Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant and Ethiopian Millennium Day

I've been dying to go for Ethiopian food ever since we went to the Blue Nile in Montreal and I finally convinced Darcy to go tonight for dinner. Coincidentally, it was Ethiopian Millennium Day today. The Ethiopian calendar is seven years and eight months behind the Gregorian calendar, so today was the equivalent of New Year's Day in the year 2000. Kind of a nice coincidence. Some restaurants on the strip were closed because they were participating in the celebrations at Christie Pits Park.

Thankfully the one recommended to me by a friend, Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant, was open. We sat in a sunny booth by the window and ordered the Lalibela Special, which was a combination platter for two containing doro wat (chicken), collard greens, cabbage, lentils, lamb, kifto (minced raw beef), boiled egg, and salad (lettuce, tomato, onion).

If you haven't had Ethiopian before, it is served on a large platter lined with injera, a slightly sour, spongy flatbread. All of the dishes are spooned on top and you eat everything with your hands using more injera (kind of like eating Indian food with naan or puris).

Everything was fantastic. It was a great balance of mild and spicy, cooked and raw, and veggies and meat. The kifto, which is sort of like steak tartare was sour with a slight lemon tang. I didn't tell Darcy that it was raw because I didn't want to deter him and he really liked it. The lamb was the spiciest dish followed closely by the split peas with the cabbage and lentils rounding out the mild side. The collard greens were slightly bitter, which contrasted well with everything else and the salad and boiled egg were cool and refreshing.

The service was attentive, but unobtrusive. Our waitress was very sweet (and incredibly beautiful). Another woman came around at just the right time and asked us if we wanted more injera. We were stuffed by that time, but it was nice to be asked.

It's really is such a delicious, nutritious, and generous meal. And the bill came to $19.99, including taxes. I am in love with this restaurant and food. I can't wait to go again.

Montreal Part 9: To Sum Up

VIA: Delayed, as usual

Well, the final day finally came and we left kicking and screaming. We departed on a train that was supposed to leave before noon, but ended up shoving off an hour late, so we got 50% off a ticket to Montreal that is good for the next 6 months. Yay!

Bahn mi: Sandwiches to go

Before boarding, we made one last food stop at Epicerie Thien Phat to get some bahn mi for the trip. I wanted to sample all the other kinds so we got one of each: chicken, beef, and pork. The chicken and beef ones both had char-grilled meat in them, so they're quite different from the pork one that is made with a spam-like sausage. They were all delicious and spicy, but if I had to pick, I'd take the pork.

Goodbye, Montreal. Goodbye, Sophie

It was a wonderful 9 days and nights in Montreal and I'd love to do it again. We got very attached to the city as well as my sister's kitty, Sophie. Maybe next summer we'll plan a trip for the week that spans both the jazz and comedy festivals.

The List

In case you wanted to know what was on our list of must-eat places in Montreal, here it is:

1. Cafe Santropol: Triple-decker sandwiches (the Plateau)
   3990 rue St-Urbain @ ave. Duluth, 514-842-3110


2. The Blue Nile: Eithopian (the Plateau)
   3706 rue St-Denis @ ave. des Pins, 514-285-4628


3. Restaurant Lafleur: Poutine (the Plateau)
   3620 rue St-Denis @ Square St-Louis, 514-848-1804


4. Restaurant Lotte Furama: Dim Sum (Chinatown)
   1115 rue Clark @ boul. Rene-Levesque Ouest, 514-393-3838


5. Pho Bac: Pho (Chinatown)
   1016 boul. St-Laurent @ rue de la Gauchetiere Ouest, 514-393-8116


6. Epicerie Thien Phat: Vietnamese subs (Chinatown)
   1084 boul. St-Laurent @ rue de la Gauchetiere Ouest, 514-875-7929


7. Restaurant Mazurka: Polish food (the Plateau)
   64 rue Prince-Arthur Est @ rue St-Dominique, 514-844-3539


8. Restaurant Amir: Shish taouk (many locations across Montreal)


9. Villa du Souvlaki: Souvlaki (NDG)
   5347 rue Sherbrooke Ouest @ ave. Prud'homme, 514-489-2039


10. Andalos Bakery: Lebanese pizza (Ville Saint Laurent)
    266 boul. LeBeau @ rue Benjamin-Hudon, 514-856-0983


11. Schwartz's Deli: Smoked meat (the Plateau)
    3895 boul. St-Laurent @ rue Napoleon, 514-842-4813


12. Cafe Frappe: Nice patio for a drink (the Plateau)
    3900 boul. St-Laurent @ rue Napoleon, 514-289-9462

Montreal Part 8: Making the most of our last days

Saturday is usually the beginning of the weekend, but we were feeling the impending end of our time in Montreal. The weather had turned freakishly cold and we had lots of cleaning to do before leaving on Sunday, so we were a little blue.


Dim Sum: Catching the elusive taro puffs

First thing in the morning, we went to dim sum at Restaurant Lotte Furama yet again, but this time we met up with Darcy's former manager and his wife. I hadn't seen them in about 4 years so I talked and talked, especially about the trip to India, which I hadn't spoken about in a long time. I developed this kind of schtick about the trip, so once I start talking, it's hard to shut me up. So, for once, I wasn't very focussed on the food. But, we did well and we were lucky enough to catch the deep-fried taro puffs, which are egg-shaped balls of mashed taro filled with pork and vegetables and deep-fried. We try to stay away from the deep-fried stuff at dim sum, but these are always the exception. It's worth it.

French People Don't Run

We usually have our long run on Sundays, but this Sunday we had a train to catch at noon so we set out to the Old Port to do our 10k. We'd run down there a few times during the week when nothing was going on and it was pretty deserted. This time, it was packed with people enjoying buskers, food, and other exhibitions at the Old Port. We had noticed something earlier in the week, but it came into clear view on Saturday: French people don't run.

We ran through large crowds of people and most of them looked at us with this bemused expression like we were riding unicycles or something. Some mocked us by running alongside. One little boy on his bike said, "Allez! Au courage!" and high-fived Darcy as he went by. We felt like such dorks. Apparently, like in France, Quebecers can stay fit and slim by drinking, smoking, and eating croissants.

Le Menage

We spent the afternoon cleaning my sister's condo from top to bottom. Why is it so much easier to clean someone else's place? It was actually kind of fun. If only I could do that at home.

Mazurka: Perogies that would make a bishop kick a hole through a stained glass window

Feeling very proud of ourselves for all that hard work, we went to Mazurka again for dinner because we couldn't get those perogies out of our minds. We both ordered the potato and cheese perogies and they came with the soup of the day, which was borscht (eeeee!). In addition, we shared a chopped liver appetizer because I saw Ina Garten make it on Barefoot Contessa the other day and it looked so good.

The borscht was just as good as I remembered: sweet and slightly acidic with a dollop of sour cream and lots of fragrant dill. The chopped liver was very much like liverwurst only fluffier and was surrounded by crisp, fresh vegetables. Even Darcy liked it and he usually doesn't like pate-like things (thinks they taste like cat food).

The perogies were phenomenal just like the other night. I really don't know how they do it. If you were wondering, I stole that sub-heading from a 1920's pulp fiction (detective) novel, Farewell My Lovely, by Raymond Chandler. The original line was: "It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window." Even if we didn't do or eat anything else in Montreal, they would have made the trip worthwhile. I can't say enough about them and I'm eternally spoiled perogy-wise. They literally melt in your mouth. Sigh.

Just like the other night, we ate every bit of everything we were served. So much so, that the waitress said, "you guys are good eaters!" Blush.

As we were leaving, we saw two older men outside having dinner on the Mazurka patio in the freezing cold. I think the temperature was around 13C, but felt colder with the windchill. But, if you looked at only them, you'd think it was a balmy night. They were dressed in shortsleeves, eating, smoking, and sharing a bottle of wine in an ice bucket. This is what I love about Montreal.

Poutine at Lafleur: The last thing on the list

There was only one thing left on the list and it was now or never, so we headed straight from Mazurka to Lafleur to pick up a poutine. Now, even we're not so hardcore that we could have poutine for dessert right after dinner. We got one small for the two of us and took it back to my sister's to heat up later once we'd regained some appetite.

Darcy had heard some bad press about Lafleur from his friend Jeff who was there during the August long weekend. He said that they had 'cleaned up' so the poutine wasn't as dirty/tasty as before. When we got there, we saw new signs saying that the fries are now trans fat free. C'est dommage. But, that night at about 1AM after finishing off the cleaning, we tried the poutine (well, I ate most of it) and it still does the trick.

Montreal Part 7: Monkland Avenue and the end of our list! Can you believe it?

Monkland Avenue: Funky street away from the crowds

On Friday morning, we went to Monkland Avenue, which is fun street with lots of restaurants, cafes, and shops that is close to NDG (Darcy's old neighbourhood). We went there to to meet up with Gail, his former co-worker and see her new baby. We were originally supposed to go to St. Viateur Bagel and Cafe, but it was really crowded, so we chickened out and just had beverages at Second Cup. I had no idea that St. Viateur had any additional locations, nevermind one so far west. I read a little on their web site and I guess they opened this location in 2001, which was after Darcy and I moved to Toronto. Damn. It would have been so convenient.

Villa du Souvlaki: Can't get enough

After saying goobye to Gail, we walked south and ended up back in NDG, dangerously close to Villa du Souvlaki. It's hard to believe, but other than poutine at Lafleur, we had gone to every place on our list (things to eat in Mtl). So, why not go to Villa again for souvlaki? This time we got takeout and I had a chance to clandestinely photograph the menu and hours. I think that I'm going to try to start posting menus and hours of operation because restaurants with the best food usually don't have web sites. We had chicken pitas (no onions) and fries as usual and as usual, it was sublime. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Restaurant Furama Lotte: A decent dinner

That evening, since we were at the end of our list, we thought we'd try something new and go to Restaurant Lotte Furama (our favourite dim sum place) for dinner. We'd been there a million times for dim sum, but never for dinner. We weren't that imaginative with our choices (Cantonese chow mein, Chinese broccoli, and Kung Pao chicken), so we might not have seen the place in its best light, but we were a bit underwhelmed. The Kung Pao was very sweet instead of spicy and had lots of filler (celery, carrots, and cashews), but very little chicken. All the ingredients were fresh and the service was attentive and efficient. I think we were so used to having our socks blown off at every meal that we were a little disappointed, but overall it's a good place. And right across the street from my sister's. She's so lucky.

Montreal Part 6: Bahn mi, Mazurka, and another nostalgia tour

Bahn mi: Where have you been all my life?

On the Thursday, Darcy met up with his old work friends for lunch, so I took the opportunity to finally try bahn mi. It's everywhere both in Toronto and Montreal but I'd never got around to having it. It's basically a Vietnamese baguette sandwich stuffed with meat (chicken, beef, or pork), picked vegetables (carrots, radishes, onions), and fresh cilantro. It sounded so like my kind of thing and it was.

I selected the pork one to try first. The 'pork' meat is like the Vietnamese sausage that I had at Pho Pasteur in Toronto. It's basically a kind of bologna or spam, ground and pressed sausage meat. The man who served me asked if I wanted it spicy (I always say 'yes' to this question). He added a vinegary kind of dressing with sliced red chilis in it. So hot and so good. The craziest thing about these is that they only cost $2. I think you can find some in Chinatown in Toronto that are $1. How is that possible?

Mazurka: It's too good to be true, but it is!

After a rainy (it actually hailed!), lazy afternoon inside, we ventured out to go to the next place on the list, which was Mazurka, a Polish restaurant that has been around since 1952. It's located in a very fun, pedestrian-friendly area of the Plateau on Prince Arthur Avenue, which is just down the street from where I used to live. It is exactly the same as the last time we were there, which must have been at least 7 years ago. The decor, waitresses, food, and prices are all exactly the same. It's so comforting.

We both ordered the Mixed Plate, which includes (brace yourself) two perogies (one meat; one potato), a cabbage roll, a potato pancake, a grilled sausage, and some bigos (sauerkraut, sausage and mushroom stew). Darcy made the happy revelation that if we order the same thing, he doesn't have to wait for me to take a picture of his food because I can take a picture of mine.

Before our mixed plates, we had a pitcher of sangria and they served us small appetizer salads that were very simple (iceberg lettuce, green peppers, tomato, celery, pickled cabbage), but astonishingly fresh. Usually the free salad that comes with every meal is nothing to write about, but everything on the plate was so crisp it could have been just harvested. I love that.

When drinking the sangria we had one of those crazy moments where a taste transports you back in time. That particular sangria picked me up and dropped me back in 90's. It reminded me of Carlos and Pepes, Annie's, Gert's and all those other places where I was when I should have been studying.

Let me say that every single thing on the mixed plate was the best thing I've ever eaten. We were both floored by how good everything was. We knew we liked this place, but we didn't remember it being this good. The perogies were a completely different animal from any that I've had anywhere else. The dough was pillow soft and the filling was creamy and light at the same time. The bigos was savoury and sour without being too salty and the potato pancake was crackly, crunchy delicious. We ate every single bite of everything. And to top it all off, our bill came to less than $30 with tax included. This place seems to good to be true. I will break down and weep the day when Mazurka closes. I can't encourage you enough to go there.

Cafe Frappe: Fantastic patio for a quiet drink

After dinner, we went for a drink at Cafe Frappe, another nostalgia place with the most adorable patio on the top floor in the back. This was another former sangria watering hole. This patio reminds me of the Paris Casino in Las Vegas. The walls are painted to resemble a town square complete with windows and real flower boxes. What's funny is that the rest of the bar is a total studenty-arcade games-pool tables kind of place. I think it's cute though and I'm glad it has stayed the same.

McGill Ghetto: this is where we used live

After our drinks, we walked around another old neighbourhood, the McGill Ghetto, which is named as such because it's immediately adjacent to the university. Rents are usually high in this area due to student demand, but it's a pretty neighbourhood that must have been a lovely place to live back in the day before all the students and fraternities moved in. The apartments are old and beautiful (for the most part) with lots of character. One year, I lived in a fantastic, old top floor apartment that had a unheated sun room (great second freezer during the winter) and a functioning woodstove in the dining room (which was converted into my bedroom). I used to love burning my apple cores and making my room smell like potpourri.

I always have mixed feelings walking around the Ghetto because even though I had a lot of fun, it reminds me of being really stressed about school and not knowing what the future would be like. It's nice to be all grown up and not worrying about fulfilling your potential. :)

Montreal Part 5: Ville Saint Laurent, heavenly Lebanese pizza, and our friend Russell

Sorry again for the hiatus. All this training for the race has me exhausted. So, where we were we?

The next day we skipped the run, had some bagels, cream cheese, and smoked salmon at home, and then headed out for a field trip to Saint Laurent (the suburb; not the street) to visit our dearest Russell as well as go to a Lebanese bakery called Andalos that Darcy used to go to when he worked in Montreal.

Saint Laurent is quite a trek from downtown, but the subway has such great coverage that it was pretty easy to get to (10 subway stops and a 10-min bus ride). Russell was working during the day, so we went first to Andalos for some 'Lebanese pizza'.

Andalos Bakery: Delicious pita, but no pictures allowed!
Darcy was very fortunate to be introduced to Andalos by his Lebanese friend, Fadi, who has since moved to Sudan. It's an enormous bakery with tonnes of goodies, both sweet (baklava-like pastries, olive oil-based cookies) and savoury (fresh pita bread, stuffed pastries, 'pizza'). They had a counter where you could choose the kind of 'pizza' you wanted (Darcy ordered cheese for him and a Lahmbajoun for me) and they would top it as you liked with fresh ingredients (mint, lemon juice, tomatoes, onions, etc.) before rolling it up like a wrap.

While Darcy was ordering our sandwiches, I, of course, started walking around the shop taking pictures. Darcy told me that the guy making our sandwiches saw my camera and started motioning frantically to another guy to stop me. That guy did catch up with me. He wasn't terribly angry, but he was serious about it. I should have asked why, but I never do. I can't think of a reasonable explanation. Trade secrets? In any case, I won't post those pictures since they felt so strongly about it. Darcy was just glad that I didn't offend anyone enough to deny us the Lebanese pizza.

We sat outside on a picnic table in front of the shop and enjoyed our pizza. And it really was so incredibly good. This was the first time I'd ever had a freshly baked pita and it was out of this world: soft and slightly crispy on the outside. My Lahmajoun (ground beef and lamb) pizza was amazing, but I think Darcy's was better (goat-like cheese topped with fresh mint, tomatoes, and lemon juice). This place is so far from downtown, but I think that every time we come to the Montreal, we're going to have to make a special trip.



Marche Adonis: Lebanese Loblaws
We killed some time before Russell got back by browsing in Marche Adonis, a huge Lebanese supermarket pretty much right in Russell's backyard. Much like Arz in Toronto, it's a Loblaws-sized grocery store but everything is Middle Eastern. They had tonnes of fresh baked goods, homemade cheeses, produce, and meats. I didn't take any pictures though (sorry) because I was fresh from being scolded in Andalos.


Russell and his three ladies
Russell lives in a small apartment complex just beside the 15 (very busy highway). The traffic there is incessant and Russell thinks it sounds like waves crashing on a beach. It does actually. Count on him to see the bright side. After a wild ride to the grocery store to get beer (Montreal drivers are as nuts as they say), we settled in and watched 300 (never seen before; great movie) with his three cats, Data, Spock, and Worf (yes, Russell likes Star Trek). It's amazing how cats will grow into the name you give them. Worf turned out to be the most corpulent one and Data lives up to her name by seeming to have no emotions at all.





Our Matchmakers, Russell and Paula
Russell has a new job where he has to be at work for 5AM (yikes!), so it was an early night, but it was great to see him. It's actually thanks to Russ and my childhood friend, Paula, that Darcy and I met. Darcy encountered Russell back in university when they were both in the Army Reserves during the summer. It's not what you think though. Their tour of duty involved playing in the marching band (Darcy played clarinet and Russell was a percussionist). In 1994, they both moved to Montreal to join their then significant others. On the May long weekend of 1996, Paula (who also played in that same marching band) came to Montreal to visit me. The four of us spent some time together and the rest is history. They didn't try to fix us up, but it just turned out that way. Thanks Paula and Russ, you guys are the best.

The funny thing is that between 1994 and 1996, Darcy and I lived around the corner from each other in two different neighbourhoods. In the '94-'95 school year, we both lived in the McGill Ghetto and went to the same depanneur to buy beer and junk food. In '95-'96, we both moved to the Plateau and frequented the same laundromat. I like to think of us back then passing each other on the street and not knowing that in less than 10 years, we'd be married.

Montreal Part 4: Happy Birthday to Me!

Sorry again for the delay. Last week turned crazy and the weekend training for the race had me completely exhausted. So, where were we?


Atwater Market: Farmers' Market in the City


Tuesday, the 14th was my birthday so we spent the day doing whatever I wanted, which of course involved a lot of food. We started by visiting Atwater Market, which is a farmers' market very much like St. Lawrence Market in Toronto. During the summer, there are lots of fresh produce stands with beautiful fruits and vegetables. They remind me of those really fancy and expensive grocery stores I saw in Tokyo where every piece is perfect so you don't need to choose; you just pick one. In the winter, the market stays open, but all the activity is indoors with the butchers, cheese shops, gourmet food stores, and bakeries.

La Fromagerie Atwater


There was an amazing cheese shop called La Fromagerie Atwater that had very advanced-looking cheeses and a smell that punched you in the face when you opened the door (always a good sign). In the open cooler was a macabre cheese called Valencay Cendre that is a goat cheese made of raw milk and covered in black ash. I read online that the ash is edible and is made from burning junipers, white pines, grape vines, or the remains of vegetables such as bell peppers and eggplants. I was dying to try it, but we had a long, unrefrigerated day ahead of us so I had to leave it there.

Boulangerie Première Moisson


At one end of the market was a gorgeous bakery called Boulangerie Première Moisson whose name basically means 'first harvest'. In addition to their delicious-looking and smelling fresh baked bread (some loaves were the diameter of a medium pizza!), they had display cases full of pastries and sandwiches. Since it was my birthday, I asked the lady in my best French for a slice of my favourite cake, strawberry shortcake (light sponge layered with whipped cream and strawberries). The French speaking went tolerably well, I think; I didn't have to resort to miming. I also got a slice of this tomato pizza that is everywhere in Montreal, but nowhere in Toronto. It's a soft crust with just a thick tomato sauce on top. Yummy. The cake was absolutely perfect too.

Ratatouille


After lunch, we headed to nearby AMC Forum 22 to catch a movie. AMC Forum 22 is a huge cineplex that is housed in what used to be the Montreal Forum, which was the city's major arena and home to the Montreal Canadiens for 60 years. Rather than gutting the entire place and erasing all that history, they preserved Section 210 with a life-sized statue of a Canadiens fan sitting in one of the seats and built the rest of the cineplex around it.

In keeping with the food theme of the day/week/my life, we saw Ratatouille, the animated movie about a rat who longs to become a chef in Paris. It was a very cute movie with great food-related animation. My favourite character was the evil restaurant critic, Anton Ego, whose voice was performed Peter O'Toole. Food critics are always portrayed in film as celebrities who stride into restaurants, demand to be served the best, and take pleasure in bringing about the downfall of an establishment. In reality, working critics try to remain as incognito as possible to get a realistic picture of what an average diner will experience. In any case, Peter O'Toole was hilarious and the animated treatment of when he is transported back to his childhood by eating the rat's ratatouille is priceless.

Amir: Shish Taouk, it's nowhere else


After the movie we were a bit peckish, but dinner was a long way off so we squeezed in a visit to Amir for shish taouk. Amir is a very large chain of Lebanese fast food restaurants with a tonnes of locations in the city. I don't know why this is, but if you buy a shish taouk in Toronto or Ottawa or anywhere else, it's not the same as in Montreal. The Montreal version is a small pita stuffed with shaved, roasted chicken, lettuce, tomato, garlic sauce, and these pink pickles, which I think are radish. It's so so good and you can't find it anywhere else. When in Montreal, you have to have it.

Downtown West: Hey, that place is gone!


We walked all the way back to my sister's place along Sainte-Catherine/de Maisonneuve and looked in at a few familiar old places. Some were comfortingly still there like Le Paris restaurant, Sharx Pool Hall, Winston Churchill bar on Crescent Street, while others were distressingly gone. Le Faubourg used to be a bustling shopping centre with a fantastic bagel place (as good as Fairmount Bagel or St. Viateur Bagel), an enormous bakery, and a pristine fresh fruit and veg store. Now, it looks like they will be doing some serious renovation because everything on the first floor is gutted except the bagel place.

An even bigger surprise was that Ben's, the famous deli specializing in smoked meat, is gone. I read a bit about it and it turns out that they suspended operations in July 2006 due to an employee strike and by December they had decided to close the restaurant and sell the building. The restaurant had been in business since 1908 and at that Art Deco-styled location since 1950. Sad, isn't it?

Another disappointing closure is of the Spectrum de Montreal, a 1200-seat cabaret-style venue where I first saw Ani Difranco back in the day (1996) when I was a young, impressionable thing as well as just last year as part of the jazz festival. The sign said that it closed on August 5 after 25 years.

Some Things Never Change



While everything is closing and changing, Super Sexe, a downtown strip club with flamboyant signage, is still alive and well. Unlike other cities, the sex clubs in Montreal are right out in the open interleaved between coffee shops and Bell phone centres. Not that I ever went here, but it's nice to see a familar facade that has lasted after all this time. In the picture, note the configuration of the currency symbols on the currency exchange's sign just below. Clever monkeys.

Saint James United Church: Uncovered
Close to Sainte-Catherine and University, we passed by St. James United Church, which has kind of a cool story. The church (cathedral, really) was built in 1889, but due to financial difficulties the adminstration allowed a commercial building to be built in front of it which completely concealed it from the street. It stayed covered for 78 years from 1927 until 2005 when the blocking building was demolished and the beautiful church was uncovered. Isn't it amazing that it was hidden all this time?

Le Nil Bleu: Eithopian Birthday Dinner
In the evening, we went for dinner at the Blue Nile, which is yet another nostalgia place. Strangely, there was a sign saying no cameras allowed, so I don't have even one photo of the food or the facade. It has changed quite a bit since the last time we were there, which may be 7 years ago. In the interim, it's gone more upscale with a sleeker interior, higher prices, and an expanded wine menu. I can't say that it's an improvement. I miss the old place.

But, we'd been looking forward to this dinner for so long and even though it wasn't the best, it was still very good. We had a combination of dishes that included stews made from lentils, chicken, beef, and lamb. Everything is served on a large plate covered with injera, a sour, spongey flatbread that you also use as a utensil to eat the food (like eating Indian with naan bread). We ate absolutely every morsel and shared a bottle of ice cold South African white wine called Fleur du Cap. So much fun.

Champagne on the Terrace
I don't usually drink much, so after half a bottle of wine Darcy had to deal with a lot of incessant chatter and wobbly walking from me on the way back. Nevertheless, my sister had left a bottle of champagne in the fridge for us to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary, which was just a few days before on August 9th, so we had to crack that open. We dragged her loveseat out on the terrace (massive terrace facing Rene-Levesque), sat back, and sipped our champagne feeling very happy and lucky indeed.