Montreal

Internet woes have prevented me from posting every day but I do it as I am able. We always hope for a better signal tomorrow!

On Friday Bob and I followed signs to a local antique barn’s Rooster Palouza, a flea market and antique sale near our campground. We enjoyed wandering through the offerings and I picked up a couple of treasures for our Mesa home.

We had been watching weather reports which predicted lots of rain in the forecast but those predictions did not come to pass. We had great weather almost our whole week here. Therefore on Saturday we decided to celebrate Bob’s upcoming birthday in style and leave the country.

It took us about a half hour to make it to the border and about five minutes to pass through. Easy Peasy! Another 45 minutes later we were pulling in front of a parking meter in Old Montreal. Parking in any big city can be difficult so I had researched possible sites through www.parkopedia.com, my new favorite parking guru webpage.

Our first stop was at the Château Ramezay, a lovely home built in 1705 for the Governor of Montreal.

It was filled with exhibits of life in colonial Canada such as finger woven sashes, paintings, and recreated rooms.

This portrait of Benjamin Franklin was one I have never seen before. It’s from the late 18th century and is from an English original preserved at the Offices Gallery in Florence, Italy. 

In this kitchen you see a large round cage set into the wall. A small dog would have been put into it to turn a roasting spit in the fireplace. When the dog ran, the wheel turned and so did the spit. This method was used at the end of the 17th century although spits were usually turned by hand.

The cigar store Indian was used as a tobacconist’s signboard. Since they were the first to grow tobacco in North America, Indians (called Amerindians in Canada) became a symbol of tobacco vendors beginning in the 1850s.

We had a lovely time wandering through cobblestones streets and visiting shops, and enjoyed a lovely lunch at Maggie’s Oaks.

Construction played havoc with our exit from Montreal but after being redirected several times we managed to get back on the road back to the States. And as a plus, the border crossing we ended up using was much less crowded than the one we had planned to use. So after five minutes we were through again and heading to the campground.

Bob’s actual birthday on Monday was more low-key. I made him a big breakfast and in the afternoon we took in a movie. It was a lovely day.

Tuesday is a moving day for us and we head for Vermont.