When the weather forecast for Vermont and New York state for the first weekend of August 2003 turned out to be "rain, and plenty of it", Carole Furr and Jay Furr cancelled their reservation for two nights at a pond-side New York state park in the Adirondacks and decided to head for Montreal and Quebec City instead.  Yes, it rained some there as well, but the difference lay chiefly in the fact that Jay has Starwood Preferred Guest points to burn thanks to all the traveling he does for work, and he was able to redeem a chunk of them for a club-level room on the top floor of the Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel in downtown Montreal.  Montreal is only two hours or so (depending on time spent crossing the border) from Burlington and environs, making it a great place for a weekend getaway.  (You'd think so, anyway.  In actual point of fact, Carole and Jay make it up to Montreal about once a year or so.  It's a complete mystery why they keep forgetting the world's second largest country, only 57 miles away.)

Friday night was spent at a Greek festival dubbed "La Flamme Hellenique" in the Old Port area of Montreal.  On Saturday, Carole and Jay drove to Quebec City, two and a half hours northeast of Montreal along the St. Lawrence River, and toured the walled "Old City" atop the cliffs, site of tons and tons of "Old World" charm dating back to the era of "New France" in the 1600's and 1700's.  On Sunday, Carole and Jay went to the Montreal Highland Games on the west side of Montreal.  One tends to think of Quebec as being mostly French, but in actual point of fact, it's quite a diverse place with ethnic communities of every kind (unlike Vermont, one of the most placidly white-bread mono-ethnic places around.)

Another thing Jay and Carole discovered was that, while in Montreal, you hear everything said in French and English, the further you go toward Quebec City, the more people speak only French.  This was a thrill for Carole, who finally got to try out her high-school French, and rather bewildering for Jay, who doesn't speak a word of it. 

Carole at the "La Flamme Helenique" festival, posing with traditional Greek costumes

Jay, peering at the baklava and related pastries at the "La Flamme Hellenique" festival

Carole examining a Montreal city map outside the "La Flamme Hellenique" festival, down in the Old City of Montreal

Jay showing off his lunch at the "Portofino" restaurant in Quebec's Old City.

Carole scarfs down fettucine and shrimp in the same Italian restaurant, "Portofino"

Carole poses with old-world architecture in the Old City

High above the St. Lawrence, on Dufferin Terrace, Carole poses with the famous Chateau Frontenac Hotel behind her.

A view south across the St. Lawrence toward the Quebec suburb of Levis.

Jay tries to make heads or tails of the French language menu at a McDonald's in Trois Rivieres, halfway between Quebec and Montreal.

Carole discovers that the Sheraton staffs the pool area on the 6th floor with a macaw named Cecile.

Carole in the elegant 6th-floor swimming pool in the Sheraton.

Carole tasting spruce beer (think "root beer", only made with spruce sap) at the Montreal Highland Games.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police pipe band performs before the opening ceremonies.

A cannon drill crew readies the cannon for the opening ceremonies.

The RCMP pipe band marches off the field during the opening ceremonies.

The cannon is fired.

Security goons precede a massed wave of pipe bands, made up of dozens upon dozens of pipers, marching in en masse for the opening ceremonies.

You haven't lived until you've seen a forest of pipes, carried by people in kilts, bearing down on you.

Drummers in the massed band parade.

A second wave of massed pipe bands.

Pipers in the second wave of massed pipe bands.

Drummers in the second wave. (There were two more waves after this one.)

Gaelic/Scottish fiddle music (Carole watches from the back).

Carole watches the Scottish fiddlers.

Carole shops for groceries in a Loblaws (a Canadian grocery store) -- what fun!

Sunday, 5 PM: A LOOOOOOONG line of cars waiting to enter the USA at the Highgate Springs customs station.

The Canada/USA border marker at Highgate Springs, Vermont.

Almost there! (Note the two cameras on every lane... one aimed at the driver's face, one at the license plate.)

Hit Counter

Images of the Furrs

Furrs.org