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Montreal 2007
March 16, 2007
March 16, 2007
Another surprise trip for Austin. This time we're headed to Montreal, Quebec. Austin doesn't know yet but we have tickets to go to the Montreal Canadians vs. Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game on Saturday. A thank you for the good report cards and hard work.
When we left Orlando International Airport it was 65 degrees and when we arrived at the Montreal airport the temperature was 14 degrees. Our flight left Orlando without any surprises and arrived in Washington, D.C. Dulles Airport for our connecting flight to Quebec. The weather was horrible, it was windy, cold and there was a lot of heavy rain. Visibility was less than ˝ mile. We've been watching the news very carefully because the northeast was in the midst of a nor'easter storm and of course we were a bit concerned not knowing if we would be delayed. We didn't have much time as it was so we certainly didn't want to hang around Dulles airport any longer than we had too. Dallas decided to go to Customer Service and ask if the flight would be delayed and according to United, they said no. All around us flights were being canceled to Boston, New York and New Jersey. Hopefully ours wasn't going to be canceled because we were flying over those areas and out of harms way. While Dallas and Austin ventured around the airport checking out the shops and planes, I was sitting keeping a watch on our backpacks and watching the CNN news. Dallas called me and said they found a shop that might interest me. We've been looking for family rings to wear similar to what we purchased in Mexico. The rings from Mexico at some point broke because they had moving parts so we decided to get new rings. Reminder to self (never buy rings that have moving parts) The shop was called "Taos Silver Company". Austin and I looked while Dallas sat and watched the news and checked out our flight. We tried to find 3 rings all the same design but different sizes to fit us all. After much searching we found 3 that were agreeable to all and they ended up being stainless steel.
Once our shopping was done we decided to go to the Firkin & Fox restaurant to have some lunch and kill a little bit more time. It's an old English style pub, which serves various types of beer and food. As it turns out Firkin is a British term for describing a gallon measure for beer...interesting. The food wasn't so bad but because we were so concerned about whether we would be stuck in DC we didn't seem to enjoy our food. We pretty much inhaled it. We headed back to the gate where we would be getting our connecting flight to find out that it still hadn't arrived. We waited like kids in a candy store at the window waiting for the flight to arrive. Finally...it did.
Everyone boarded the plane. Our seats were almost at the very end so easy access to the rest rooms. Always a plus! The plane prepared for takeoff and we all got settled into our routine, headphones, I-pod, book and or magazine to read, etc. then the pilot says we have to depart the plane because the plane has a flat tire. Grrrrrr! We gather our belongings and get off the plane and wait for at least an hour then board again. The pilot comes on again and apologizes for the long delay, they were short staffed and only one mechanic was available to change the tire and that's why it took so long. Every hour we were delayed eats into our already short weekend so we were itchy to get going. We were all occupied with our "toys" so the flight although a bit turbulent wasn't so bad. We finally left rainy Washington. The flight wasn't too bad although we did hit a few bumps and some turbulence along the way. As we flew further north, you could see the frozen lakes as we approached the Canadian boarder.
We arrived at the Montreal Airport and it seemed deserted. It was a contemporary structure with vast open spaces. We went through customs without a hitch and picked up our luggage and ventured outside to get transportation to the Hotel. When we arrived the temperature was 14 degrees with a wind chill factor of 5 degrees with snow forecasted throughout the weekend. We opted for the bus to the hotel. The ride was quick and comfortable. We arrived at our hotel, which was the Marriott downtown Montreal in the "heart" of it all. When we checked in they gave us a bottle of hand soap with Olive Oil and Coriander in glass bottle of all things. We'll definitely have to package this well for the trip home. They also told us we would have complimentary hot cocoa and cookies with room service all weekend. Yeah! In this chilly weather we're going to need it. Up to the room dropped everything and headed out to explore. The hotel itself was pretty old, although it had been somewhat renovated. The beds were comfy and the linens were nicely done. While checking in we all heard complimentary cocoa and cookies but none of us heard room service only so here we are at the restaurant which is closed and then to the bar to ask about the cookies. Well, the bartender didn't know anything about it. The bartender said he had never heard of it but would be happy to set us up anyway. He cleared a beautifully set table just for us and brought us our cocoa and cookies, which were a bit crunchy. It must be the "French" way.
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