Farewell Montreal

Our final week in Montreal wrapped up with the hottest days of our trip. Lots of swimming in the public pools and iced coffees in cafes. Our sweltering Air BnB place for the week was not the best choice but we made the most of the location. We had a family meal out at Maison Publique  and did some epic walks around the city and then we packed up for the airport. 

Heading home after five weeks away was strange and but also a relief. We learned so much about travel with two under four on this trip. Probably the most important thing I learned is that trailing along on a trip when Joel is working not all that much fun for me. Our side trips on the weekends were fantastic but the week days with Joel gone and me alone with the kids with no network or activities like preschool... it was daunting and isolating. The fun side trips told me that the kids are really happy to travel, we function really well as a family on the move and we plan to travel more in the future. 

I Dream of Cottage Country

I lived near the thousand islands until the age of ten and like most kids growing up in Ontario, Summer was all about lake swimming and going to cottages. I fished, caught frogs, paddled inner tubes out to catch the wakes of passing boats and tried to build viable rafts from found objects. I loved the sound of the lake lapping at the underside of the dock as I lay still watching the fish swim in the sunny shallows below.

One of my best friends grew up in a family that owned a cottaging business with 15 cottages and as I planned our trip this Summer she and I conspired to get us out to her family's cottages for the ultimate Ontario lake experience. Everything fell into place and we just came back from three of the most fun days we've ever had as a family.

Breaking News: Poutine Officially Off The Bucket List

Frankly I had never heard of poutine until I was 20. Was I just terribly sheltered or did the whole poutine thing really become a trend around the year 2000? All I know is it's been a thing among both foodies and junk-food lovers for a while and everyone attributes it to Canada.

Joel decided to visit La Banquise poutinerie to see if they could satisfy my curiosity. And there we were, sitting on a picnic table with plastic forks in hand with about 4lbs of poutine in front of us.

So what did I think? Honestly, I'm not a fan. I fished around this sodding goo for a crisp fry and wished the gravy were on the side. And while I love cheese curds, their delicate flavour is lost in a gravy and they were just a rubbery texture floating in salty goo on sad mushy fries.

Joel ordered a meat lovers poutine with a MOUND of meats piled on top and he was similarly grossed out and ended up nibbling at the edges of mine instead. Austen barely touched his once he realized that it really wasn't as exciting as he'd hoped. 3 1/2 lbs of poutine hit the bottom of the park garbage bin and we walked home. Mission accomplished. Lets not do this again.