Som jeg nævnte i går, er ahornsirup et produkt, som Quebecoiserne er meget stolte af. Så da André lavede havregrød til os i dag, var det selvfølgelig med ahornsirup! Vi smagte også lige på hans ahornsirupsmåkager til morgenkaffen, og så var vi klar til at kigge på Montreals gamle bydel sammen med François, som kom og hentede os i sin bil.

François har været med til at oprette Montreal-afdelingen af den internationale Greeter-organisation. Greeters er frivillige guider, som viser rundt i deres egen by. Man booker en gåtur med en Greeter ved at gå ind på organisationens hjemmeside, fortælle, hvornår man er i byen, og hvad man er interesseret i og så prøver de at finde en Greeter, som matcher det. Der er kun ens egen lille gruppe (eller en selv, hvis man rejser alene) med på gåturen – og det er gratis! Greeters tager ikke engang imod drikkepenge, men man må gerne invitere dem på en kop kaffe eller en drink undervejs på turen. (Læs mere om Greeters her: https://globalgreeternetwork.info )

François kørte os til en metrostation i udkanten af byen, og derfra tog vi toget ind til den gamle bydel, hvor vi gik en lang tur. François delte undervejs ud af sin store viden om byen og dens historie og kunne nok have fortsat resten af dagen, hvis vi ikke havde stoppet ham 🙂

Da vi trængte til en pause, tog han os med op på tagterrassen på et hotel lige ved den gamle markedsplads, hvor vi fik en kold drink med udsigt over Montreals gamle havneområde, hvor der i dag bl.a. er forlystelsespark og cirkustelt med Cirque du Soleil, som kommer fra M.

Vieux Montreal er i dag en blanding af gamle og moderne bygninger. Da vi havde sagt farvel til Francois fik vi lidt frokost og kiggede lidt mere på bydelen, og selvfølgelig fandt vi også lige en julebutik, som måtte udforskes ;-D

Derefter så vi på Pointe-à-Callière, byens historiske museum,  som delvist befandt sig under jorden og brugte resterne af de underjordiske bygninger til at fortælle Montreals historie. Interessant – og dejligt køligt – det var nemlig en varm solrig dag.

Fra den gamle bydel bevægede vi os op af bakken til den moderne downtown, hvor vi kiggede på flere forretninger, inden vi mødtes med Nancy og André i højhuskomplekset Ville Marie. Vi havde inviteret dem på middag og bedt dem vælge restaurant, og Nancy havde foreslået Les Enfant Terribles på 44. etage, ikke langt fra hendes kontor. Der var en superflot udsigt deroppe fra, og maden var god, så vi hyggede os vældigt med at sammenligne danske og canadiske forhold, snakke rejseoplevelser osv.

Efter middagen hentede vi deres bil og kørte til iscafeen Favoris, hvor Nancy og André ville give is til dessert. Favoris var startet i en gammel villa i Quebec,men stedet blev hurtigt så populært, at de måtte udvide og nu også har iscafeer i andre byer. Deres specialitet er is som dyppes i chokolade og drysses med forskellige toppings efter eget valg. Der var smagsprøver på de forskellige slags chokolade, man kunne få sin is dyppet i, og der blev ikke sparet på det! Mums!

Tilbage i huset fortsatte snakken, og det blev en meget hyggelig aften. Hurra for husbyttere og gæstfrie værter.

 

English version:

Maple syrup is – as  I mentioned yesterday – a local product which the Québécois are proud of. So when André cooked us porridge this morning it was of course with maple syrup. We also tried some of his maple syrup cookies with our coffee, and then we were ready to explore Vieux (old) Montreal with François, who came to pick us up in his car.

François is the founder of the Montreal department of the international Greeter organisation. Greeters are volunteers who show visitors around their cities. You book a walk with a Greeter through their website, tell them when you’re in town and what you’re interested in, and then they match you with a guide. The only participants in the walk is you and whoever you’re travelling with – and it’s free! Greeters don’t even accept tips but you can always buy them a drink or coffee during the walk. (Read more about greeters here: https://globalgreeternetwork.info )

François drove us to a metro station and then we took the train to the old city where we went for a long walk. François shared a lot of his wast knowledge of Montreal and its history and could probably have continued all day if we hadn’t stopped him.

When we needed a break he took us to a roof terrace on top of a nearby hotel where we had a cold drink and enjoyed the view of Montreal’s old harbour with an amusement park and a large tent with Cirque du Soleil which is originally from M.

When we said goodbye to François we had some lunch and explored some more in Vieux Montreal which today is a mix of old and new buildings, and we even found a Christmas shop which of course we had to check out ;-D

After that we visited Pointe-à-Callière, the Montreal museum of history and archeology, which was situated partly underground and which used the underground remains of old buildings to tell the history of Montreal. A cool museum – in more the one way – which was lovely on a hot summer day. From the old city we walked further up the hill to modern downtown where we looked at more shops before meeting up with Nancy and André in the Ville Marie Centre. We wanted to take them out for a meal to thank them for their hospitality, and Nancy had suggested the Les Enfant Terribles restaurant on the 44th floor, not far from her office. There was a fantastic view from up there, the food was great and so was the company. We had fun comparing Danish and Canadian cultures, travel and homeexchange experiences etc.

After dinner we picked up their car and drove to the Favoris ice cream parlour in Brossard where Nancy og André wanted to buy us ice cream for dessert. The place had started in an old villa in Quebec City, but quickly became so popular that the owners had to expand and now have outlets in several places. Their speciality is ice cream dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with different toppings. You could sample the different types of chocolate and they gave you a nice thick layer! Yummy!

Back at the house we continued talking and it was a truly ‘hyggelig’ evening. Hurrah for homeexchangers and great hosts!