Montreal, Quebec

In Montreal, we were fortunate enough to be able to visit the mounted police in Quebec’s Mont Royal Park, which is like New York’s Central Park. There are twenty Canadian horses that the park police use when patrolling, not only the park, but the entire city. The horses and their stables are well taken care of. They ride all year round in the park, except when it is very, very cold and sleeting. Marie, one of the officers, has a true passion for her horses, especially Diablo, who is a Canadian breed. She talked about how great the strong and smart Canadian horses are for their line of work.

I really like Old Montreal. We stayed at Place d’Armes Hôtel, a hip, boutique hotel, which though modern, has managed to maintain it’s rustic brick interiors as well. The location was great, right in the center of Old Montreal, so we were able to go to a nearby pastry shop, Café Europea, and try these neon macaroons, which give a nice sugar boost in the afternoon. They were light and airy, but also tasty. They were filled with different fillings, like caramel apple whiskey flavoring, hazelnut, mint chocolate, and more. Yum! We also headed to a high spot in Mont Royal Park, a belvedere where you can see the entire city.