Two days after the wedding, we headed to Canada to Mont Tremblant, a ski resort near Montral. No, there was no snow! However, there were beautiful mountains, lakes, and brooks. We enjoyed gondola and luge rides, mountain biking, mini-golf, paddle-boating, and tennis. Unfortunatlety, hiking was out-of the question, as the mountain summit was dense with no-see-ums, a fierce biting knat. It was a balance between enjoying the view and accepting the pain! I struggled to remeber my French. Our first day in Quebec was St. Jean Baptiste Day, patron saint of the province, so we watched local bands by the lake and saw fireworks. We enjoyed sampling the local specialty - smoked meat sandwiches. There was even a "Parade du Follies" or silly-parade some evenings, with games, dancing, and bilingual fun for the whole family. 
After 5 days, we headed back to Montreal, where we stayed in a hotel from the '67 Expo. I felt like I was in an old movie, and it led to the underground city, a web of tunnels, subway stations, and commerce totally below ground level. We explored Old Montreal, from the 1600's, including mass at the first Basilica in North America (where Celine Dion was wed). I didn't know Montreal was a man-made island, on the St. Laurence River. The piers were busy. We explored the Olympic complex, which still houses the swimming and diving pools. Perhaps we saw some 2008 Olympians practice! We acsended the world's tallest inclined tower, overlooking the pro football team's practice. We had an even better view of the city from Mont Royal, a small mountain right in town! It was quite a hike, but a perfect day. We spent one evening at Montreal's casino, which is housed in the old French pavillion from the '67 Expo. I had quite the winning streak at the roulette table, winning at least one bet on 7 or 8 consecutive spins! brian fared worse at blackjack, but we still left about 20 dollars ahead. We wondered if the country was celebrating us, because there was another holiday on our last day! Canada Day had a very diverse parade and fireworks. It was also moving day in Montreal, the day all the leases end, so the city was really bustling. Now that we live so close to Quebec, we have our eyes fixed on Quebec City!
After 5 days, we headed back to Montreal, where we stayed in a hotel from the '67 Expo. I felt like I was in an old movie, and it led to the underground city, a web of tunnels, subway stations, and commerce totally below ground level. We explored Old Montreal, from the 1600's, including mass at the first Basilica in North America (where Celine Dion was wed). I didn't know Montreal was a man-made island, on the St. Laurence River. The piers were busy. We explored the Olympic complex, which still houses the swimming and diving pools. Perhaps we saw some 2008 Olympians practice! We acsended the world's tallest inclined tower, overlooking the pro football team's practice. We had an even better view of the city from Mont Royal, a small mountain right in town! It was quite a hike, but a perfect day. We spent one evening at Montreal's casino, which is housed in the old French pavillion from the '67 Expo. I had quite the winning streak at the roulette table, winning at least one bet on 7 or 8 consecutive spins! brian fared worse at blackjack, but we still left about 20 dollars ahead. We wondered if the country was celebrating us, because there was another holiday on our last day! Canada Day had a very diverse parade and fireworks. It was also moving day in Montreal, the day all the leases end, so the city was really bustling. Now that we live so close to Quebec, we have our eyes fixed on Quebec City!
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