Diversity day

Two out of three of us were out of bed before 9am and with a little coaxing we were all to the Parma Cafe just after 10am. We caffeinated and had bagels and croissants to get us going and then set about choosing our first destination. As the week is waning and the day looked like good weather, we decided to make the trek out to the Olympic Park.

Happily, the Metro makes this an easy journey and we arrived to a long but swiftly moving line at the Biodome and were inside by noon (hint – you can buy your tickets online and skip the line!) The Biodome is a multi-biosphere complex which recreates a tropical rainforest, a Laurentian Maple forest, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and sub-polar regions of the Americas. The Biodome “aims to raise individual and collective awareness about the need to get involved in protecting our natural heritage.”

Continue reading “Diversity day”

Higher ed, high fashion, and history

This morning we made more of an effort to get up early and were actually all awake by 8:30am 🙂 We made our way through the shower and got ourselves ready and then headed north.

We made a quick pitstop at an ATM for incidental cash and then walked along Rue Sainte-Catherine to Peel and then up to Universel Déjeuners et Grillades for breakfast. We had a very satisfying meal here – bagles and eggs benedict and a crêpe with apple, bacon and cheese. We sat on the terrace on a warm, overcast morning enjoying ourselves when the first rain started and the awning was pulled over us.

Continue reading “Higher ed, high fashion, and history”

In with the old

Today was another warm and clear day in Montreal, great for getting around and seeing more of the city.

We started out today by going together to Parma Café and all having some tea or coffee and some yummy pastries. Parma offers quite a range of other food as well, from artisan pizzas to eggplant parmesan – we may have to come by for a bigger meal sometime!

Continue reading “In with the old”

Pride & Park day

We had a staggered rise-and-shine today as we settled in to a morning with nothing scheduled. I eventually rose, tweaked a few photos from yesterday and then made my way to the Parma Café where I had a very nicely made cappuccino and a still warm croissant (melt) – what a perfect start!

Despite being mid-morning the streets were hopping as a kinetic energy of colours, costumes and cultures started to form patterns in the street: today was the Fierté Montréal parade and our hotel sits just behind the starting line. Huge swaths of colourful fabrics were being spread out on sidewalks, beads, boas and bangles glittered, and the bass was beginning to drift from block to block.

Continue reading “Pride & Park day”