Episode CXXIII: French-Canadian 'Thanksgiving'

 

For the second consecutive year, Meg and I took a Thanksgiving trip to Canada, where- coincidentally enough- Thanksgiving is not celebrated (at least not in November). This time Meg’s parents came along as well.

We first drove west from Maine through New Hampshire, then through Vermont, before turning North and heading to Montreal, Canada. Interesting fact about Vermont: there is approximately nothing to see or do in Vermont. Even the state capital is barely there- it’s the smallest state capital in the nation (population less than 8,000).

One gem, though: the Ben & Jerry’s factory/tour, including ice cream tastings and the 'flavor graveyard' for retired styles (peanut butter and jelly anyone?)

So how was Montreal? First and foremost, it was cold. Freezing. The high was 18 degrees. That’s 18 degrees Farenheit. Montrealers have  ways to cope, however. For instance, instead of children being pushed around in strollers, they were being pulled around in sleds.

And in Downtown Montreal, a large portion of the city is accessible through the vast ‘underground city,’ a series of subterranean tunnels, shopping plazas, public transportation stations and escalators linking most important downtown sites to each other.

 [Seemingly miles and miles of underground shopping mall followed by nondescript brick tunnels]

To my mind, Montreal has neither natural beauty nor abundant architectural charm. What it does have, though, is cultural charm. Everybody is walking around speaking English with French accents (occasionally  even French with French accents!) And judging from my brief experience, there are loads of delicious local eateries. Some examples of fun things to eat:

First, of course, there is poutine-

Then there’s Montreal-style smoked meat-

In Chinatown, a cucumbuer-and-jellyfish salad (did you know that jellyfish is my favorite animal?)

And Montreal has their own style of wood-fired bagel. This particular location, as you can see on the packaging, made the 1^st bagel in space. It’s true! In fact, according to Wikipedia, it’s the only bagel that’s been to space.

Finally, an important matter. Canada is transitioning to bills made of a plastic-like polymer to replace their traditional pulp/cloth bills. At first I was disappointed that the notes would no longer have that pleasant money smell, but as I held the new bill up to my nose, I smelled… Maple Syrup!!! It was clear to me that these bills had been scented with maple, to go with the giant maple leaf on the bill. Perhaps it could double as an additional security device? However, neither my wife nor her parents smelled maple on the bills. Turns out I had stumbled on a bit of a national controversy- officials claim there is no maple smell added to the bills, but many Canadians insist they smell it. Alas, I have no resolution on the matter, and so must leave you with the unsolved Great Canadian Maple Money Mystery…