Among the many reasons I love living in Vermont, one of my most favorites is how closely located we are to Canada. This past week my boyfriend Ronan and I decided to tackle Montréal in a day, and what a day it was.

Hungrily waiting for food at Eggspectaion by Ronan Stapleton

We started off the morning at an amazing restaurant called "Eggspectation" located at 190 Rue Sainte-Catherine. I had the most amazing Eggs Benedict called the "Montréal Benny" which had the twist of Canadian smoked bacon and Swiss cheese on it. This delicious breakfast left me full, happy and ready to start the day!

This umbrella ceiling piece was breath-taking by Maggie Mae Whittemore

We then walked down Sainte-Catherine which is a pedestrian only road ducking in and out of shops and making small talk with a few locals. We found Centre Eaton de Montréal which was a gorgeous mall that had amazing art pieces like the one seen above and many stores, kiosks, and even a large presentation area in the middle where a man was discussing life in India to a full audience.

This blown glass piece represents the sun at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts by Maggie Mae Whittemore

After a bit of shopping our journey continued at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts on Rue Sherbrooke Quest. This is the 18th largest art museum in North America and is home to over 41,000 pieces of art. It was a beautiful museum full of friendly curators, breath-taking exhibits, and a lively atmosphere.

Rue Sainte-Catherine East decorated with pink orbs by Maggie Mae Whittemore

While continuing our wandering we found Rue Sainte-Catherine East which had been closed off to cars during this summer. It reminded me of Church street in Burlington with the colorful orbs hanging from the buildings over the street, and the cheerful environment of restaurants, stores and street performers.

Just living my dream of being a Barbie by Ronan Stapleton

Our adventure ended at the free Barbie Expo at Les Cours Mont-Royal. I know I am an adult, but I couldn't help myself. There were over 1000 Barbie dolls in all different designer outfits that represented countries, labels, movies; you name it, they had a Barbie for it. Plus at the end of the exhibit they had a life-size Barbie box you could climb into and of course, I had a fabulous picture taken in that.

Standing with Fernand Léger's "Large Sunflower" by Ronan Stapleton

My time in Montréal was wonderful, and I can't wait to go back and visit again.