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Today was our big tourist walking around type of day. We first had a large brunch at Chez Cora (I pretty much stuffed myself silly with fruit and bread). It started to rain so we took some complementary umbrellas from the hotel. Then we headed to the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal, which I had not been to before. There was lots to see, but without a tour guide or booklet, much of the meaning and history is lost to me. We did get an introduction to the place from a short tour, but we really did not have that much time to stay and look around. By now, we were getting torrential rains. I was very glad that I was walking in my sandals, as my feet were soaked (along with my right side that was not protected by the umbrella). The next stop was Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount-Royal. I had not been there either, and it was a new experience. I was able to climb the steps to the top cathedral, so I got a little bit of exercise that day.
We wandered through the small museum situated there, and when we left, the rain had eased. I was still full from brunch, but HakkaKa wanted to have some 'poutine'. We headed back to the hotel and walked into 'La Belle Province (restaurant)' where we ordered one. The 'poutine' was good, but the curds were not as fresh as I would have liked.
After a short break in the hotel, we headed out to dinner. MJNL's dad wanted Chinese food, but wanted to stay near the hotel, so MJNL found a restaurant called Mr. Ma's within walking distance. Considering how hard the rain was falling at that time, walking distance was not very far.
When we got there, we found out that the restaurant was closed on Sundays. Doh. To top it off, the rain really started coming down in torrents again. We decided to head to 'Saint Catherine Street' to look for another restaurant. After a short walk, MJNL's dad headed towards a Harvey's, but the rest of us settled for a Reuben's Deli instead. The smoked meat was good, but the fries were bland. I was not hungry (still) so I was able to save half of the food for lunch tomorrow.
We went back to the hotel after dinner, while the kids went out to pick up the bagels from Fairmount Bagel and smoked meat from Schwartz's Deli. The car was packed full of 'Montreal-style bagels' and 'smoked meat' for the ride back home.
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