February 6, 2017 - Tanya's Winter Wonderland Tour - Day 1 - Montreal, Canada - Down Hill & Cross Country Skiing

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 67 DAYS
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Fun Facts about Montreal & Cross Country Skiiing

Soooooooo  - did you watch Super Bowl 50?  I'm sure there are going to be lots of people calling in "sick" for work

I heard it rumored that they are trying to make the day after Super Bowl Sunday a holiday since so many people don't show up to work anyway.

Now, I'm not a Lady Gaga fan, but I have to say, she did keep it clean and classy and as a result, I enjoyed the half-time show.​

My girlies were rooting for The Patriots and very upset since the Falcons were well ahead in the third quarter (28 to 9)

But in the end, in overtime ...THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS WON!!!

LADY GAGA AT SUPER BOWL HALF-TIME SHOW (credit: abcnews.com)

Well, let's get down to the real fun of the day for me and Tanya - THE FOOD!!

Yes, I was busy most of the day, cooking away.

HERE'S A VIEW OF OSME OF THE GOOD EATS WE ENJOYED LAST NIGHT:

OUR SUPER BOWL TABLE (c) travelincousins.com

CRANBERRY-BRIE CROSTINI (c)travelincousins.com

PEA & FETA & MINT CROSTINI (c)travelincousins.com

NACHOS (c)travelincousins.com

PIZZAADILLAS (c)travelincousins.com

CHICKEN CHILI (c)travelincouslns.com

Well, a big BON VOYAGE to Tanya today as she leaves on her Winter Wonderland Tour today!!

The first destination city is Montreal!  This will mark Tanya's 3rd annual return visit to this French speaking Canadian city!!

And while she and her gang head out today, let's take a look back at 16 of the Most Interesting Facts about Montreal from February, 2016 and add one more!!

17 OF THE MOST INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MONTREAL!

1. The original settlement was known as Ville-Marie.
French settlers, led by Paul de Chomodey de Maisonnevue, founded the first European settlement on the island now known as Montreal in 1642. 

2. Montreal was incorporated as a city in 1832.
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3. The name 'Montréal' comes from Mont Royal, which means 'Royal Mountain' in French.

4. Montreal has a flag with five symbols. The cross represents Christian principles. The fleur-de-lis is for the French, the shamrock for the Irish, the thistle for the Scottish and the Lancastrian rose for the English.

5. The cross on Mount Royal was put in place in 1924, a sign to remember the flood that nearly destroyed the early French colony in 1642
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6. No building in Montreal can be taller than the cross on the Mount Royal Mountain.

7. Montreal is the second largest French speaking city in the world, after Paris.

8. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Montreal was -37.8 C (-36) on January 15, 1957. The record low with windchill was -49.1 C (-56 F) on January 23. 1976

9. Montreal is home to the world famous Cirque du Soleil.
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10. More than 85% of the world’s maple syrup comes from Quebec, Montréal's Provence.

11. Montréal is an island.
The main city of Montréal occupies a 30-mile long island along the convergence of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers.

12. Montreal has a city underneath the city. The Underground City is a maze of tunnels and shops that covers more than 18 miles.

13. Montreal ranks second to Halifax for the number of Titanic victims buried in its cemeteries (12 in all).

14. A theme park in Montreal named La Ronde has the tallest wooden roller-coaster in the world. ​

15. The McGill University Hockey Club was formed in 1879, and it was the first organized hockey team in the world.

16. Montreal is a UNESCO city of design.

17. Come winter over 200 kilometers of cross country ski trails can be found in the city. Parc du Mont-Royal is one of the best known ones.
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If you are like me you are not much for down hill skiing. And as such, cross-country skiing may be more your thing.

It is not only affordable, but, cross country skiing (ski de fond" in French) is easy to learn  and a great sport suitable for all ages, 

As was just mentioned above, Montreal is a city that has over 200 kilometers of cross country ski trails.  Here are a few of the more famous ones:

Parc du Mont-Royal

PARC DU MONT-ROYAL HAS MORE THAN 13.7 MILES IN CROSS COUNTRY SKIING TRAILS (credit: montrealinpictures.com)

​The jewel of Montreal’s city parks is, without question, Mount Royal. This 470 acre park occupies part of the mountain that lies in the midst of Montreal island, and includes the highest spot in the city (234m).

Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect behind New York City's Central Park, is also responsible for designing Parc du Mont-Royal.

With nearly five million visitors a year, the park has 13.7 miles of cross-country skiing trails on the mountain! The Amis de la montagne team offers lessons and programs in January and February for adults and children looking to hone their skills. Equipment rentals available. 

​Parc Jean-Drapeau

PARC JEAN-DRAPEAU TURNS INTO A WINTER WONDERLAND EVERY JANUARY & FEBRUARY (credit: Pinterest)

Parc Jean-Drapeau offers 4 km of great ski trails for families.

Parc Jean-Drapeau turns into a winter wonderland for four weekends every January and February. In 2017, the snow festival runs weekends only from January 14 to February 5, 2017 and features a slew of free and modestly-priced activities, so plan your trip early for next week. 


​Lachine Canal

LACHINE CANAL HAS 6 KILOMETERS OF SOME OF THE FLATTEST AREAS FOR BEGINNERS AND FAMILIES

You will probably think I'm crazy, but for me, the more uneventful a ski trail the better.  And for beginners, families and the relaxed crowd, Lachine Canal may be the best destination for cross country skiing.

With six kilometers of trails running from Lasalle through St. Henri, you will find lots of  flat area.  

Montreal Botanical Gardens

MONTREAL BOTANICAL GARDENS OFFER IT'S OUTDOOR GROUNDS TO CROSS COUNTRY SKKIERS FREE OF CHARGE IN THE WINTER (credit: Espace pour la vie)

This is actually one of the coolest things I've discovered! Montreal Botanical Gardens, one of the largest botanical gardens in the world lends its dormant outdoor grounds to cross country skiiers come winter, free of charge!

There are over 10 kilometers of trails and it has a reciprocal access agreement with another great cross county ski area, Parc Maisonneuve (see below)

Parc-nature Cap St. Jacques

THE LARGEST PARK IN MONTREAL HAS 32 KILOMETERS OF CROSS COUNTRY SKI TRAILS (credit: ville.montreal.qc.ca)

More beginner-friendly trails - ​Parc-nature Cap St. Jacques, Montreal's largest park, is home to 32 kilometers of trails -  the most extensive cross country ski setup in the city.  


Wow - I am more encouraged than ever about the possibilities of skiing now.  Not very adventurous about heading down a mountain, but cross country may be the way to go for my little gang!!

I just spoke to Tanya via text and she was about to take off for Montreal!!  So exciting.

Stay tuned for two columns worth each day as she begins her Winter Wonderland Tour!!! 

-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop
CURRENTLY TRAVELING IN:
​MONTREAL, CANADA

We've off to Montreal!

Up up & away!

It was a rainy morning in LA but... 

​in a few short hours we'll be in Montreal!
​The very first city on our Winter Wonderland Tour!!

We are coming off of a festive great weekend of fun. So glad to get my nails done and really love the new color! (See pic below)

And let's not forget to mention plenty of fun foods. 
As you can see we had a most delicious baked spinach and artichoke dip, crispy and crunchy vegan popcorn chicken, oooey gooey cheesy cheese sticks, Mac and Cheeze and pizza pizza pizza. So many things that I forgot to take pictures of as we were glued to the boob tube watching an epic Super Bowl 50. First Super Bowl to ever be won in overtime. 
It was an exciting game to say the least.
And seeing the Pats take the win sure got the majority of peeps in my house real happy!

Since I'm LIVE, I've gotta sign off now, but I'll be back from our neighbor to the North - Canada!
🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

So happy I got my nails done! They look much better in person and I love them!

Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip - so good! (c)travelincousins.com

Crispy Vegan Popcorn Chicken (c)travelincousins.com

Crispy Crunchy Vegan Cheese Sticks (c)travelincousins.com

One of the last few slices. We made so many pies and everyone scarfed them up like crazy! I couldn't even get shots of all the so many various pies! (c)travelincousins.com

What a game huh?!!

We certainly didn't get much sleep last night and then we were off.
We loaded into Michael's car barely fitting with all of our bags and then he zig zagged through traffic getting us to LAX before the sun had risen and before he had to go off to work.

Unfortunately upon checking our luggage in, it was quickly realized that my bag was more than a bit overweight! So there I was again sorting items around like a puzzle, so that they fit in both size and weight. 

The flight was a full one and quite bumpy (nothing major) for the first third of the duration, but that didn't effect any of the four of us as we immediately began catching up on our zzz's and snoozed right along.

Great service, lovely passengers and crew and a poor poor baby who was crying tremendously during decent and obviously in a great deal of pain. The level of ear pressure endured by babies (especially) is just so severe that I always find it insanely selfish and lacking any compassion when people complain about these poor dears who know but no other way how to express themselves. The good thing however was that there was no one on my flight who had been rude or insensitive about the situation. Thank you Canadians! Americans aren't usually so kind.

I'm pretty sure that we were on board with all Canadians. Such a decent bunch. I really do like them. And not only were they a bunch of Canadians, but a bunch of skiers/snowboarders at that!

(c)travelincousins.com

(c)travelincousins.com

I'm actually sitting here on the flight right now with about an hour left to go until landing at YUL (Montreal Trudeau) and here's what I'm looking forward to seeing/doing/eating...

Walking around and shopping in Vieux Montreal (Old Montreal)

Having traditional Chinese Tea at Ming Tao Xuan - I can't wait and I highly recommend this experience

Seeing the city lights twinkle at twilight and hopefully capturing a few good shots of the Norte Dame Basilica - we'll be visiting it tomorrow (it's quite magnificent and one of my favorites), but at least for today I like to get some evening lit photos of it and the surrounding square. 

Having Dinner at LOV - a new upscale Vegan restaurant that has all the rave

And then we'll call it a night - it won't be too early, but it won't be too late either. We've got some adjusting to do with the time zone and in prep of heading to Geneva and adjusting even more!

Wishing you a Happy Monday and don't forget to tune in tomorrow for the FULL SCOOP coming at you LIVE from Montreal.

Tootles,
-T