TRAVEL // Montreal, Quebec

Hello!
Are you guys ready for my next instalment of my travel photos? Of course you are!
After a few days in Toronto, I grabbed my bags and jumped on a 4 hour train to Montreal. We met the most adorable Canadian couple who said 'ey' at the end of pretty much every sentence and who had been married for 60 years or something. They gave us lots of tips too - especially on marriage. You know you've got a winner if you have a husband who lets you eat crackers in bed apparently.

We filled up on lots of breakfast and pretty much ran out of the door of our hotel (The Montreal Travelodge - cheapest we could find and not fantastic but the location was brilliant!) We wandered down towards the Basilica Notre Dame and had a little walk around. The city itself was beautiful and seemed a lot more European than other places I have visited in Canada/the States. However, finding something open on a Monday is very challenging. No museums are open on Mondays unfortunately so beware if you are only doing a short trip!

The first place we really wanted to visit was the Basilica and it cost just $5 (I'm pretty sure) to have a wander in. It was absolutely spectacular. I have not seen anywhere like it for quite some time. It was really early in the morning and so wasn't too busy, thankfully. I think we must have spent a good hour in there in awe of it's beauty.

One thing that really got me was that everything really was in French! I'd just been in Toronto where everything was pretty darn English. 4 hours later and I had to figure out directions in French? Utter madness! 

As the day went on we lost multiple maps due to the winds that picked up all dust from the road and shoved it in your eye (sunglasses are a must!) I now need to go to Chicago just to see if the winds are stronger because if Chicago is the windy city - what is Montreal? I popped up to McGill University because I just cannot help myself when it comes to city university campuses. It's nice to see other prettier universities when yours is a concrete jungle with a lake (Sorry UEA!)

In the late afternoon/evening I made my sister pop into Timmie's (I miss those maple dip donuts so much!) to get a little pick me up before trekking up Mount Royal for a view of the city. It's quite a lot of stairs but 100% worth it. I may have wished that I fell down those stairs multiple times but the views were absolutely amazing. We could have had a clearer day (especially as it had been 25 degrees during the day!) and then it started to pour down with rain but that just gives me another excuse to go right?

And so that was my day in Montreal! I wish we could have stayed a bit longer and managed to see the museums but with 18 days to do 5 cities - something has got to suffer. I absolutely loved Montreal and would 100% go back if I had the chance.

Have you been to Montreal? What are your top tips? Let me know!