Montreal is buzzing with excitement!

Bonjour!  

                 FRIDAY FAVORITES FROM MONTREAL!

Today I am delighted to link up with   lErika from A Little Bit of Everything and Andrea from Momfessionals for their weekly Friday Favorites Link-Up!  If you want to go somewhere in North America where most people speak French, you will definitely want to visit Montreal! 

Why Montreal?

While in Savannah last April, we had Montreal Bagels at Spread Bagelry.  We loved the bagels so much that we decided to go to Montreal to eat the "real deal" bagels.  In addition, three years ago, we had been to Quebec City which we totally loved.  Plus, Montreal is five hours north of Boston so it should be cooler weather (NOT true; it was in the 90's the entire time!).  Anyway, check out some fun activities we managed to do!  

Walking Tour of Old Montreal

We first went on an excellent walking tour of Old Montreal while it was extremely hot, and it was Trash Day so we had plenty of obstacles!  Our tour guide, Carole, managed to keep us in the shade as much as possible while giving us the lowdown on the "old" part of the city.

Luckily, one stop was Montreal's World Trade Center which is indoors!  There is a section of the Berlin Wall:

Interestingly, when I did my Junior Year in Paris through Hamilton College in 1980 - 1981, I was so lucky to see the actual Berlin Wall!  

We saw the Notre Dame Basilica from the outside but did not go in as it cost over $15 to enter.  Luckily, you could see the garden outside where the clergy live.

Botanical Gardens

We took the metro to the Botanical Gardens which were outstanding.  We started in a greenhouse where we saw plenty of carnivorous plants and cacti. 

After that we visited the Chinese gardens:

Before leaving the Chinese garden, I took a picture of some bees enjoying an ancient plant:

My goal is to get this picture posted some day on the New York Times' Spelling Bees Game!

This place was outstanding!

The Biodome

This museum allows you to visit five different North American ecosystems in one place!

The first ecosystem was the Arctic where we saw penguins and puffins.  Then we visited the capybaras (my favorite):

Montreal Bagels!

We took a bus from the hotel to the Mile End neighborhood to visit Fairmount Bagel.  I thought the bagel place would have seating, but it's purely a take and leave store that is open 24 hours a day.  The bagel variety was amazing and overwhelming.  

On either side of Fairmount Bagel, there was Caffe Grazie-Mille with homemade cannoli, and on the other side, Drogheria Fine with homemade gnocchi.  If you like to eat, this is the street to visit!

Winners = the TJ Maxx/Marshall's of Canada!

One afternoon we strolled over to Winners.  A lot of the merchandise was similar to what we have around here, but I loved all the French greeting cards!

In Closing...

I loved going to Montreal that I want to go back again and see more of the city!

Remember:  If you want to read more great blogs, head here:

Happy Labor Day Weekend!  Thank you for visiting today!

Flying By Fast Summer: Friday Favorites!

Hello there!  Summer is the season that passes the quickest, and with good reason - there is so much to accomplish.  I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything to highlight this week's Friday Favorites!

                           Friday Favorites!

Sand Castles

At Revere Beach (the first public beach in America), there is an annual sand sculpture competition.  We went on last week after the crowds were gone:

Mapping Boston!

Here's a flashback to a summer course I took: Mapping Boston In the American Revolution course.  (Click here to get teaching materials you can use in your own classroom!)  My lesson centered around mapping the Boston Tea Party - the route from the Old South Meeting House to Griffin's Wharf:

This is an enlarged section of the Bonner Map of Boston (click here to see the whole map).  The Old South Meeting House is at the corner of Cornhill and Milk Streets.  Griffin's Wharf got cut out in this picture.  The lesson plan would involve mapping the route the Sons of Liberty took.

If you want to see the location of the Old State House, it's on the upper end of King Street.

As a follow-up activity, I'd love to recreate colonial Boston.  Here's the display from the Old South Meeting House:

Click here to see a Boston Tea Party diorama on TPT.

Books About Boston

When we were at Old South Meeting House, I visited the gift shop to get book ideas:

My favorite book was the Freedom Trail Pop-Up Book, but I just checked on Amazon, and it costs $29.99.  Maybe I'll save that purchase for when/if I get a gift card. 

Animal Atlas

I read about this great book in another blog, and I had to buy it for myself:

The Animal Planet Animal Atlas is amazing and colorful.  It's full of fascinating facts and close-up pictures of so many animals.  I picked the pictures of the moose and the puffin because I want to see those animals in real life - maybe some day!  Click here to check it out on Amazon!

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

Last, but not least, I went bought some items at Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale:

This cap isn't part of the sale, but it's so cute I bought it for my daughter.  But, if she doesn't want it, I am happy to have it!

I got this black Wit and Wisdom pants for the cooler weather.

Lastly, I bought this cozy cardigan.  Years ago, I bought a "grandpa" sweater from Nordstrom.  I wear it all the time because it's so cozy so I'm hoping this sweater is equally comfortable.

Did you buy anything fun lately?  

As always, thank you for visiting today!  Remember to check out the other great blogs at:

Just July Friday Favorites: Montreal; What I'm Reading;

Hello there!  Happy July and welcome to another Friday Favorites link-up hosted by Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything.

                                     FRIDAY FAVORITES!

Traveling

In August, we are planning a trip to Montreal!  I have been twice, but very briefly and a long time ago.  We can drive there, and it takes a little under 5 hours!  If you have been and have any must-do places to see, please let me know.

Puzzling!

Now that I'm retired, I have plenty of time to do fun activities!  Consequently, I pay for a games subscription to the New York Times for $50 a year.  The games are a fun daily diversion and keep my mind thinking. I'm amazingly loving the Connections Game in which you need to find groups of four :

This is today's (7/20/25) puzzle.  I end up spending a good chunk of time because I look up the words that might have multiple meaning.  I got the above puzzle with 3 mistakes.

Reading

What's not to enjoy about the summer?  Our weather has been in the 70's and low 80's!  There is usually a breeze.  I get to go in my pool and do my water aerobics.  Plus, I get to read a lot!  I just finished these books:

I often opt to get my Amazon orders delivered the following week in order to get digital awards like a free e-book.  The above book is a perfect summer read, too!  Here's part of the summary from Amazon:

After thirteen peaceful years in suburbia, Trixie finds herself on the run with her teenage daughter. Between dodging aging mobsters and bumbling assassins, she has to come clean about her identity with the people who matter most.

In this book, three women who live in 3 different time periods, struggle with similar situations.  This book was a Good Morning America Book Club selection.  If you're looking for new book recommendations, head to their site and pick out your next book!

Need a new bathing suit top?

I just picked a new bathing suit top on Amazon.  I just realized that all my old ones are stretched out.  Check it out:

A few things I love about this:

1.   It covers my chest.

2.  The geometric and colorful pattern.

3.  Tummy control.

Sweet Dog Book!

I am hoping that author Ewa Erdman who visited our school in June, can sell lots of copies of her book:

The author adopted a three legged pitbull who became a therapy dog for amputees and other rehab patients.  In addition, Ewa donates all proceeds to animal shelters!

Here is a picture of Ewa and me when she visited our school:

As always, I appreciate that you visited my blog today!  Please let me know if you have any book recommendations or ideas for what to do in Montreal.  

Check out the link up to read more great blogs here: