Most of our trips end up being defined, purposefully or not, by some theme that emerges. Last week’s trip is brought to you by food, or better, dining. Using Debbie’s stepsister’s house as our gastronomical launching pad, we started in Portland, Maine, and ate our way from there to Montreal. We had no idea that there are just so many excellent restaurants in this area. Neither of us are the people taking pictures of everything we eat — we much prefer to order and enjoy the food and company or take in the atmosphere. So, sorry, no food pics. But, restaurant list provided below.
Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine seems made for excellent dinning. With the ocean to the east and forageable land to the west. Fresh asparagus, fiddlehead ferns, and sea food were always on the menu – everywhere. The weather was still up-and-down or back-and-forth, but this is Maine, so anything over 50 degrees called for shorts, t-shirts, and surfing.
- Tandem Coffee Roasters
- Fore Street Restaurant
- Central Provisions
The Portland Museum of Art was excellent with a historic collection presented with context and a good critical perspective. An excellent waterfront, a fish market, and time to stroll on the beach where they have their own Piping Plover nests with less beach drama than we find in Chicago.
Vermont
- Hen of the Wood
- Frankie’s
- August First
We stayed in Burlington, Vermont, for a couple nights. Why? Restaurants, of course. And a good stop on the drive to Montreal. A couple of pretty and odd detours took us to Diana’s Bath or, as originally named by the local Abenaki tribe, Water Fairies’ Spring. The name Diana’s Bath seems to have some Roman reference. Then on to the odd part. Apparently a must-visit, the Museum Of Everyday Life. A very odd but not very interesting place. I think we already know everyday life is either boring or gross.
Our favorite non-food-related stop in Burlington was the Shelburne Museum. A museum of art, design, and Americana with tons of artifacts displayed across 20 relocated historical buildings and one steamboat. From a complete house containing hundreds of bird-hunting decoys to a renovated barn full of horse drawn carriages and sleighs. Without repeating their whole website, here’s the link: https://shelburnemuseum.org/
Montreal !
And finally, Montreal. Apparently restaurant heaven. While we probably did not stay long enough, we enjoyed the parts of the city we did see. Parts of the city are old, as seen in the galleries below, and it’ s very walkable with a clean and efficient train system for getting around.
On a straight-up hike to the top of Mount Royal I, once again, almost placed Debbie in mortal danger.
- Cadet
- Le Butter Blume
- Foxy
- Candide
- Cafe Olimpico
- Cafeden
Montreal
Old Montreal
Our hotel, Hotel Gault, was in Old Montreal. There, the buildings are solid and ornate on narrow cobblestone streets. The buildings give the city a real old-world feel. I had a bit of a cold so only took a few good camera walks, but the window from the hotel offered some good opportunity for compositions.
