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Montreal

Parle vu français? I don’t either, but I still find Montreal very charming. A multi cultural island, here you can find Italian, Jewish, French, English, and Chinese neighborhoods just to name a few. There are so many things to see and do, unfortunately we were there for two days only, and took a walking tour in order to learn more history about Montreal. The weather was pretty warm (in the 90’s) so it wasn’t the best weather for a 3 hour walking , but nevertheless we were able to see many neat places like the Notre-Dame Basilica (last time we were here 8 or 9 yrs ago it was closed for a wedding), City Hall, and some of the charming cobble streets in the Old Montreal.

They remind me so much of Europe, the cobble streets dotted with restaurants, cafes, and creperies.

The food here is delicious as well. We had foundue and crepes at Chez Suzette ,and we walked 2 miles in 90+ degrees to try this Portugese restaurant called Ma Poule Mouille and it was so worth it(even though it might not look so appetizing in the pictures, we were so hungry I almost forgot to take a picture.) They specialize in grilled chicken over smoked wood, delicious poutine(fries topped with cheese curds and gravy), and salads. The chicken is roasted to perfection them cut and topped with a sauce that is made from the chicken drippings and wine. The lines to order are out the door but move pretty quickly.

(Chicken and Chorizo Poutine)Ma Poule Mouille

I found the little balconies with their bistro sets so charming I had to photograh this one.

Statue of Amphititre wife of Posidon (underground Montreal)

There is an underground city in Montreal which has shops, offices and restaurants. Above is one of the art pieces in front of a beautiful marble fountain. A piece of the Berlin Wall resides here as well.

I just love this bronze statue called Les chuchoteuses (English: “The Gossipers”). It was placed in this part of Montreal to beautify this specific neighborhood.

We even made a little friend who liked to sit by the water and dip it’s paws in it.

Maine

Endless lobster joints and costal shoreline, Maine is the “Vacation State.” This is our first stop among the 5 US states (and couple cities in Canada) we will be visiting for the summer. In Maine I fell in love with the beautiful cottages dotted along the rocky shorelines, the lighthouses, and all it’s history.

We tried whole lobster at two different restaurants and I have to say that for me in the end lobster is lobster if it’s boiled. I can’t imagine any place would have different tasting lobster than another, especially in the summer when tourism is at it’s peak. Sweet and briny, the lobsters range in size anywhere from 1.25-4Lbs! (We tried the 4 pounder and the 2 pounder and I would recommend the latter. The big one was chewier and super hard to crack!) Not recommended if you don’t have a man to crack your lobster, unless you’re very strong 😉

While driving around we spotted this quaint little town where the girls got “the best ice cream I’ve ever eaten” from a place called Stone Fox Farm Creamery. I have to say it was possibly the best, super creamy, you could literally taste the fresh creamy milk and blueberries. Blueberry ice cream is real big here because of the amount of blueberries that grow here in the summer. We won’t be here to pick them since they are ready end of July-Aug.

You can pick blueberries in many spots around Maine, especially around Acadia National Park. Acadia National Park is a 47,000-acre Atlantic coast recreation area primarily on Maine’s Mount Desert Island. Its landscape is marked by woodland, rocky beaches and glacier-scoured granite peaks such as Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the United States’ East Coast. Among the wildlife are moose, bear, whales and seabirds. The bayside town of Bar Harbor, with restaurants and shops, is a popular gateway. It has something for everyone, beaches, hiking trails, gardens, many gift shops and a few restaurants. We took a 4 hour trip with Olis Trolly. The trolley takes you around the park on either a 2 or 4 hour tour. I recommend the 4 hour since you get to see more of the best parts of the park then you can decide with ones to further visit on your own if you so choose to.

There are many lighthouses in Maine along it’s coastline. Each one is unique in the way it looks, but all of them have the same purpose,to serve as a navigational aid and to warn boats of dangerous areas. It is like a traffic sign on the sea. Up until the 1980’s, lighthouses were operated by lighthouse keepers who lived in houses next to the lighthouse towers with their families. While visiting these lighthouses it reminded me of a book I read called The Light Between Oceans by M.L Stedman. The novel is about a lighthouse keeper’s life during WWI.

The lighthouse we had time to visit were Portland Headlight on Cape Elizabeth and West Quoddy Head Lighthouse. Each unique in it’s own way, from the way they look to their history. Equally beautiful though.

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