Churches, Cafes and Airports

This past weekend I fell in love with Montreal again. I had lived there and left a few years ago and was happy to make peace with the city again. It’s not all that difficult considering the seemingly endless churches and cafes to visit.

My friends took me to Le Cartet in Old Montreal for Sunday brunch. It’s a sophisticated, cosmopolitan and buzzing location in the old Port. Locals and tourists dine indistinguishably. The coffee is excellent, decor hip, and food spot on. We ate on large family style tables, enjoyed refillable illy coffee and discussed the suave charm of the place and neighbourhood.

On what will probably be my last trip to Ottawa for some time, I had to sneak in a visit at one of my favourite downtown cafes: Planet Coffee. The pedestrian name and lacklustre signage hide a real gem of a locale. In the historic Byward Market area, through a charming alley, Planet Coffee offers a cosmopolitan and quality experience in a lovely nook of downtown Ottawa. The drip and espresso coffees are top notch and the baked delights leave nothing to be desired. Make sure to pop in if ever in the neighbourhood.

As my girlfriend and her sister were busy buying clothes from a local boutique, I stole an hour or so and spent it happily at the Bluebird cafe in Ottawa. The sun gleamed in just perfectly as the roaster, beautiful espresso maker and wooden counter tops anchored the cafe in the most handsome and inviting way. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone visiting the Ottawa area. www.bluebirdcoffee.ca

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on any airport experiences on this site - mostly because cafes and churches are so much easier to come by, and far less expensive!

That being said, I recently flew into Ottawa and snapped a few quick shots heading towards the luggage carousel. With Obama’s re-election dominating the news, the seated statue of John A. MacDonald with Panasonic logo in the background, perfectly captured the campaign frenzy just ended and the modern conglomeration of politics and technology.

I spent the Labour Day weekend in and around Niagara-On-The-Lake. I made a point of visiting the Mount Carmel Monastery in Niagara Falls. It is a beautiful and active monastery open to the public.