On day 3 in Montreal, I decided to hit the local markets. I walked about 1h15 to the first market. I wanted to see the most I could of the city so I avoided the metro as much as I could!
It was quite a lovely walk to be honest. It was a long walk along the canal Lachine. I loved seeing all the different architecture along the way.
I walked past this sign saying it was the national Quebec day but didn't realise it was actually that day until I heard people at the market wish each other a happy Jean Talon day and saw people walk around wearing the Quebec flag. There was an event and I think a concert at a parc in Montreal but didn't know which park and didn't know where it was but to be honest I'd planned so much that day that I wasn't really bothered about it. In hindsight I wish I would've gone lol it probably would have been fun. Oh well!!
The first market I went to was the marché Jean Talon. This was put down as a must do in the travel guide I bought! I was surprised to find mainly flowers, fruit and vegetables stalls but it was still very fun.
I found a shop that sold a bit of everything! I bought a can of drink that to be honest wasn't very nice (I had to force myself to finish it), a pack of BBQ and maple syrup crisps that I brought home to share with my mum (they were very nice) and 2 different types of chocolate bars that I also brought home to share with my family (we haven't eaten them yet)
I wanted to try Quebec strawberries because my Canadian friend told me to absolutely try them and they were the best strawberries I've ever eaten! I also bought some cherries that were also very very nice. I was having a hypo at that point so I had a sugarry drink and many strawberries and cherries which felt wrong because I usually can't eat too many fruits because it makes my blood sugar go too high.
Walked past a petrol station and wondered how much petrol was in Canada but I couldn't see any prices so I gave up lol.
The walk to the next market was about 3 hours which I thought would be too much considering I would have really bad hypos after only an hour long walk but also because I'd already walked almost an hour and a half so I thought I'd test out the local metro! I was surprised because it was mainly empty, there were loads of empty seats, it was clean, nobody was being too loud, there weren't any drunk people or people begging for money which are all things that are the opposite of the metro in Lille for example!
After getting the metro and a short walk, I arrived at the marché Atwater which was also put down as a must do by the travel book I bought.
I started with a smoothie from the smoothie and juice stall. I can't really remember what smoothie I had but I remember it being very nice, I found a picnic table near the juice stall so I sat there, had my smoothie and had more of the strawberries and cherries that I'd bought at the previous market. When I'd finished with that I had a wander around the market, it was very food orientated but it was mainly meat, fish or cheese to eat at home and I couldn't buy that but I still enjoyed it. I went to a spices shop called epices de cru and the lady was lovely, they had soooooo many different spices in there I must have spent at least 30mn smelling everything and choosing what to bring home for my mum and I to cook with. I ended up buying a Montreal steak rub just because I had to and also because my Canadian friend said I should try it lol!
I then walked back to the old port ( it was a very very long walk, about 2 and a half / 3 hours) through boulevard Saint Laurent which is a street I wanted to go to because they had lots of shops and souvenir shops I wanted to check out but I didn't realise everything would be shut as it was National Quebec day, I did think of going back there later in the week but decided against it because I'd already bought loads.
I couldn't believe it when I walked past a tasty crousty restaurant !!!! If you're french you'll know these are VERY popular in France and I know Quebec has lots of things we have in France, such as Columbus café, 3 Brasseurs restaurant, O'tacos and many others but I certainly didn't expect to see this lol!!!!
When I was going through the travel guide book before coming here, I found this vegan restaurant called Aux Vivres that was in boulevard Saint Laurent so I had one aim and that was to eat there for lunch. I had a caesar wrap which had: salad, crispy tofu, fake bacon, tomatoes and caesar sauce and it was SOOOOOOO delicious!!!! I was scared of not liking tofu as I'd never had it but it was REALLY nice!!!! I couldn't recommend it more. It was so nice I had it again later in the week and I still think about it about 3 weeks after coming back. In fact since I've been back I've been doing lots of research on recipes to use up some tofy we have at home and I've never used! I'm thinking of trying to make this wrap at home!
I had a break on a bench halfway through my walk back to the old port and I saw someone walk past with a Shane Hollander (from Heated Rivalry) hockey jersey!!!!! I wish I would've said something but I was so surprised that I didn't think of anything to say lol !
Only a couple of kilometers until the old port at that point, getting closer!!!!
Before going to the old port I had a wander through the little streets around the place Jacques Cartier. I fancied an ice cream but didn't know if they had sorbet and as a lactose intolerant I didn't fancy having a stomach ache for the next 3 days but I found a place that did cookie dough!!!! Which was lovely!!!!!! So nice I had it again another day! I can't remember the name of the place but if you walk past the flowery arch, it's the stall with blue doors only a couple of meters down the road on the right!
Another place I wanted to try was the Olive + Gourmando coffee shop and this time I did order an iced coffee but she gave me a hot coffee and I was too shy to say anything so I drank it anyways lol but it was very nice! I also bought a tote bag they were selling because it was very pretty!
Last few meters until my hotel! My feet were hurting so much I'd walked 15km that day lol
I bought a pack of bagels when I arrived, to have for breakfast but, bagels are a staple in Montreal and theres many bagel shops I wanted to try but I saw online that there's always a really long queue so I ordered bagels from Kettlemans on Doorsdash and it was the nicest bagel I've ever had! I got a creme cheese and bacon bagel and it was lovely! Would definitely recommend them!
I better get this post done, I promised my mum I'd make an apple and maple syrup crumble when I finished my post lol!!!!
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