We headed down the busy St Lawrence Seaway toward Montreal. We cruised against a very strong current, passing landmarks like the Clock Tower and Molson Brewery.

We docked in Old Port and explored a very European-style city. It was a charming area, where everyone initially spoke French, but then switched to English for us, a relief since their English was so much better than our French!

We had dinner at Jardin Nelson, a beautiful and fun place with friendly staff, amazing food and live music.

The next morning, we took a guided scooter tour as a fun way to see the many different parts of such a large city. We went to the beautiful park at the top of the hill (Je suis desole, la montagne!), saw much of the street art, and tasted a Montreal bagel (you can choose sesame or sesame).

We checked out the farmers market, found more street art and sampled delicious gnocchi. The tour was delightful and a really cool way to experience a bit of everything.

The quiet city filled up on the weekend, and we walked miles each day to Chinatown (excellent dumplings) and to the free concerts around the Arts Center for Montreal’s Jazz Fest.

We had tons of fun exploring the festival activities and listening to tremendously talented musicians and singers.

There were fireworks over the harbor throughout the weekend, to celebrate Canada Day on July 1. It made us feel better about missing the July 4th fireworks at home.

Montreal was an amazing city and we’re so glad we got to experience it!