4 days in Montreal

Sorry for the delay in blogging folks. Between a very pricey hotel in Montreal ($10/day internet connection) and forgetting our SD card reader in Camas (so no pix yet folks....sorry!) - we decided to wait until getting settled in Burlington to post.

Day 1 - Travel and arrival in Canada. 7/10/07 4AM PDT - the alarm rings to get to our 6:30 flight out of PDX. That's ok, I've been up since 3:30 after getting to bed at midnight due to last minute packing. OK - truth be told, PATTY was up till midnight, I called it at 11:30 or so!!

We were immediately impressed by Montreal's architecture, old stone buildings, and CHURCHES CHURCHES CHURCHES everywhere!!

Anyway, you can imagine our moods as we load the van and get the kids off to the airport. Actually, adrenaline kept us going, so it wasn't too bad! We made the flight in good order (in some ways travel is so much easier since 9/11 - for example, no fighting over overhead bins since everyone is limited to one carryons!) and landed in Chicago for our transfer to Burlington. 40 minutes to go from Terminal B to Terminal C, but luckily the gates were near the tunnel, so we had no problem making the second flight.

After landing early in Burlington (even though we had to divert around a huge thunderhead), we had to wait for our rental car for about 1/2 hour. By then (about 5pm EDT) we needed a break before hitting the road to Montreal - so a quick dinner at a pizza joint and off we went.

I should mention baggage......each kid had their small suitcase that we checked (you know the kid sized travel bags they've used all these years) and one LARGE duffle as a carry on. While Eric and Colin's carryons were reasonable (a book or two, one stuffed animal for Colin), Kelsey's was stuffed with the following: 4 (yes 4) stuffed animals, one blanket, two books, one crossword puzzle, and God knows what else! She insisted on putting it under the seat to have access to it during the flights, but it was so unwieldy she coulded pull it up to her lap anyway!! I packed one large (new) suitcase with too much stuff (I brought formal clothes in case I joined Pat at any of her conference events, and of course that isn't going to happen!!!) and another bag full of fishing gear (waders, fly boxes, boots, etc) that had to get checked. I also carried the family daypack, and had it stuffed with my travel survival kit (eyemask, neckpillow, noise cancelling headphones, book, and contact stuff for emergencies, etc) as well as the family rainjackets. Pat got away with our one small suitcase and her computer bag.

Anyway, we finally hit the road to Montreal. THe kids fell asleep and missed their first border crossing (not that there was much to see!) and with all the snoring going on I struggled to keep awake in the gorgeous Quebec countryside.......until we hit Montreal traffic. After crossing the St Lawerence river 3X (we got screwed up in some construction traffic and went back over the bridge the way we came.....couldn't read the French instructions correctly!!!!) we got into the downtown area and weaved our way to our hotel.

We were immediately impressed by Montreal's architecture, old stone buildings, and CHURCHES CHURCHES CHURCHES everywhere!! We passed at least 3 large Basilicas on the way to our hotel. It seems every neighborhood has a Basilica....no small churches here!

Our hotel was one of the nicest we've stayed in as a family - probably 3 to 4 stars. Unfortunately given the strong Canadian dollar ($0.95 to the US $1.00 - when we booked the trip it was $0.84!!) it was pretty pricey as well. Oh well, the room included a full "American style' breakfast for 2, we got free newspapers every day, and it was convenient to Pat's conference at McGill! However, with parking being $20/nite extra, we decided NOT to splurge on the Internet connection!!

Pat needs the computer now, so I'll have to give you the scoop on Montreal tomorrow night. Pix will have to wait until we get home to Camas...Sorry!