Marché here, Marché there...

Spring has sprung in Montreal!  The days have warmed up and I’m starting to see flowers. Translation - I’ve traded my heavy winter coat for a much lighter one. Everyone is out in their yards, raking and bagging leaves, spreading mulch, and trimming shrubs.  The restaurants along Monkland Avenue have brought out their umbrellas and outdoor tables. Not to say that it won’t get cold again – but for now – this is what’s happening. 

We went to the Marché Atwater (Atwater Market) the other day.  It is a huge two story structure, built in 1933 with TONS of shops.  I couldn’t resist the fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries and blackberries) and grapes, 3 different kinds of cheeses, and 2 desserts.  David got the one called Queen Elizabeth cake – in honour of her birthday, I suppose, and I opted for the decadent chocolate fudge type thing.  And last but not least – I brought home a little bit of Texas - Stubbs Spicy bar-b-q sauce.  They also have all kinds of fresh meats and seafood, tons of bakeries, fresh flowers, etc. - all the standard market fare.  It was fun to just wander along and take it all in. 

In case you were curious, IKEA is pretty much the same in Canada as it is in the US.  We made the obligatory shopping trip there – obligatory when one moves into a 1050 square foot apartment with the world’s smallest closets.  The views from our apartment make up for the closets though!  We got a shoe rack to go by the front door and some drawers for the bedroom Expedit (which has since been replaced by the Kallax).  I never thought I’d know IKEA products by their names.  We also bought 2 stools for the kitchen.  Now all we need is a table to go with the stools.  Surprisingly enough – IKEA no longer sells the table that goes perfectly with these stools.  They use them in their restaurant so we seriously contemplated loading one in our basket to see if they would sell it to us. We ultimately resisted the urge. 

     

Yesterday, while wandering through the neighbourhood, we came across more wall art – apparently that is a bigger thing here than I initially realized.  I may have to make a whole posting with just the cool art I’ve seen so far.  Then we found the Supermarché Akhavan.  This is another local (much smaller) market with a good selection of veggies but also an amazing array of Indian foods, some ready to eat, some ready to cook.  There was a whole case of big blocks of goat (and all other kinds) of cheeses. At first I thought it was tofu – lol!  It’s a good thing I’m getting in a lot of walking because the food options here are amazing!  And on the rainy days – I can go to the gym downstairs in my building.  I’ve actually done that twice.  

Thanks for checking in!  Please come back and keep in touch.  Hugs from Montréal!