saturday splurge

Saturday was another exhausting day for the "Walking Garcias"...I have no idea how far we walked, but I think it's safe to say that it was at least 10 miles.

Food
For our "Saturday Splurge" we spread out our eating to get some of the best Montreal had to offer in our stomachs. We started with Portugese sausage from the Street Painting Festival, added scrumptious mini-burgers and "the best" poutine in Montreal (a Quebec original dish--fries with cheese curds and gravy), waffles and crepes with Nutella from a street stand, and finally, a baguette with extra creamy Brie and grapes. It was all SO good. I can't wait for the next Saturday Splurge.

Attractions
We did some more tourist-y things today, and our first stop was the Basilica of Notre Dame. On our way we found an older couple that looked lost, and they asked us where they should go, so we led them here as well. Boy, did that make me look like a knowledgeable tour guide. The Basilica was amazing. I have seen many cathedrals throughout Europe, but it was by far the most impressive and illuminated cathedral I've seen. The work inside is so intricate, and I can't wait to get prints of the pictures I took.

We also strolled the cobblestone streets of Old Montreal and went out to walk along the Old Port. We intended on climbing the clock tower to get some great views of the city, but alas, it was closed off. We did have our first Bixi experience! Bixi is company that has bike rental stations all over the city, and you can ride them for free for 30 minutes. We rode them the length of the old port, and even though James was nervous, it turned out to be really fun!

We made our way back through some of the festivals we visited on Friday, and stopped by the main location of the Street Painting festivals to get a picture of us sitting in a GIANT Adirondack chair--a little shout-out to Webb! By the time we made it home, we had spent 6 hours walking around the city, so we were ready for a relaxing evening at home. We contemplated heading out for a free outdoor concert, but our exhaustion ruled, and fortunately so, as it started storming around the time of the concert. Another great day in Montreal!