Wedding Wednesday: Honeymoon!

When deciding on a honeymoon location, I really didn't want to go anywhere in the U.S. We thought about going somewhere tropical, but beaches really aren't our thing. It would be fun to lay on the beach for an afternoon, but after that, we'd want to go do something. So most resorts on tropical islands were out. Besides, who wants to go to a tropical island in July? Yuck. We could lay on the beach all day here.
We considered Europe, but decided that trip needed more days than we had available. Ever since taking French in high school, I've wanted to go to Quebec, so I suggested that to Adam. At first, we were only going to do Quebec City, but Adam suggested we go to Montreal too. It was a wonderful compromise. Four nights in Montreal, and Four nights in Quebec (plus one night in Montreal before flying out Saturday).

Exploring the first day in Montreal

I loved our honeymoon. I did not love going back to work for the 3 days between our wedding weekend and the honeymoon. That was rough. We left on Thursday morning for Montreal. Our hotel, Auberge Bonaparte, was absolutely adorable and seemed like it was recently renovated. It was located in the old part of the city, and was just a short walk to Rue St. Paul where the old port and all the action was. The hotel was on the same block as Basilique Notre-Dame. We got a Metro pass, so it was really easy to get around the city.

Highlights of Montreal included:

- Rue St. Paul - shops, people watching, great restaurants, poutine!

- The poutine! (french fries covered in brown gravy and fresh cheese curds - sooo good)

- Basilique Notre Dame for mass and also the Sound & Light Show

- Square St. Louis (colorful unique homes)

- View of the city from Mont Royal

- Olympic Stadium tour and view from the inclined Montreal Tower

- Convenience of taking the Metro around

- (French) Onion Soup

- Fireworks show in the old port for L'International des Feux Loto-Qubec

Poutine goodness

Olympic Stadium and Tower. We went to the top of it for a great view of the city.

Basilique Notre Dame - it was beautiful

Square St. Louis

The fireworks competition in Montreal

After four nights in Montreal, we took the train to Quebec City. This was a nice way for us to travel because we didn't want to mess with renting a car. We got on the train, and a few hours later, we were in Quebec City. The train had wireless, so the ride went by quickly. I didn't love our hotel in Quebec City, but the location couldn't be beat. It was right next to Chateau Frontenac in Vieux Montreal and across the park from Terrasse Dufferin. We really enjoyed the view of the St. Lawrence from the boardwalk. It was beautiful. It was really easy to get around in Quebec City. Everything we wanted to see was within walking distance.

Highlights of Quebec City included:

- Strolling along Terrasse Dufferin, especially at night

- Boat cruise on the St. Lawrence and seeing Montmorency Falls

- Cirque du Soleil show

- Chateau Frontenac and guided tour

- La Citadel

- Crepes! And watching them being made while sitting at the counter at the creperie

- Fortification wall along the city (you can walk on top of it)

- Governor's Promenade

Adam on Terrasse Dufferin with Chateau Frontenac in the background

The Fortifications of Old Quebec. It's a wall around the old part of the city.

Looking back towards Upper Town from Lower Town (the Funiculaire is visible)

View of Montmorency Falls from our boat tour

Crepes! We went to the same creperie two different nights. It was awesome.

Cirque du Soleil show

Terrasse Dufferin at night after it had rained

It was a wonderful honeymoon. We saw a lot, but still took time to relax every day. And the food was wonderful. We enjoyed our time in both cities, but Adam preferred the big city life of Montreal (2nd largest city in Canada), while I preferred the romance and history of Quebec City. It was a great choice for us for our honeymoon.