Holiday Lights - Tale of Two Cities, pt.1.

Exactly one year ago, I was eating one last breakfast at Prohibition, getting ready to drive back to NY... 
Wait, that's the end of the story - I have to start this one at the beginning. 
This story starts a bit earlier, on Christmas Eve of 2014... 
(Get some Moonshine eggnog, would ya?)
Restless of snow-less Holidays, tired of endless condo closing papers, stressed at work - I could not even sleep. I just wanted to get away from it all... 
I was absolutely desperate to see even one snowflake, to taste it crisp white beauty melt on my tongue and brisk chill to take away all my worries.

I had few days-off left, and a lot of unused millage on Prius that supposed to end lease next year. 
(Can you guess what happened next?)
In a spur of the moment, I grabbed my passport, luggage and drove north... 
Way, way Nord!

...this way, please...

Snow!!!

My journey took me thru Adirondacks, thru snow-powdered highways, and straight to Montreal. 

I arrived on Christmas Day, 2014, with no plans, no accommodations and no Canadian money.

I searched for banks on my phone, and found Chase & Citibank - so I drove there first. I walked into cheery decorated building lobby - no bank. I asked concierge for help. "Oh, no, no" - she said. "There are no banks here, just their offices". Bugger. Finally found some weird ATM to get money from... I looked up hotels on HotelTonight app - and picked one I really liked, Hotel10. I am usually good at my choices. I know app fixes you up with really unusual hotels, many in renovation stages, but amazing no less - so was this one.

Hotel10.

Obviously, after 7 hours drive by myself, I was starving. And obviously, most restaurants are closed on Christmas Day. Yea...

The good: There are still some great places that are open. The great: There are no people left in the city on Holidays, so I was free to roam around without bumping into anyone

The greatest: I found absolutely amazin' BBQ place to eat, drink and celebrate at, Diablo's.

Bar at Diablo's.

So, that BBQ was freakin' amazing. And bar was awesome cool. I was happy, warmed up and stuffed with food at no time.

Wandering empty, snow-powdered, brightly decorated Montreal streets, with pulled pork in my belly and alcohol in my veins was nothing short of magical. 
I found those colorful prisms dancing in the winds, with beautiful soft music playing:

Prisms installation.

 

I spinned around and danced among them, nobody but moon and wind watching me.

Finally, sufficiently tired and frozen, I made it to hotel room and fall asleep in soft comfy bed.

Hotel10.

Next day, after morning internet search I discovered there is special Cirque du Soleil performance in local church. 

Needless to say, I had to go. There were no online tickets left, so all I had left to do is show up an hour before concert and hope for the best... 

Man, it is cold in Canada!!!

 But I was smitten by winter magic, and jumping from clothing shop to coffee shop to another and another one, I kept warm.

Perfect foam.

I got tickets, and soon I walked into beautiful old church.

Church.

The lights dimmed down, and performance began.

Cirque du Soleil.

I cannot describe it. If you been to their shows - this was a collection of all of them. A tribute to their anniversary.

Cirque du Soleil.

There were no acrobatics - but instead, it became a game of light and shadow on church's ceilings and domes - and memories came alive, snow has fallen and stars blinked in the dark sky.

Cirque du Soleil.

Beautiful songs from all previous shows, in all different languages, made us sway and sings inside of our hearts. The performances were amazing.
The acoustics of the church was really perfect for this. The choir and sound of pipe organ was outstanding.

A whisper of the song escaped my lips when I recognized languages - Italian, Spanish, French, English...

It was heartwarming and spectacular...

Cirque du Soleil.

Next morning I decided to do a "normal" touristy thing and go to Notre Dame.
But "normal" seems to escape me. Not sure why? May be we not compatible. Yes, that's it. 

Well...

It started rather calm and touristy.

Notre Dame.

I walked around with my camera, taking pictures and admiring beauty of architecture. Tall vaulted ceilings, intricate detailing, spirals and curves... 

Notre Dame.

...I get annoyed by tourists using flash inside the church. Seriously, in space this big, it's not gonna help you, dummy! But noooooo. Their flash must go on! Blast.

Notre Dame.

So I walk outside to get fresh air and cool down. Next thing I know, I am talking to stranger about politics, which somehow lead to invitation to "clothes optional" sauna. Wait, what? Seriously? In front of the cathedral? 
"Sorry, buddy, I gotta run. I have that thing on my schedule..." Across the square, thru the ice, I ran away. Thew.
Canadians are weird.

Next stop on my exploration walk is Carré Saint-Louis, a small area in the middle of town with colorful picturesque buildings and quiet streets, as well as park in the middle.

I am slowly making my way to the downtown area and to the port.

More lights and colors to be seen on my way.

I am taking a break at Café des Arts.

This place is cuuuute!
Located on lower level of the galleries, with mismatched couches and chairs, hot tea choices and delicious panini, that warmed up my heart and soul on cold winter day. Phone - recharged; messages - answered over free wifi (plus, with t-mobile free wifi calls feature it is a lifesaver when traveling); me - warmed up, fed and happy.

...Mmmmmm, hello, 3rd pot of hot tea!..

  

I finally make it into Seaport.

Vieux-Port.

You find me, you find me
You find me by the river
You find me, you find me
You find me where the river flows

By the river
Where dreams will never die
By the river
Under suburban skies

You find me, you find me
You find me where the river flows...

Vieux-Port.

It reminds me of other Vieux-Port, miles and oceans away, in small town of Marseille... Vieux-Port de Montréal share same feeling of open space, artistic freedom and just a right measure of old times charm and grunge.
Along it runs functioning railroad, and the bike path, and the walkways that follow curves of the ponds, cutting through park greenery (altho it was snowy white this time around).

I am enamored by it industrial charm - and cannot resist those rusty piers and old machinery. 

(It is no trespassing if gate was already open, right???)
Ships still here, and old buildings still stand on water edge, and Clock Tower keeps ticking time away...

Vieux-Port.

 

But the new is weaved in - the clean paved promenade, Science Centre, IMAX.
It's nice to walk though any time of the year, and bars/cafes aplenty along the water edge to take a break and enjoy fresh breeze.

Biosphere.

 

In next few days, I drive around the city - since locations I wanted to see are rather remote. I make it to Biosphere - and even it is closed for winter, walking the park around it is serene.

Biosphere.

Back at the hotel, the bar is spectacular and busy at night - plush couches, high ceilings, good music and good drinks. 

Great place to unwind after walking around all day.

Jardo.

There is a street in this town where you can find anything. It's very similar to magician's black hat - you can pull white rabbit from there, or bouquet of flowers. That hat...errr... Boulevard... is named St. Laurent.

You can go into small yards in zigzag fashion and admire street art. I can truly say it has one of the best urban graffiti art collection I've seen. 

St. Laurent.

As my holiday adventure comes to an end, I look for best place in town for farewell dinner.

That would be Bouillon Bilk.

My muse was probably watching over, since it placed me within walking distance to it.
Simple urban design, endless bar seating, low ceilings and dimmed lights set my mood right from the start.
It's packed. Always packed. So do make reservations. However - if you alone or do not mind eating at the bar, you can still score seat there.
 

It's all started with perfect drink...
Followed by bread and butter...
Then, beautifully presented sweetbreads, veal tongue & celery root appetizer arrived. My eyes lit up, and my taste buds started singing. It was delicious.
But it was not over yet - my cleaned to the original shine plate disappeared magically, and in it place came main course - perfectly seared scallops, cauliflower, shiitake mushrooms & watercress. I closed my eyes in joy and savored it piece by piece...

I was not planning on dessert (ok, that's a bold fat lie if you know me. shhhh!), but I could not resist special that day - chocolate macaron, a scoop of ice cream & little cup of warmed wine, all together complimenting each other in taste pairing and in presentation.

It was an amazing meal all together.
For me, the class of Bouillon Bilk stands up there with Envy and Juni - with service, food and presentation being on the level that put it on the list of my forever favorites.

And this brings me to the very beginning, and to the end - last breakfast at Prohibition. Full circle.

...I said goodbye to Montreal, and went back to the city there my heart always will be... 

(I was detained on a border because Prius and many passport stamps deemed me suspicious - but that's besides the scope of this particular story)

  

And Hello, NY!

...to be continued...