Walking all of Montreal, Canada

The Russian, the Irish, and the Turk go to Canada!

Over July 4th weekend, my friends Eda, Owen, and I drove up to Canada. Eda and I have talked about going to Montreal for years because she had never been and I had been there a couple of times as a kid (thanks to family road trips and Russian tour groups). We made for a great travel trio and planned for weeks in advance by doing research on both Montreal and Quebec City. Eda got to practice her high school French due to us being in Quebec Province which is predominantly French speaking. It was a lot of driving that Owen did, but I am confident we made him feel great with our singing along to Madonna songs (poor guy). Our drive to Montreal was supposed to be about 6 hours but wound up being 8. The security check point between the United States and Canada was a breeze and we got our swanky airbnb by around midnight. We spent three nights and two days in Montreal mostly walking for hours on end loving the architecture, the murals, and the vibe of the city. We had great timing too because the Montreal Jazz Festival and the European Cup were both happening that weekend - so we got to hear/see live music and join in on some soccer revelry!

Side note: We used Google My Maps to plan for this trip and mark down all the places we would like to see. It was very helpful and I highly recommend it!

Famous bagel shop - the bagels were reminiscent of Turkish simit more than New York bagels.
But, sorry Canada, nothing beats a New York bagel.

The grumpiest man in Montreal has the cutest balcony!

Loving the balconies in Montreal.

Little girl...little-er car!

Jazz bands were set up all over around the festival.

The real Turk and wannabe Turk found a lot of Turkish advertisements!

I love you, Michael, but this was just bad.

Murals everywhere!

Floor murals!

Cute flower shop.

Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal

Montreal City Hall

Montreal City Hall

Clock Tower

Hanging in Old Montreal

Eda and I went to Bar Notre-Dame-Des-Quilles next door to our airbnb
and encountered the most phenomenal dancers and just stared, drooling at them for an hour.

Travelin' duo  country checklist: USA, Thailand, Turkey, Greece, Canada
(Netherlands is next! April 2016)

Epic doors. Epic staircase.

What a pair! Check out Eda's French Toast at Beauty's Luncheonette.

Yumz.

Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal

Spice Girls

Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal

Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal

One view of Montreal. Whoops, we missed the more epic one.

Watching a World Cup in a a no frills, old French gentlemen's bar.

Oh what a nice balcony!

You see a theme of balconies, doors, and staircases, yes?

Favorite spot ever.

We walked about 35,000 steps. Owen kind of lost his mind.

But I walk like 10,000 steps on a BAD day so I was A-OK!

Airbnb views!

Final view before our drive  to Quebec City!