Montreal

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Bonjour!

Knew I should have taken French in high school! We had a pretty drive yesterday from Niagra Falls to Montreal. Tom plotted a new route which took us back into the U.S. via Buffalo rather than around Lake Ontario, which saved us about 3 hours driving time. Saw vinyards that produce some of wine that New York state is famous for, and we could tell that the fall colors (or should I say colours) are on the way. We saw quite a few golden trees with splashes of red maples. We passed through the Finger Lakes section of the state. I've enjoyed seeing, or being close to, places I've read about in books, such as Seneca Falls, and Chataqua. We thought we had good directions to get to our hotel in downtown Montreal. What an adventure!! Lots of highways intersect, there are tunnels and bridges, as well as construction and one-way streets, not to mention signage that was only in French! Luckily the Marriott Chateau Champlain (another great use of the points Tom accrued while working) is very tall, so we could see it in the distance! Even so, we had to close in on it in ever-tightening circles in what was now rush-hour traffic. That's why, once we arrived, we opted to valet rather than self-park. And Tom has already gotten written (in English) directions for leaving Montreal tomorrow morning. Confession time: I had the first major meltown (definition of major meltdown: tears were shed) of the trip during that little adventure. We found a busy pub a short walk from the hotel, and we both felt a bit more relaxed after a beer and some food. This morning we took a generic Gray Line three hour tour of the city, bilingual, of course. We got a good overview of the city, although we swore we had driven yesterday some of the places the tour took us today. Lots of beautiful churches, both Roman Catholic and Anglican. Many quaint, beautiful old buildings and large pretty parks. We saw lots of people on bikes, and can't imagine how that would work in below-zero winter weather. And no, we have not explored the over 20 miles of underground Montreal, but who knows....the day is still young. I'm happy because we found a patissiere and bought dessert for tonight. Again today, we have been blessed with beautiful, mid-70's weather. Tom & Nancy

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