Auberge Vieux Port - Montréal, Quebec

1967 Expo Dome in background. Chris was there!

 We took the pick-up truck from Portsmouth to Montreal.  Hopefully, we will have enough room in the bed to transport all our stuff from one place to another when we pick-up and drop off the boat in Ottawa.  At least that’s the plan.  

It rained most of the trip, off and on.  Sometimes blue skies, sometimes torrential rain.  We stopped for lunch in Montpelier, VT.  In July, the downtown streets flooded in a huge rainstorm.  All but one restaurant downtown were severely damaged, including the “Hippie Chickpea.”  So we ended up having savory crepes at the “Skinny Pancake!”  

The Auberge Vieux Port, as the name implies, is in the old part of the city.  There are dozens of restaurants.  According to trip advisor, of the 3,500 restaurants in Montreal, 500 are in the Old Port part of the city.  After a before dinner cocktail on the roof bar at the hotel, we stroll the sidewalks, looking for the perfect dinner spot.  Deciding to cater to my weaker side, we opt for “Vieux Steak House,” partially because it has a nice outdoor section off the street.  Even before we got our wine, the heavens opened up with a deluge.  The dining area was divided into two parts with awning sloped down to a center gutter.  The rain was way too much for the gutter which overflowed into the middle of the dining room, trapping our waiter, with our drinks on one side and us on the other.  In ten minutes, the rain stopped, and all was as it should be!

Montreal has a very European flair.  Similar to European boutique hotels, the shower in our room defies all logical norms.  It has three settings: the large shower head directly above you, from which there is no escape; the handheld shower wand which requires one hand for the shower, one hand for the washcloth and one hand for the soap; and the triple play, three shower head mounted on the wall, one in your face, one on your chest, and one at a more personal level.  My choice?  Not telling!