Alan Mac's 50th in Montreal

I hadn't been to Montreal in almost 20 years, so it was great to get back for my cousin Alan MacIntosh's 50th birthday. It was a surprise so we spent the day on Friday walking around the city. It is a great place and you can see quite a bit in a day. We stayed at the Sofitel on the Golden Mile which was very nice. This is the part of town that was first settled by rich Scottish folks and has many beautiful homes and buildings, as well as McGill University, Canada's Harvard.

From the hotel we walked downtown, through old Montreal all the way to the port. But first we stopped for a little breakfast and I can highly recommend the Universel Déjeuners et Grillades, 2055 rue Peel.

There are several amazing historical buildings in old Montreal you have to see, but the one must see is the Notre Dame Basilica. Finished in the 1850's, it is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever been in. This iPhone photo does not do it justice. Unfortunately we unable to see it, but they have an amazing light show they put on several times a week.

Right next to the Notre Dame Basilica is the oldest building in Montreal, the Old Sulpician Seminary, designed by Francois Dollier de Casson in 1684.

If you keep walking through Old Montreal, you hit the Latin Quarter, home to more historical buildings and some great new restaurants. A great place to stop for lunch at one of the open cafes. If you keep heading towards the river, you will get to the Quays which serve as the port along the St. Lawrence river. Most are not in operation any more and now serve as the home to pleasure boat docks, tour cruises, restaurants and most importantly Cirque du Soleil, where we took in the new shw Ama Luna on our last night.

   

Of course the main reason we were all in Montreal was to celebrate Alan Mac's 50th. Here are my mom and dad greeting their nephew at the surprise party. Alan's wife Manon had done a masterful job setting up the party as well as other weekend events for all of us, without Alan suspecting anything.

Alan has done a lot of great things over the years, but nothing better than raising three amazing kids. This is Eloise, Clara and my godson Christophe.

We ate a lot of great food while we were in Montreal, but you know how I love to go low brow. Here is the crew, Alan, Peter, dad, Christophe and me at Lester's deli eating a Montreal classic smoked meat sandwiches. The meat is very salty, like corned beef or pastrami and Lester's is the place to go to get it.

After lunch, we made our way over to Olympic Stadium to watch the Montreal Impact vs. the LA Galaxy. David Beckham was playing for LA, so the stadium was packed out with 60, 000+ the largest crowd ever to see a soccer game in Canada. The game ended up a 1-1 tie, but it was a lot of fun.

 

Don't leave Montreal without going up to the top of the park, so you can get a great panoramic view of the city.