Fancy food on the Orford Express

Ticket office

My dear Mr.Bear

AAA Angus Prime beef wrapped in bacon  

We were on the bridge with the train.

Dessert: hot caramel cake with vanilla something like that. 

Having a dinner on a train while enjoying sightseeing was definitely one of my dreams. When I watched the Japanese TV program that introduced sort of that luxury trip in Japan, it made my mouth water. Coincidentally my boyfriend received a birthday gift from his sister and brother in law. The gift was exactly what I have obsessed with for ages, and I just took advantage of him.

The train was leaving from Sherbrooke train station which is a two hours drive from Montreal. The departure from Sherbrooke was at 2p.m and the return was around 5:30p.m. During three and a half hours, we had deluxe meals, in the meanwhile, we stopped in Magog where we wandered around for 30 minutes, after that, the train kept running to Eastman and turned back to Sherbrooke station.

I was really into the retro decor when I just stepped on the train. Unfortunately I was too shy to take photos inside so the quality of the image( top third ) is not really good. There were two screens to guide people on the view we saw( French only however ), one was on the front and the other was on the back for people who sat in the opposite direction. I was so satisfied with the service because the waiters were very attentive, kind, and with warm smiles. The trip ended up with one of the waitresses's performance. I felt something touched my chest when I heard her beautiful voice. I would like to do a trip like this again, though I didn't see any young people like me in this trip(?!).

Oh! I forgot to describe the food. Anyway, I can only give them two thumbs up and I'm drooling now. You are smart enough, I'm sure you will see what I mean:)

For someone who is interested in having a outing train trip, please check the link: http://www.orfordexpress.com/en/home.htm

Muru Crepe

I really like this moustache because of Mr.Pringles:)

The other day my friend and I went to one of my favorite brunch places called Muru Crepe which is located in old Montreal. The decor of the restaurant is based on the vegetation color and there were many very large windows so the place was breathing with light, which made me very comfortable. I ordered a Madame muru crepe with bocconcini, tomato, pesto, almond, basil and olive in it. I could also opt for a salad or French fries or both. The crepe was so yummy and the fries were the best I ever had in Montreal( I didn't compare them with poutine ). I cannot wait to go back for their Bailey's crepe or anything else on the menu. So who's in with me?

Yuki

My ex roomie Yuki with her friend Yuuko came to Montreal last Saturday. I went to the airport to pick them up and when I saw her, I was extremely excited as if a doggy saw its owner coming back from military service in Iraq. It had been a year I had not seen her. The purpose of her visit to Montreal was to see:
1. Indigo cafe, where she used to study; she loved the atmosphere of the place
2. HABITAT 67
3. ME, who was the last one on her list...

Even though I didn't go to Indigo cafe with them, I showed them:

Tam-tams in Mont-Royal park.

The knight fighting game. I told her that many kids would be there and dressed in middle ages knight costume. "They are not kids, " Yuki whispered.

After Mont-Royal park, we took metro to Jean-Drapeau metro and walked around 50mins to HABITAT 67. There were so many flies around the bridge before the dark that we couldn't open our month to talk to each other. 

We finally got to see HABITAT 67. On our way back downtown, nobody wanted to take the bridge so we took the opposite from where we came. Not long after, we found a 168 bus stop and we took a bus back to town.    

We had dinner at m:brgr where Yuki insisted on having a meal. She had three mini burgers with three eggs. I haven't got the permit from Yuki, thus I can't show her face on my blog.

She brought some souvenirs from Japan for me. When I opened the bag, I almost cried because I was so touched that she remembered all the Japanese snacks I mentioned to her when we were living together. These snacks mean at a lot to me and bring back memories of my student life in Japan.

Yuki and I used to live together. We had done so many things in that huge kitchen/living room, such as cooking, sharing life experiences, asking advises, skipping classes, discovering good food in town, laughing, doing foolish things and blah blah blah. In fact, she cooked most of the time. I still remember the conversation we had every morning...

Yuki: I'm cooking. Do you want bacon?
Me: Yes!
Yuki: Salad?
Me: Um, okay!
Yuki: Eggs?
Me: Sure!
Yuki: Lunch box?
Me: Thank you!

She was just like my mom. I feel that I miss her already...

18th century market

Even the little boy was helping to sell stuff.

I was looking forward to attending this Festival for quite a long time because I have missed it twice since 2010, and I finally got to see it this year. The event was taking place on 25 and 26 August in the old Montreal. 

Despite the fact that it was an unbearably hot day, it didn't prevent people from coming. There was some vendors who were selling food, clothes, natural products and so on, and buskers were all dressed in retro-chic clothe of course. If any of you read my post Road trip day 5 I: King's Landing, you will find out how much I am obsessed with those going back in time things, especially the gentleman I posed with in the last photo, who was so adorable, wasn't he? But I don't wanna cross the line so I have to say that the person who took this shot for me is the best :)        

M4 Burritos

My boyfriend and I went to this place a week ago. We were attracted by the pictures of chicken, pork, beef and veges under the signage: M4 Burritos. I'm always keen to try new things, therefore, I stepped in the door and talked to the staff. The place was like a Subway style Mexican restaurant. At first, I needed to choose from four kinds of base of burrito, tacos, bowl and salad. After that, I could opt one sort of meat, two veges and two sauces.

I opted for a bowl and had chicken, rice, black bean, corn, guacamole sauce and cheese on it. I was panicked to see a small mountain in my plate when I went to pay the bill, though the price was pretty economic ($7.95). I can't tell the place is the best in Montreal but what I liked was the fresh food and I had options to mix the food I wanted. I didn't finish the small mountain in the end, so next time I will probably ask someone to share one with me or bring a plastic container to take out the remaining. Oh! Oh! don't forget to try their non alcohol Margarita ($4.95) which was sour a bit but sweet at the same time.


M4 Burritos
close to metro Berri-Uqam

Road trip day 7: Back to Montreal

The last day of our trip, we passed by some places to take rest and have some fun. At each village we stopped by, I was looking for downtown, and my boyfriend advised me to look for a church. He was right. At the center of every village, there was a church...

It was a really hot day, we were driving through a narrow road and were attracted to a coffee terrace full of people. We stepped in the coffee shop where there already was a small line up. I was falling in love with the warm color decor in this place at first sight. I had a cup of latte as if I filled my tank to go on the road.  

L'Atelier du Voiturier

L'Atelier du Voiturier was a very impressive museum. The owner, Daniel spent fifteen years to make all those exquisite masterpieces after his retirement. We didn't know if we needed to pay for the admission at first, but he said it was free, if we wanted to pay, we could donate money instead. 

After that, he started guiding us and was very kind to explain each section of the story of what those little people were doing. Despite the fact that he was speaking in French, I got a good translator, my boyfriend so I enjoyed going through the past with those cute characters. He even showed us the workshop he owns and I noticed a piece of wood that was being transformed into a horse. Daniel said that making a horse would take three days. What an incredible work. I was truly touched by his passion for his artwork and for making such an spectacular museum. Thanks a lot Daniel!!       

The happiest time was always flying fast. I experienced many things, viewed many breathtaking landscapes, ate good food (sometimes) and met different people in this seven days damn long driving trip. All these things fulfilled my spirit. That is why I travel for.    

Coffee place

La Levée du Jour

344, street Principale, Saint-Vallier, Canada G0R 4J0

Tel: 418-884-2715

Daniel's Museum

L'Atelier du Voiturier

15, rue de la Durantaye, Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse, Canada G0R 3S0

Tel: 418-884-3644

Adresse 

Road trip day 6: Montmagny

The room was renovated so it looked better than the one I saw on their web.

There is a pool after the bridge.

My first snails in Canada.

Another long driving from Fredericton to Montmagny. It also meant I'm going back from bilingual province to French only province. I think I'm gonna miss those cities I've visited. We didn't have enough time to visit that day because we knew that we had to drive six hours to our hotel. I can only remember I hit some worms with my windscreen, saw many animals dead body on the road side and noticed many drivers didn't use the turn signal when they changed line, which really pissed me off. How did they get their driver's licence!?

Despite arriving at our hotel a bit earlier than we had planned, we didn't feel like to walk around the town. We were just too lazy to go out, and instead preferred to enjoy the facilities of the hotel such as the pool and the sauna. I even learned to swim! After that I looked in the guide book of Montmagny to find a good restaurant where to have dinner, just to find out that one of the best in town was in our hotel.

The food in the hotel was amazing. I've died for having snails since I arrived in Montreal. When I discovered they had snails on the menu, I got extremely excited. Not only this, the other food I ordered was delicious as well. Plus, the service made me feel comfortable. For all those reasons, my boyfriend and I decided to have breakfast in the hotel the day after. Overall, I got recovered from tiredness. Thanks to my boyfriend for making a such brilliant choice.

If you are interested in staying in this hotel, I suggest you to book the room near the pool which has a better view and is more convenient to go to other places in the hotel.


Hôtel L'Oiselière
105 Poirier road Montmagny, Quebec G5V 3T4
Tel: 418-248-1640

Road trip day 5 II: Fredericton

We had dinner at the palate in Fredericton. The restaurant was quite wide and each table had a proper distance from others. I ordered a risotto with some scallops and a lobster tail on the top. The lobster was much tasty and tenderer than the one I had in St-John (place check Road trip day 2: Saint-John), not to mention the price. Even though I bit a small piece of the shell from the risotto, the waitress handled very well, thus I had no complain.   

After dinner, we went to see an outdoor summer concert at Officers' Square. There was a place next to the stage where visitors could borrow a chair without paying money by pawning a personal identity card. Despite the fact that I wanted to enjoy the night life, the weather in Fredericton was so different from morning to evening that I couldn't stand being there too long. Thus, we changed our plan to venture more in the town.

Lighthouse on the Green

The Green

The Palate Restaurant

462 Queen Street, Fredericton, New Bruswick E3B 1B6 

Tel: 506-450-7911

Road trip day 5 I: King's Landing

The sawmill was closed after being destroyed by a storm. Hopefully they will repair it one day.

The groceries were sold for real.

We drove four hours from Prince Edward Island to the Kings Landing historical settlement. The place reproduces a 19th century village with houses, school, church, shops, farms and so on. Each spot had an actor who dressed in a traditional costume and introduced us to the story of the owner of the building and the families who lived there. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to listen to each presentation, we were rushed from this point to another and took some quick photos.

The most interesting place for kids must have been the farm. We could see piggies, ducks, horses, a flock of sheep and experience milking a cow, however, I didn't feel like to torture a poor cow, after I saw a cow's nipple become red and swollen.  

Anyway, I was happy to see this cute village which reminded me of a computer game: Dungeon Siege.


See here for more the info on Kings Landing Historical Settlement