Montreal is a beautiful city. March is not the month to visit, generally, but I did have some lovely weather days. Well, two. But it wasn't terribly awful the rest of the time. Well except for one day when it snowed.

I actually have been back for exactly a week. It's just been insane since then getting ready for Holy Week...and other things to be posted about later.

My favorite things about Montreal...

1. The Food. Heavens to Betsy. Poutine: French fries with cheese curds and gravy (and other stuff depending on the restaurant). Poutine is food of the devil...and it's really good. They are a bit obsessed with Maple, but I suppose that's okay. I had good Italian, Mexican, French and American Bistro food. My only bad meal: Chinese, but I wasn't in Chinatown.

2. Mount Royal itself. Even still cloaked in snow, I heartily recommend that every major city have its main park be a 900 foot tall "mountain." Lovely backdrop for the city and cool views. The 400 steps...not so much. :-)

3. My hotel. The Hotel Kutuma. You can smell the restaurant food in the hallways, but who cares? I love the smell of garlic in the evening.

4. The Plateau District/St. Denis. Think Bohemia meets Chelsea in NYC. (Not to be confused with the Gay Village, which, to be blunt, once you've seen the Castro, everything else just seems like a copy.)

5. Le Marche Bon Secours. An old indoor market building is turned into a lovely cluster of shops, many with native baubles and (ugh) exotic furs. Nearby there are amazing art galleries.

6. Notre Dame de Montreal. A truly lovely Cathedral that is in fact two different churches. It is grand and lovely and delightfully over the top.

7. Cathedrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde. This is the "mother church" for Roman Catholics in Montreal and the third largest in Quebec. It is modeled after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome...and it shows.

8. Olympic Stadium. Stuck in a dreary part of town, the Olympic stadium is still impressive. The funicular ride to the top of the tower is okay...and certainly provides a good view of the city. I'm sure the extensive gardens would ahve been nice had it been a few months later.

9. The people. I tried to speak French. I really did. And they seemed to appreciate it. Everyone was lovely with me.

10. Metro. Montreal has a great underground system. It goes pretty much everywhere you want to go, and it's smooth (rubber tires, not tracks). I'd forgotten how jostling the EL can be until I could compare the two.