Canada Trip 2024 - Day 2 - Rainy Days and Castle Stays
The one day of the trip we were worried about was today. The weather called for a lot of rain, and we were planning to make the 3-hour drive from Montreal to Quebec City. We took it easy in the morning, I went for a run first thing while Jenn fed and cared for Elle. It was just starting to rain on my run so I had to cut it short and grabbed a coffee at Melk before meeting Jenn back in our room and having room service breakfast.
Just before the storm started in earnest, we packed Elle back into her stroller and walked from our hotel to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. We didn’t plan this but arrived on a “free” day, so we didn’t have to pay for the tickets. Instead, we whisked Elle away and took her through the beautiful modern museum. One of my favorite memories of the trip was watching Elle’s lights light up at the artwork. We’ve noticed that she gets more interested in many of her more colorful and vibrant books, which is the same today. We took turns carrying Elle through the various exhibits. One of the greatest joys of being Elle’s Dad is seeing her excited about things and watching her light up at the artwork, which melted my heart. We spent more time than we thought we were going to but eventually found our way to the gift shop where we bought her a book and us an umbrella before going back to our hotel.
We did a quick feed and then walked to The Ritz, where we had lunch reservations at Maison Boulud. The team there was nice enough to put us off to the side near a fireplace. We learned our lesson from the previous night and ordered quickly to have lunch while Elle was asleep. Our quick ordering was to no avail because, like their French counterparts, this restaurant wanted you to enjoy your time there. Jenn started with a tomato gazpacho, and I had a prosciutto melon salad. Both were divine. For our main course, Jenn went with a pork belly hash, and I had the beef shoulder. Jenn’s was delicious but far too rich, especially for her still-healing stomach, but my steak was out of this world. This was a much better meal than the previous night at the hotel.
After our late lunch, we returned to the hotel, packed our final belongings, and went down to our car. With the worst luck, we left at the height of the storm. By the time I got the stroller in the car, I was thoroughly drenched. We were all packed in the car and slowly journeyed out of Montreal and on our way to Quebec City. We made a few stops along the way to feed Elle and get gas, and eventually, we went to Walmart to pick up additional baby supplies. Poor Jenn struggled mightily at the French-speaking Walmart but eventually succeeded in her quest to make sure Elle had everything she needed for the rest of the trip.
We eventually arrived at the stunning Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, where we were upgraded to a beautiful room in this castle. We were thoroughly drained after the rainy drive, so we ordered room service and got Elle fully situated for the next few days. On our drive in, we were so taken by the beauty of Quebec City that we decided to alter our plans and add an extra night at the Fairmont. That would give us more time to explore and feel less rushed than our original plan. We learned the fantastic news during dinner that our nephew, Weston Ryan Nordbeck, was born. Both he and Amy were healthy and doing well. Being away from everyone hasn’t gotten easier, but it was the perfect news to close out the day.
While it continued to rain outside, we spent the rest of the evening eating our hamburgers and pasta and discussing what we wanted our time here to look like. A few hours later, we turned off the lights, watched the first episode of Only Murders in the Building, and called it a night.
