parlez-vous le français?

As expected, Montreal was way cool! We spent 3.5 days in a darling B&B that served us three course breakfasts every morning to the tune of Ham and Cheese Crepes in a Saffron Bechemel sauce, Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes, Baked Pepper and Ham Fritatta... ahhhh. It was soooo good. Though we were told that "everybody" is bilingual, it was all a bunch of big fat lies and we did struggle a bit getting around a completely French speaking city. We were both surprised at how much our wee bit of Spanish actually helped us, however.

The architecture was stunning. We spent much of our time in the town referred to as "Old Montreal" which is supposedly mirrored very much after Paris, France. I've never been to Paris, personally, so I can't really testify to the similarities, but it was definitely historic and breathtaking in parts. We visited an archeological dig in the Museum of Architecture and learned quite a bit about Montreal's history, which was actually pretty fascinating.

I would have to say that the highlight of our trip (aside from stuffing ourselves senseless with rich French food) was our visit to the Biodome which takes you on a journey through four different micro-climates and all of the flora, fauna, reptiles, fish and mammals that go along with it. It was sincerely amazing. We saw two different species of Penguins, an Anaconda snake the size of my house that eats entire lamb carcasses in one bite. I, of course, was compelled to sing the line from the 80's rap song, "Baby Got Back" - "my anaconda don't want none unless you got buns hon!" until it lashed out and tried to kill me so I ran like hell in the direction of the Baracuda fish and started belting Stevie Nicks to it and that calmed my nerves a bit.

Anyway... there's a lot to say but I don't feel like writing so let's just leave it at this. If ever given the opportunity, go visit Montreal! It's worth it! But brush up on your French first so that you're not reduced to wild, desperate gestures like we were.

Enjoy the photos.