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Our second full day in Montreal was simply lovely. In the morning we headed up to the Marché Jean-Talon , the largest of Montreal's four public markets. I felt as if we had wandered into Europe. The gorgeous produce carefully displayed, the charcuteries, the boulangeries, patisseries. Snack bars selling cassoulet, pasties and tartes aux pommes. Almost all the stands offered samples - of tomatoes, mangoes, oranges, cucumbers - all kinds of produce. (Where were those tomatoes from? They were explosively delicious.) I love markets. All the colours, textures, sounds - I really find them so sensual and enticing. In summer, Jean-Talon has outdoor stalls as well, and although the indoor market wasn't huge, it was great. After the market, we went back on the subway and found Schwartz's the famous "charcuterie Hebraique", or Hebrew deli, as it is called. After a short wait (apparently there is always a line at Schwartz's), we were seated at a table with a group of foo...

Montreal bagels! Why oh why did I not know about Montreal bagels all the other times I was in this great city?? * * * * We had another easy drive from Duchesnay to Montreal. The first part of the trip was beautiful, through snowy woods and farm country, the same scenery we had seen by dogsled the day before. When we got to our hotel, we were so pleased. The Petit Hotel is terrific! I absolutely recommend this place for urban explorers who appreciate a good hotel. Our room is large and extremely comfortable, with a stylish design and lots of little extras. The staff is very friendly and helpful, and you can't beat the location in Vieux-Montreal. Instead of offering rooms with different amenities or types of beds, this hotel rates their rooms by size: small, medium, large, and extra large. We took the medium, only $20 more than the small, and it is really lovely. This page has some views of the rooms, with exposed brick walls, splashes of orange and mod design elements. We walked a...

And while I'm at it, I might as well post this. And now back to Quebec.

Can it be? Are progressive people supporting right-wing libertarian Ron Paul for the US Presidency? In 2008 I wrote on supposedly liberal people supporting hillary clinton . I didn't agree with that choice, but I understood it. This... this is just insane. So Ron Paul opposes foreign wars and the federal power build-up. Ron Paul also: - opposes legalized abortion for any and all reasons - would allow states to regulate abortion, including prosecuting pregnancy terminations as murder - has signed "the personhood pledge," which would ban many methods of contraception - opposes all government involvement in healthcare, including any bare-bones safety net (but apparently making abortion illegal is not government interference in health care) - opposes all government-mandated civil rights legislation, such as laws forbidding businesses to refuse to serve people based on skin colour - opposes all health and safety regulation of business - opposes all environmental regulations - ...

We had our third and final awesome breakfast at Chez Hubert, then said goodbye to the Crying (or possibly Laughing) Dresser and hit the road. Station touristique Duchesnay is about a half-hour from Quebec City, outside of Ste-Catherine-des-Jacques-Cartier, on the Lac St.-Joseph. (Place names here are very big on the saints, also on hyphens.) I've finally learned how to pronounce Duchesnay - doo-sh- nay - and I believe "station touristique" means "resort". It's part of Sepaq, the Quebec provincial park system. We knew Duchesnay from our trip to the Ice Hotel five years ago, and I was really excited to return on this trip. It's such a beautiful place - a great hotel, great food, lots to do (far more than we avail ourselves of) and so scenic. We got settled in our room, had a quick lunch, put on every layer of clothing we brought and headed down to Aventure Inukshuk , the dogsledding (and snowmobiling) outfit. Last time we were here, in 2007, we did a one...

Last night we went out in the neighbourhood of the B&B, in search of a local fast-food chain that mainly serves poutine. We found a Chez Ashton a few blocks away, a brightly lit, bare-bones place with a steady stream of locals scarfing down the smothered fries. Supposedly they also sell hot dogs and roast beef sandwiches, and even a sad-looking salad, but nobody seems to eat anything but poutine. We ordered something called a Dulton avec saucisses , which had meat and sliced hot dogs along with the requisite gravy and curds. It's a complete artery-clogging, blood-pressure-raising special, disgustingly delicious. Immediately afterwards I felt like drinking a litre of cold water to wash down the salt. But it was highly yummy. We walked around the neighbourhood a bit more, but every establishment was packed, either with large families of tourists or large groups of locals. We weren't in the mood for crowds and noise (we never are) so eventually we stopped at a tiny convenienc...

The drive from Mississauga to Quebec was long but easy. My only concern was winter storms, and we saw nothing more than the occasional flurry. In fact, for the portion of the trip in daylight, it was bright and sunny. I love long road trips; Allan gets cranky near the end, but 10 hours in a car, who can blame him. As you drive through the gate into Vieux-Quebec, you're immediately struck by the difference, and the beauty. As everyone says, it's like suddenly being in Europe. Especially coming from the land of strip malls and townhouses, it's almost hard to believe we're in the same country. The B&B Chez Hubert is in Latin Quartier, on a beautiful historic street. As we drove up, a horse and carriage were clip-clopping by, and whole scene fringed in snow. It was picture-perfect. Our room is small and perfectly comfortable. It's supposed to have a view of the Chateau Frontenac, and if you look from just the right angle, over the rooftops, you can see the top of t...