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Sunday 6 July 2014

Life Recently: Montreal Photo Diary, Part 2!

Hi, everyone! If you checked out my latest post, you'll know that I spent last weekend in Montreal- my first ever time in the city! The first two days took us to Mount Royal Park and Old Montreal, and today's post will share some shots from day three, when we visited tropical climates, did a bit of shopping(!), and ate a delicious vegan dinner. 

Here are my favourite photos from the day!

Adam and I were all smiles on Monday! Here we are posing among the foliage of the Biodome's tropical rainforest ecosystem, where we got to see some beautiful animals and where the humidity was really quite a force to be reckoned with (as my dewy glisten suggests). But before we went to the Biodome...


...some shopping! I had a light bulb moment on Sunday, which led to a Google-powered confirmation: there is an Inglot in Montreal!! I hadn't planned on making shopping a central part of the visit, but as there are no Inglot shops in Toronto, I made a bee-line for the Place Montreal Trust first thing Monday morning where I had a bit (a lot!) of fun creating a custom Freedom System custom palette. More about that in a future post! 

Now back to the Biodome! The Biodome is more than an indoor zoo, it's an attraction that presents 5 unique American ecosystems, complete with temperature, humidity, and wildlife. How incredibly neat! In the tropical rainforest section, some kissing parrots...


... some giant tropical fish... Oh, and a handsome boyfriend!


... and this resting guy (a yacare caiman), who was all teeth!

Me, amidst the tropical greenery!
 
And in the Laurentian Maple Forest ecosystem, a beaver! Doesn't get more Canadian than this :) Despite being a national animal, beavers aren't something us Canadians get to see every day (or ever). It was fun to watch this adorable little guy going about his business!

And my unexpected favourite of the day- Puffins! These inquisitive little birds were part of the Labrador Coast ecosystem and were such a treat to watch! I ended up bonding with one of them, who came right up to me and became instantly mesmerized by my shiny necklace. Such a cute little buddy!

Finally, the sub-Antarctic Islands ecosystem brought us some penguins! Such an amazing sight to witness in-person. Here is a group of them, just chillin' :)

And Adam made a new friend!
Overall, I'd recommend the Biodome to anyone! Such a rich, interesting, (adorable!) place to visit!
After the Biodome was a trip back to Rue St. Laurent where I stopped at a local café for lunch. Café Martin was an adorable little spot and the service was ultra friendly. I had an amazing brie, pear, walnut and honey sandwich (Le Evita) and the best iced latte ever! Would definitely stop in again next time I'm in town.

The walk up St. Laurent brought some lovely shops, including some fantastic vintage offerings, as well as this ultra fun and colourful wall art :)

For dinner, we stuffed our faces at Aux Vivres on St. Laurent, an amazing vegan spot! I had this vegan Caesar salad with capers, grilled tofu, and coconut "bacon" bits. So yummy!


We did a bit more wandering, and we stumbled across this castle. Strike that. It's a fire station! Leave it to a historic city like Montreal to create a fire house from such a mastic building :)

And finally, a beautiful Montreal sunset! 



So there you have it! I must say that my first experience in Montreal was nothing but wonderful. We saw a perfect smattering of sites and found the locals to be friendly and incredibly patient with my rustiness en francais. The history behind the city is evident and the spirit of openness was palpable. A truly lovely place to visit!

I hope you enjoyed taking a peek through my travel photos! Have you ever been to Montreal? Where have you visited lately?

Thanks for reading! xo

34 comments:

  1. hey sweetie

    such an amazing blog! loooove your this zoo!
    keep in touch:)

    you can find me on fb:
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fashion-Railways/265825453534258
    bloglovinhttp://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/3980126

    twitter https://twitter.com/FRailways

    love
    vicky

    http://www.fashionrailways.com

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  2. You guys look so cute together!
    And those puffins! >..<

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    1. Aww, thanks! The puffins were my fave :)

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  3. Never been to Canada even! I live in the Netherlands and my last city trip was to Berlin. I love doing little trips like this and I am now fully fascinated by Montreal :).

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    1. Ooh, I'd love to visit Berlin! Montreal would be a fabulous place for a first visit to Canada, but I'm also partial to Toronto :)

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  4. I hope you had an amazing time! The photos of the penguins are great!
    Stop by at some point, Sarah x

    sarahamyruth.blogspot.co.uk/

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  5. I love this post! It looks like you guys had a fantastic time! (and it looks like you totally held your own against the humidity!)

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    1. Thanks! I did my best- three cheers for longwearing foundation! It was a scorcher of a weekend, but we still had lots of fun :)

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  6. Looks like you had a fantastic time!! The sunset is so pretty :)

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  7. Haven't traveled lately, but it looks beautiful there!
    http://ifashionandbeautyblog.blogspot.com/

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  8. cant wait to see the inglot stuff you got!! and i loved the biodome so i'm happy you guys went too :)
    Jenn
    A Beautiful Zen

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    1. It was amazing! Would love to go back :)

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  9. Oh yay, sounds like you had a great time! I love the colorful parrots, but not so much that crocodile :p Can't believe the FIRE STATION there looks so great! I don't think it's even the case here in Europe!

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    1. I know- I couldn't believe it! Totally castle-like :)

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  10. Your pictures are super adorable xx

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  11. love the pictures :)
    http://saltskinned.blogspot.com.au

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  12. What an amazing time you two had!
    Fabrizia – Cosa Mi Metto???

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  13. fun photos! I love the images.
    xo,
    nancy

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  14. I had forgotten the Biodome is in Montreal! I love that place!

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  15. Great pics looks like loads of fun!

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  16. Thank you for taking me on a virtual trip with you, Jenn! :) I love the fire station 'castle' - I find it amazing when cities preserve old architecture like those :) And those PUFFINS are darn cute - might just be one of my favorite little creatures ever and I only learned about them through this post! Haha.

    Your makeup is ON POINT! You look absolutely gorgeous :) If you even had makeup on?? ;) It may just be your natural face!

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    1. Aww, thanks, Shari! Yes, definitely had makeup on :) It was great to see that Montreal had preserved so many old buildings and the puffins were so ultra cute! :)

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  17. Yay for travelling to new places :) It looks like you had a blast!

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  18. Aw, I need to get back to Montreal! I'm glad you two had a nice time :)

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    1. You do! The four of us should travel there together sometime :)

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  19. Puffins!!! Omg you saw puffins in real life!!!! Those creatures are so cute I could die, cross my heart. And that shot of the beaver is priceless. And the one of Adam and his new buddy too, of course.:)

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    1. I did! They were so utterly adorable :) Thanks, Peet! xo

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  20. I know, right! Yeah, it was super humid weekend, but we survived! I'm a vegetarian, not vegan, but a true vegan dinner is good once in a while (though I sometimes want to bring a bag of cheese in my purse and add it in;) It does sound like witchcraft to me too!

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All of your lovely comments make my day! Thanks for taking the time to share your musings, ideas, and opinions. Feel free to leave a link to your blog- I'd be happy to check it out :)