and ‘86?

And at the end of driving tour (which actually racked up a lot walking steps as well, we took in the Aurora light show at Notre Dame Cathedral. It is an amazing 30 minute light and sound show.

Photography is not allowed during this show, so we only have a couple of pictures from before it started.

At the end of the day we were so tired that we kind of skipped supper. Mona had half a sandwich leftover from lunch, which we split in two, and we also had a couple of apples.

April 2 Trains (Part 1) (Montreal to Quebec City)

Breakfast at the hotel; taxi to the train station.

Business class offers seating in the lounge prior to boarding. This will be handy on the days when we don’t have breakfast at the hotel. There isn’t much, but we can get a coffee if we need one. We will get breakfast on the train.

The breakfast on the train was mediocre. 

After arriving at the station in Quebec we took a cab to the hotel where they stored our bags and we wandered around for a few hours before our room was ready. We started with lunch a couple blocks from the hotel. We had eaten three meals by about 1 pm..ish.

Tourtier meat Pie

That's Sheppard's Pie (it's not a cow pie) It was yummy

So many restaurants, so much food, only one stomach. (Brent can say that in French...he thinks)

We wandered around le Chateau Frontenac and along the Promenade. Very windy and cold.

Finding our way into the Chateau Frontenac was kind of a scavenger hunt, but we wandered inside and Mona found a shop where she bought a colourful scarf to go along with her quilted coat (that she made).

The Frontenac is nice, but not spectacular. It is more amazing from the outside.

We went back to our hotel, and sat in the downstairs lounge area until around 4 pm when our room was available. Considering all the steps from the day before an easier day was welcome.

April 3. Automobile (Quebec City)

 

This is the view of the back of the Chateau Frontenac taken from the steps of our hotel. What a perfect spot. Note the ugly pink machine in the picture. We could have photoshopped it out, but....wait for it

Woke up to snow and freezing rain on the forecast. Unfortunately, our much anticipated carriage ride had to be cancelled, so we got onto our Viator app, and managed to book a car tour for 1:30. 

It was a nice tour but nothing like the tour of Montreal. 

The iconic picture view of Chateau Frontenac with umbrellas (this was a picture on the wall in our hotel room)

The not so iconic picture of the Chateau Frontenac with umbrellas, taken in the freezing cold. We were told the weather was actually quite unseasonable cold for this time of year. 

Unfortunately it was just too cold to get out of the car to walk around to see the sites up close. As a result we finished the city tour early and our driver took us out to Ile d’ Orleans and Montmorency falls. 

For dinner we walked to just about the closest restaurant to our hotel.

If you can expand the picture, you can see the ugly pink machine parked in front of out hotel. It is at the top of the hill on the right street level of the picture. This view is from our table at The Conti 

We have a similar picture to this one, take with port glasses during our trip to Portugal last year.

It’s always about the food.

April 4 Trains (Part 2) Quebec-Montreal-Toronto

It was a nice day on the trains, but I didn’t make the entry at the end of the day which would have been better because…

April 5 Train from Toronto to Vancouver CANCELLED DUE TO TRACK ISSUES. (We think it was some form of derailment).

Utterly disappointing.

We booked a flight back to Vancouver, checked back into the Union Hotel (which is abut a block from Union Station, and for supper, we walked a few block up the street to the Keg where we consoled ourselves with a prime rib dinner, and Creme Brulé for dessert...with two spoons. Mona can't really eat it, but a nibble or two is okay.

Vancouver was much warmer so we were able to shed the winter clothing we had been wearing during the trip.

We spent a night in at the hotel in Richmond where we had left our car, drove to Kelowna (via Penticton to have a quick lunch with Dom) the next day where we spent the night. The next day we did a little retail therapy including two of these chairs (not this colour; the swatch in the left); made a stop at Costco and then home.

The Via Canadian train ride remains on the bucket list.