Our second day in Montreal may just have been my favorite of our entire trip! In the morning we rode the subway out to meet up with Frances, Rex, and one of their old friends. Again, it’s such a joy to meet up with friends in faraway places!
Together the five of us walked to the Jean-Talon market for some eating and shopping. I have to say. Walking through this market was a bit like torture. We were surrounded by delicious and interesting fruits and vegetables…with no place to prepare a proper meal! We did pick up a few avocados and a Mexican sauce, but I wish it could have been more. I made sure to accept as many samples as possible though!
After the market we parted ways. Mike and I had plans to check out the famous bagels of St. Viateur. I won’t say too much (wait for the Novelty Snack!) but I’ve never been one to turn down a bread product, and this was no exception!
Another exciting aspect of the day was riding bikes. Yep, in a city! Montreal has a public bike program (as every city really should), and fantastic bike paths. I was a little nervous at times, but in general felt really comfortable riding a bike around (and grateful for mostly flat terrain).
We rode bikes to a park and enjoyed a little snack of our market avocados and sauce (mixing them to make a guacamole). It was probably about 2 minutes after Mike took the photo below that I realized something. Something pretty important!!
The day before we parked in a parking garage and I put the ticket in a very safe place: my wallet. After getting bagels we sat in the park and I suddenly couldn’t find the code needed for my bike rental. Naturally, I went through every scrape of paper in my wallet and bag searching for it. Finally, Mike called the bike company for help and was told that I didn’t need that code after all! No biggie! So I just gathered all those paper scraps and threw them in the garbage…
Ahem. Do you see where I’m going here? We raced back to the park on our bikes, hoping that no one emptied the trash can. Of course, it was my job to riffle through the garbage… but I am happy to report that I found it! A bit wet, a bit smelly but still in working order. Phew!
The next morning we headed out to Quebec City… despite warnings of a big storm heading to the city!
xo, jill
Well, glad you found your ticket! Love the bike riding. I have to live in a city that is bike friendly in the future.
These are so my favourite things! Market and bagels, what a great day!
I loved having my own little bike lane that was separated from traffic by a median. I felt so much safer than just biking in the shoulder… which really freaks me out!
It was a wonderful day! I only wish we could have bought everything in sight at the market.