With just a few hours to spend in Montréal, we headed for Vieux Montréal, the 375-year-old center of town. City leaders and preservationists have done an excellent job here of keeping historic buildings and celebrating their legacy.
Entering this section of town, you feel like you are transported to Europe with brick streets, grey-stone buildings and sidewalk cafes and shops (500) for every taste. We re-grouped by starting with lunch in a cute café. There are so many, we finally selected one for ambiance and the thought it might rain. Once situated in front of large plate-glass windows with a good view down the main street Rue Saint-Paul, we shared a steak, salad, and pomme frites and watched tourists dodge raindrops. 
It had been so many years since we were there, we took in as much as we could before the encroaching thunder “drove” us back to our car. Highlights include the imposing City Hall, dramatic Notre-Dame Basilica, striking Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel (now a museum), imposing Marché Bonsecours, now housing trendy shops, and the lively Place Jacques-Cartier marketplace lined with sidewalk cafes and filled with street artists and performers.
The birthplace of the city is by the river and the Old Port area also has parks, rides and very large ROPES-style course fashioned to look like the rigging on an old ship.
Of Note:
There are lots of parking garages on the outskirts and we had no trouble finding one near Chinatown. Day rate was about $15 CA, which was reasonable. It’s hard to find the tourist information centers; I couldn’t even get a nearby site in the Old Town to come up on my iPhone, so be prepared. You can download a map/guide in advance from http://www.vieux.montreal.qc.ca/infos/pdf/attr_09a.pdf.
Note the traffic is awful, in every direction, construction is everywhere. Plan accordingly for it to be busy during peak rush hour times. We actually went to a Costco to get gas for our rental car, only to find out in Canada they require a Costco MasterCard, not Visa like in the U.S.
Le Château Montebello is about an hour from Mont Tremblant, Montreal or Ottawa in the Outaouais region. Situated on the Ottawa/Outaouais River, you feel like you’ve stepped into the pages of a fairy tale. The lobby is huge, yet cozy, with seating groups, game tables and an incredible, massive six-sided fireplace anchoring the center.
It’s the largest log cabin in the world, appropriately known as the “log castle.” Huge black logs make up the distinctive six-sided structure. Trimmed in bright red, the color theme is carried into the lush gardens, and the expansive lawn stretching to the river features plenty of intimate seating areas. The complex is extensive and includes just about every form of recreation you can imagine, from ATVs, golf and swimming in warmer months, to bonfires and ice fishing in the winter. I just want to have hot chocolate and read by one of the fireplaces.
I can’t believe I didn’t know about this place (thank you, Walther). Now a Fairmont hotel, for 40 years it was a private retreat, The Seignory Club, and membership included Prime Ministers, royalty, and Canada’s business elite. Built 1930, workers used 10,000 hand-cut red cedar logs from the forests of British Columbia. It took 3,500 craftsmen 3-4 months (depending on which hotel info you read) to complete. Amazing.
In 1970, it was opened to the public by Canadian Pacific Hotels and has hosted U.S. Presidents Reagan and Bush, as well as celebrities like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.
I can just imagine this place at Christmas, in the snow . . . with all those fireplaces roaring.
Giant Fir trees reaching to the stars, crystal clear lakes, spectacular sunsets and good friends welcomed us to Quebec’s Mont Tremblant resort area. A huge ski resort much of the year, the area is transformed during the brief summer months into a much more temperate paradise.
The resort was created in the 1990s on land that once was part of the Algonquin Nation. First accessed by outsiders in 1892, with the arrival of the P’tit Train du Nord, the area now features abundant parks and recreation opportunities. Home to both the Parc National du Mont-Tremblant and Le Domaine Saint-Bernard, a 1,500-acre eco-tourism area, the original train bed in now the longest linear park in Canada.
New development blends in nicely with the earlier Le Village and “downtown” areas. Even name hotel chains have built in the village style and blend seamlessly with the new shops and restaurants that populate the resort. Not surprisingly, shops skewed toward outdoor gear, but I actually stumbled upon a Desigual retailer with decent European stock. When you finished shopping and eating, visitors can ride a gondola to the top of the 2,800’ summit and enjoy 360-degree panoramic views.
Glittering lakes and the meandering Riviére La Diable enhance the landscape. The men did a bit of guided fishing one morning, but it was not to be a record-setting day and as they left Lac Ouimet, they heard to say “Ouimet no fish today.”
We played two rounds of golf at La Belle and Le Bête, the Beauty and the Beast, both very pleasant courses. I am happy to report I only lost two balls, and one of those disappeared in plain sight.
Touring the area was fun, and we enjoyed seeing nearby villages and even a brief visit to the local casino (where I am ashamed to admit I insisted on playing the OMG Kittens! slot machine. Yes, that really was the name, and those cute kittens let me down big time). In other breaking news, my husband survived the French-inspired meals we had at several very nice restaurants.
“Relaxing?” Well, maybe that’s in the eye of the beholder . . . It was a wonderful visit, and we are fortunate to have such terrific friends!
Not all distilleries are huge with recognizable names. The bourbon industry has exploded in recent years and there are dozens of new products on the market, from both established distilleries and a few new kids on the block. Be sure to check out the businesses known as Craft Distilleries. In 2012, the Bourbon Trail launched a Craft Tour. Craft doesn’t necessarily mean new but is more size-related. Family owned and run Willett, for example, is more than 80 years old and is one of 13 distilleries featured in the craft passport. And remember, not all distilleries are included in the official trail – for instance, Buffalo Trace.
Every property had its unique features and personality and although the basic principles for distilling are the same – grind the grains – cook the mash – ferment and strain the product – store in charred white oak barrels – and age for at least 2 years. Jim, our tour guide at Willett wins the award for the best guide with hard facts. He really explained the details of the cooking process. It was a fitting conclusion to our series of tours and at least one in our group felt they were now ready to distill their own.
Located in Bardstown, known as “Bourbon Capital of the World”, Willett is undergoing a renovation to their visitor’s center as well as an addition that will include two bed and breakfast-style facilities and some lakeside cabins. The Willet tour ($12) also featured a look at their gleaming copper pot still, the inspiration for their beautiful bottle design.
In this Rickhouse, they were also curing hams for a James Beard-nominated chef with restaurants in Nashville and Charleston, putting that Angel’s Share to good use. So logical, I will have to make it a point to try some one day soon.
We have sampled many bourbons new to us and have learned how to study the color, identify the smells (gotta smell it with your mouth open), how it tastes on different parts of the tongue, and the “finish” after you swallow.
In the final analysis, as one guide said, “the best bourbon is the one you like.”
Favorite Facts: I have two here. Bourbon is taxed annually, from the first year it is in the barrel. To prevent the “burn” that some bourbons produce after you swallow (and which distillers call a “Kentucky Hug”) don’t inhale – it is actually caused by the fumes you breathe as opposed to the liquor you drink.
Bourbon Trail: www.kyboubontrail.com
Craft Tour: http://www.kybourbontrail.com/craft-tour
Willets: www.willettdistillery.com
