Montreal, June 2017 (Part 1 - Detour through Vermont)
Audrey and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary at the end of last month. We decided to celebrate by taking a small trip to Montreal, QC over a long weekend.
We woke up early on Friday in order to drop off the dogs at the PetSmart PetsHotel, which has become our go-to place for when we are going out of town. We hit the road right around 9 AM to begin our 300 mile drive from Boston to Montreal.
After being on the road for two and a half hours, Audrey wanted to make a pit stop at the Quechee Gorge in Hartford, Vermont, a place her and her family regularly went to when she was a kid growing up nearby.
On one end of the gorge is the North Hartland Dam, built by the Army Corps of Engineers back in 1961. It’s a short hike from one end of the gorge to the other. Despite it’s brevity, it’s a trail that lets you truly appreciate and admire the beauty of nature.
On one end of the gorge is the North Hartland Dam, built by the Army Corps of Engineers back in 1961. It’s a short hike from one end of the gorge to the other. Despite it’s brevity, it’s a trail that lets you truly appreciate and admire the beauty of nature.
Another hour and a half drive on the road and we made it to Burlington, VT and stopped for lunch at the Farmhouse Tap & Grill, a farm-to-table gastropub a stone’s throw from Lake Champlain. I ordered the bacon and blue cheese burger which with it’s homemade BBQ sauce and crispy onion ring was delicious.
Audrey got the “Nitty Gritty Fish and Chips” served with fries, coleslaw, and Old Bay remoulade. The Farmhouse features a formidable array of local craft beers, soft drinks, and ciders. Audrey took the opportunity to try Rookie’s Ginger Beer, a hand-crafted draft soda made locally in Vermont.
After another 2 hours on the road we passed the border into Quebec. Word to the wise, when inside of Quebec you will quickly realize that that all of the road signs are in French and the speed limits are in kilometers per hour.
After only sleeping about four hours the night before, I was exhausted and fell asleep for a nap once settling in to our AirBNB. I slept a little too long and woke up around 9:00 at which point Audrey and I were starving.
It was already pretty late, however we were surprised at just how many late night options were available near us.
We settled on a shawarma joint on Rue St. Catherine called Restaurant Boustan in the Quartier des Spectacles.
Our visit to Montreal happened to coincide with the Canada Grand Prix which is one of the largest sporting events in Canada. Needless to say the city was packed with tourists and Boustan was seing really good business despite the late hour. The staff there was incredibly friendly and even gave us some free baklava since we were in town celebrating our anniversary.
Being partially of Lebanese descent, I’ve always had a soft spot for good Middle Eastern food, and this place had some of the best shawarma I’ve ever had.
