Zee Little Details of my Montreal Trip

Again, for Larger views, click on the images.

Mmmm, the yellow-wrapped candy bar is my favorite... "Votre cafe, vous le prenez comment?" Translation: "How do you like your coffee?" My sophomore year at Ricks College (gag - excuse me - clearing my throat), I had several Canadian roomies and was introduced to various Canadian candies... it was through dear Jodi that I discovered Coffee Crisp! - pardon me, I don't mean to drool! I think I bought 6 of them while we were in Montreal? And no, I did not eat each one - I brought some home, including a couple other Canada-exclusive candies and gave them to office mates. I also brought home some "Robin Hood Crepe Mix." While perusing the shops of Sainte Dennis (the 'hip' and trendy part of Montreal), we found a killer candy shop ~ hence, the first-time purchase of Harry Potter's Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans for my angel boy-O and his cousins - 4 boxes. We have a hilarious set of photos taken during our tasting of these AWFUL jelly beans.
The pic that shows FUNK written in red, was taken from a large, most-awesome, most-coveted poster illustration of the American Family Tree of Jazz, kept in the my honey-man's SIL's office. I took the shot for Maceo Parker - and I was also sure to first find the name of Bill Evans and take a pic for my honey-man.

The pic of downtown Montreal across the water, was taken from the window of a FAST moving, speeding vehicle, while driving across on a bridge with side and overhead beams, no less...at least every other shot included structure beams of the bridge. This one, however, came out perfect (I think). See the gorgeous, well-tempered chocolate Labrador? May I introduce you to Gaiya (no clue how to really spell his name - sounds like "Guy+yah"), the coolest Lab ever and youngest member of my honey-man's oldest bro's family. See the lovely strawberry "declenaison"? I'm tellin' ya, my honey-man's oldest bro can sure work wonders for the human palate! Try diced strawberries with pieces of crystalized ginger, garnished with Thai basil -tastes like licorice- topped with basalmic vinegar!?! WAS DUHLICIOUS! and the lil' capuccino cup was filled with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream and strawberry slices, covered in cool strawberry puree and warm ganache. OMG - soooo good! An amazing chef! I could go on and on.

See the oh-so quaint stepping stone path laid beneath the ivy-like garden archways? This is the home of my honey-man's parents!?! Um, can ya say GORGEOUS? I was utterly amazed - the whole place was like straight out of a Home & Gardens mag and it didn't feel like a museum - it was warm, relaxed and comfortable, welcoming and wonderful.

See the boy on his knees by the side of a stone bird bath, reaching into a tiny pond? this lil' spot was in their backyard and the angel boy-O discovered FROGGIES! And yes, he caught one and promptly brought it inside to proudly show his Gran-mama what he had ~ ahh, she wasn't so thrilled, but once she'd shooed him away, she graciously applauded his desire to share his find with her. He was so absolutely freakin' adorable - TOTAL CUTENESS, I tell ya!
See the little beach and lake docks? This blessed childhood haven served as a playground for my honey-man. How cool is that? and from the backyard where he lived, up on the hill (Saint-Sauveur ain't by any means "mountainous"), he could go through the woods and just hop right onto the ski slopes?!? and Yes, those are "ski slopes" = no poking fun! Growing up, did you ever have "ski slopes" accessible from your own backyard? I didn't, but I sure would have loved it! ~ even if it had to have been like skiing Miami Beach. OH, and the pic of the white hydrangea? it was loaded with busy buzzy bees! they were so cute! The flowers in Montreal were soooo abundant.
The picture of weird fuzzy green stuff is a sample of the different mosses (sp?) that were growing on the roof of the cabin we stayed at on Fraser Lake (did you know there are over 2 MILLION lakes in Canada!?!). During this trip, honestly, I can't tell you how many pictures I took of moss and fungi - let's just say LOTS. I find fungi fascinating, but right now, let's not dwell on that any further. We spent the night in an amazing location ~ my honey-man's younger, older bro just bought the cabin less than a year ago and it could be considered nothing less than a labor of love, all the work they've done since they'd acquired it. There was no electricity beyond a generator to operate the water pump and give some brief moments of light in the kitchen or bathroom. Otherwise, we were using candles and oil lanterns = way, way, WAY cool. We also went fishing and my honey-man's younger, older brother's sweetheart wife prepared the most awesome fishing fare - Before we hit the lake, I had thought she was preparing part of our dinner in advance, but it was for our fishing trip on the lake!?! Wine and wine glasses to the ready! Off that note: I HAVE NEVER DRANK SO MUCH WINE IN MY ENTIRE LIFE - and GOOD WINE at that! My honey-man's family loves to cook and dine and eat and eat some more and eat well - not in excess, but WELL. The cooking and all the restaurants were fantastic. See the forest trees shot? This is the ROAD to the cabin!!?! Can you believe it? we're talking REMOTE! BEAUTIFUL! QUIET! NATURE! UNTOUCHED! and their previously owned cabin? It had ZERO electricity and could only be reached by boating across the lake!?! Again, it was a wonderful, wonderful experience.
The fishing tackle spinner? The angel boy-O's ultra fisherman uncle/owner of a St. Hubert restaurant gave us a couple of them and they were taken from us by airport security - before they were confiscated, I snapped a couple camera shots for memory's sake.