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Well this picture just about sums up my weekend in Montreal: sunshine, hats, peanut butter m&ms and park chills.
We were there for a short 48 hours, but we managed to pack in quite a few activities. Trips to Montreal always involve some old favourites and new additions to our never-ending Montreal bucket list. It’s been exactly 3 years since I graduated from McGill so lots naturally lots of nostalgia was to be had. At the same time it was also reassuring that I’ve accomplished a couple of things since receiving my alumni status.
In addition to recapping the weekend, I figured I would throw in some of my Montreal favs for anyone who might be visiting in the future. No surprise most of them involve food 🙂
After a long train ride I arrived to a very rainy Montreal, which quite literally put a damper on our plans. Although I must admit I was more than happy once I had a glass of wine in hand from Bier Markt(who gets wine at a bier markt?!) and a wild night at the movies seeing Neighbors, which by the way was pee-your-pants hilarious!
The following morning we met up with friends at Lawrence, an absolutely delicious brunch spot. Some of my other favourite brunch spots: Chez Jose, Beauty’s and Bagels Etc.
Following brunch we bopped around Montreal watching the Habs get crushed by the Rangers. It was so sad to watch so I drowned my sorrows in Bloody Marys. Other bars that I love: Else’s, Mme Lee, and Big in Japan Bar.
I was sooooooo hungry for dinner so I went a bit overboard with the tacos at Burritoville, an awesome vegetarian Mexican restaurant. Montreal has it’s fair share of indulgent restaurants but you can also find quite a few healthy and plant-based options. My favourites include: Aux Vivres, Cafe Santropol and Crudessence.
You can’t visit Montreal without visiting the campus of my alma mater, McGill. McGill is unique in that it is a huge university in the heart of a big city but still has the most glorious fields where students can lay out on the grass and chill between classes. That is when it isn’t snowing 8 months of the year…Don’t ask me my other favourite schools, because no others exist.
Did you know that Montreal is actually built on a mountain? In the summer months the park that lines Mont Royal is taken over by hippies and their drums, which is affectionately called “Tamtams”. Even if you aren’t crunchy granola, the rest of Montreal still comes out to play for tamtams. With the glorious weather, there was absolutely no chance I was missing out.
And no visit would be complete without the best sandwich in Montreal, the camembert on an arepa from Bocadillos. I probably just got myself in trouble for saying that since most people would say the Montreal Smoked Meat sandwich from Schwartz’s is pretty epic. It is definitely delicious as are the bagels from Fairmont Bagels. I don’t care what anyone says, nothing compares to Montreal bagels.
And now here I am, watching The Avengers with C on the train. I often forget how important it is to set time aside where your attention is fully focused on the ones you love. I’m glad I was able to detach and make the most of our time in a city that will forever have my heart.
Despite all of the fun, I am looking forward to getting home and getting back on track. My body is craving some veggies!
What a fun weekend! I have never been to Montreal… actually, I’ve never been to Canada but I have always wanted to go! I have a friend who went to McGill and has just as much alma mater pride as you do. What a beautiful campus! Oh, and those brunch eats look beyond scrumptious. And all the pics of you are too adorable. Loving the tacos in a backwards baseball cap… girl after my own heart!!!
Montrel <3 A ton of my friends live there for school but the only time I've ever been was for a highschool field trip. I am planning a trip there soon! Once I'm done my summer session at UofT, I want to road trip over. Totally bookmarking this for things to check out when I'm there 🙂
It only took 2 years for me to head over and just remembered this post! Sadly my trip was not as sunny as yours haha.
My favorite city? That’s such a tough one. Probably Hong Kong, mainly for sentimental reasons. You’re making me want to go back to Montreal! #jealous
I’ve never been to Montreal (or anywhere in Canada) but hope to one day!! That place (especially your school) looks gorgeous!
Glad you had a great weekend!
Ok, now I really want to go to Montreal! I’ll need to stay for a few days though so I can try all those restaurants. I’m horrible about over eating if I get to a hangry state.
This is awesome!!!! THANK YOU so much for this list. I am heading to Montreal this weekend for the first time ever and have no clue where to eat. I’m going to print this out and bring it with me!
I’ve only been to Canada twice. And both times were to see Niagra Falls. While I would love for that to count as me visiting your wonderful country, I don’t think it does! I really want to see more. One of these we will be making a trip up north! I think my favorite US city is Chicago (at least in the summer time!).
So glad you had a fab weekend! It looks like fun and a lot warmer than I expected Montreal to be 😉
Have you ever had pretzel m&ms? I literally gained five pounds sophomore year solely from eating those constantly. They’re addictive.
This looks like so much fun! And I’m definitely drooling over the food! I’ve never been to Montreal, but it looks lovely! 🙂
You totally look like a model, especially in that first picture. I’m glad you had a great weekend! I really want to go back and visit my alma mater. Athens is the city that will forever have a piece of my heart. I only spent a semester studying there but it changed my life forever. For US cities–it’s Boston. Have a great week, babe!