Montreal

I can't believe its taken me so long to finally post about my little jaunt to Montreal. I flew out for the day on Saturday, April 14th and had a lovely time strolling around Old Montreal taking pictures and shopping on St. Catherine's Street.

Almost immediately after getting off the shuttle bus into Old Montreal, I stumbled upon a huge sale featuring Quebec designers. It wasn't open until 10 am so I continued on the cobblestone streets, taking in the beautiful architecture and feeling as though I were in a little corner of Europe. The buildings were stunning and overrun with tiny boutiques and art galleries. After spending some time at the designer sale (I left with only a small yellow purse), I found myself at a creperie across the street from a funky little art gallery. The gallery featured work by contemporary artists including Gary Taxali, Pete Fowler and Gary Baseman.

I eventually made my way to St. Catherine's Street which is a really fun street lined with trendy shops and restaurants and great for people watching. I think my favorite "character" from this trip was the little man in a cowboy hat dancing on a pedestal while another man dressed up in a Spiderman costume and a sailor hat cranked some tunes. And my least favorite... the man that was urinating (full frontal, no less) in-between two parked cars. 'Nuff said.

I discovered Simon's, a fantastic retail store with great style, where I managed to pick up a few notable goodies (think: purse, spring jacket and top). I also visited Archambault, which is a bookstore similar to Chapter's or Indigo except everything is labelled in French.

While it was a nice way to spend the day, I think it would have been even nicer had I been with my little family or a group of my galpals. At the creperie, I noticed a table full of friends - laughing and chattering away - and it made me realize how much I missed having my galpals here in the city.

All in all, it was a wonderful little excursion and "Artist Date" (as suggested in the Artist's Way by Julia Cameron). However, I was more than happy to get home to my little family and share my day with them.