Arrival in Montreal

After another five or so hours on the road - and a bit of time at the Canadian border - we finally arrived at our lovely Embassy Suites (brand new) on Rue Saint Antoine in Vieux (Old) Montreal. The hotel was truly gorgeous and everything was brand spanking new and sparkly. The decorations were unbelievable and Claire immediately announced that she wanted to live there.

We were starved and quickly made our way by foot down to the water to find an outside restaurant. No problem - and we had a delightful lunch near one of the Quays.

After lunch we explored a bit more around Vieux Montreal, which is absolutely beautiful. A bit later we ventured a few blocks over to Chinatown. It was such a kick for me to be in a place where both Chinese and French are employed at the same time. Since I've tried so hard to learn a little of each - and it's nearly nonexistent for them to be together.

After a brief nap for the girls (who were truly pooped) we hit the hotel's Manager's Reception (aka: free drinks) to pass a little time until Tara and Rachelle were to appear for dinner at 7. The reunion with Claire and Sydney was wonderful to behold (see photo above). The little girls and the big girls were just thrilled to ALL be together for the first time.

We had a great dinner, in one of Rachelle's favorite restaurants, which overlooked the waterfront. Afterwards, we did more wandering - looking at the gorgeously lit buildings. Then we headed to "Queues de Castor" - where they serve "Beaver Tail" - basically a big slab of fried dough with various dessert-type toppings. The girls loved it. Later, Philippe came and met us for what was supposed to be fireworks. Apparently, though, the entire supply had been used up the day before for Canada Day so no fireworks were had.

A great day.