Saturday, August 25, 2007

Trip to New England & Montreal - the first few days

We just returned from a nice trip to New England (8/14/07 - 8/23/07). We stayed with our dear friend Nancy in Burlington, Vermont. Burlington is situated right on the shores of Lake Champlain, one of the more picturesque places I've ever seen. The first day, we walked through the downtown mall, ate at a Thai restaurant and of course indulged in the delights of the town's landmark Ben & Jerry's ice cream parlor. A couple days later, we spent some time along the waterfront and took Rachel to the Echo museum, which has all types of water exhibits and an aquarium for the kids. Late in the day, we attended services at Temple Sinai (a reform synagogue in Burlington, near where we were staying). The Rabbi wasn't there, but services were led by the Temple educator and the sermon (about the period leading up to Rosh Hashana) was given by her husband.

Between these two days, we took a day trip to Montréal. It's a nice drive up there, highlighted with the pastoral settings of Northern Vermont and the rural environment of southern Quebec. Arriving into Montréal is a treat. The visitor is greeted by the Saint Lawrence river and the site of the biosphere, a giant geodesic dome housing an artificially controlled ecosystem. Also, there's the La Ronde amusement park on Sainte-Hélène Island.

The weather wasn't too great. We dodged thunderstorms throughout the afternoon; but there were enough breaks for us to explore the area. We ate lunch near the waterfront and preceded to walk around the old city. There are many nice streets with restaurants, shops, and old dwellings. With all of the outdoor cafes and signs in French, one can easily get the impression of being in Paris. The buildings that are most visually noteworthy are the Hotel dé Ville, the Chapelle Notre Dame de Bons Secour, and the silver domed Marche Bonsecours (Bonsecours Market).

1 Comments:

At Mon Nov 10, 11:38:00 PM PST, Anonymous Anonymous said...

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