Summer beers in Quebec City

/ Greg / Leave a comment

My recent trip to Quebec City didn’t have a lot of time for sightseeing and exploring, but I did manage to squeeze in some craft beer samplings around the work and networking that goes hand in hand with a conference trip. Shortly after arriving in one of the most beautiful cities in Canada, I was in need of a quick lunch, and the craft beer bar Le Projet was a short walk from my hotel. The delicious Horreum Beta, a session saison from Microbrasserie Pit Caribou, was a wonderful match for a truly outstanding poutine. Solid start to the trip.

Le Projet: Horreum Beta by Pit Caribou

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Across Canada, Chewy’s last trip

/ Greg / 1 Comment

After moving myself to Saskatoon to take a new job in early April, I returned to the Maritimes to pick up my wife and our dog for a 4,000km, seven day car trek from her family’s home outside of Fredericton, NB to Saskatchewan. I had missed my wife and dog something fierce for the six weeks. When I left them in Halifax at the end of March, before leaving our home to catch an early morning flight, I made sure to say a special goodbye to Chewy. He was suffering with some health issues, and I wasn’t sure I would ever see him again. Fast forward six weeks and a number of vet trips later, Chewy was there for me in New Brunswick.

The night I surprised him with my return, he jumped on the sofa beside me and laid down on top of me.  Our dog likes to be close, but not too close, so I could tell he really missed me. And the next morning, he wouldn’t let me out of his sight, even camping outside a bathroom up a steep flight of stairs to make sure he could be close. On this early morning, he had no idea the adventure he was in for…

Chewy in Nackawic, NB

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Parc Jean-Drapeau public art

/ Greg / 2 Comments

One of my earliest travel memories is an afternoon I spent with my dad in Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal in 1981. I was seven years old, and on what was to be my first trip to see my Montreal Expos, a major league baseball strike killed those games (why I still love this sport is beyond me – strikes took away my first games as a child and then my team for good as an adult), leaving us with some extra time to explore the city. We used some of that extra time to tour the park, and the memory of first seeing Alexander Calder’s sculpture “L’Homme” still exists in my mind.

When I was in Montreal for work back in April, I used the little time around the edges of the conference I was attending to visit some old favourites, including wandering around Parc Jean-Drapeau to visit a number of pieces of public art. One of the first pieces on my tour was “L’Arc” by Michel de Broin. Up close, this sculpture looks like it’s made of organic materials and has the appearance of a real tree. Interestingly, it’s made of high performance concrete.  It was a mind-bender when I touched this piece.

L'Arc by Michel de Broin

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Craft beer sampling in Montreal

/ Greg / Leave a comment

Since I moved to Saskatchewan, I have realized that I have moved to a place that is a little behind other parts of Canada in the craft beer revolution. In a couple of months in my new province, I have sampled most of the craft beers available. So, on my recent trips, I’m making sure to get my craft beer experimentation in before stepping on the plane to come back home. In Montreal for a few days back in April, I managed to find a few new favourites.

On an afternoon with a couple of free hours, I made a stop at Dieu du Ciel and fell in love with their bar. It would be a routine hangout location for me if I lived in Montreal. Of my time in the city, two of the best beers I tried were from this sampling selection: the Aphrodisiaque/Aphrodite stout (second from the left) and the Rigor Mortis Blonde (on the far right). Also not too shabby was the Blanche Van de Plateau (second from the right).  All in all, a great tasting experience.

Flight at Dieu du Ciel!

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Bucket list Montreal meals

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There were two restaurants in Montreal I had always wanted to visit for a meal – Joe Beef and Au Pied de Cochon.  Feeling like my body was ready for more foie gras in two nights than the previous 41 years of my life put together, I started with dinner at Joe Beef the night I arrived in Montreal.

Sadly, my wife wasn’t able to join me as we had planned as she was tending to our sick dog back on the east coast.  With me having already moved out to Saskatoon, this was to be a catch-up weekend of some good meals in a city we both love.  Without a dining companion, I saddled up to the bar, still eager to sample a few dishes.  And what a selection there was.  I stared at the evening’s menu on the chalkboard for some time before finally deciding on a plan.

Chalk board menu at Joe Beef

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Montreal murals

/ Greg / 4 Comments

Montreal has a vibrancy and energy that is unmistakeable. The city oozes culture from every pore.  Animated conversations over a glass of wine rise from sidewalk patios. A world’s worth of music spills into the street from homes and bars. There’s a rich selection of public art – some historic, and some modern, abstract and mind bending. And then there are the murals.  Sides of buildings in Little Italy, Little Burgundy and along Saint-Laurent Boulevard make for an open air art gallery and turn even a short stroll for a coffee into a memorable experience. These are a few of my favourite murals from a few days of walks around beautiful Montreal.

From an evening stroll in Little Burgundy near the Marché Atwater before a meal at Joe Beef:

Montreal mural

Montreal mural

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Montreal food favourites

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I’ve spent enough time in Montreal to have a few go to food places.  A trip to the city isn’t complete without a couple of staples.  These are mostly things you already know about Montreal, and I’m not ashamed that my list isn’t one of under the radar places.  All of these are wonderful and deserved of the attention they receive (well, maybe all except the last on my list).

First off, every trip to Montreal needs a stop for a Schwartz’s smoked meat sandwich, a dill pickle and a black cherry Cott cola.  I’ve sampled some of the world’s great sandwiches and this is one of my all time favourites.

Schwartz's smoked meat sandwich

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The best dog that ever lived

/ Greg / 8 Comments

When you adopt an almost ten year old dog, you are faced with the inevitability that the end isn’t ever that far away. My wife and I knew that going into this. “Old dogs need love too” became a bit of an early theme. “We’ll enjoy what time we have” was another rallying cry. When things took a recent turn for the worse, we went back to those to help give us comfort. Truth is, no matter how difficult these past days have been, neither of us would trade anything for the time we had together with our Chewy.

Chewy, aka Chewbacca, aka Chewbert, aka El Cheberto, aka Uniboob McFluffypants (due to his pronounced basset hound chest and the fact that I believe all dogs should have the last name McFluffypants) was our dog for thirty one spectacular months. His past is an unknown for us. We think he’s part shih tzu (face, hair) and part basset hound (body, bark, temperament). His face looks like that of a muppet with impossibly large eyes and teeth that don’t point in any consistent direction.  He’s a mutt in all of the best connotations of that term.  He was, without any doubt, the best dog to have ever lived.

Chewy at the lake

You already know how this story ends, but all good stories have a beginning, a middle, a plot twist and then an end, and should be told in that order. So here goes.  This is the story of Chewy, at least the part he lived with us. A life lived with unrestrained and boundless happiness and love.

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