Poutine, A Giant Orange and Pascal

Last week I continued my dating streak and ventured out to La Belle Province for poutine, went to Gibeau Orange Julep and rode the Metro to the end of the line. 

Poutine

Poutine in all it's glory

Photo courtesy of Charlotte

For those of you who have never experienced poutine you are really missing out.  Poutine originated in Quebec and consists of french fries topped with cheese curds and then drenched in gravy.  While it may sound super disgusting it is actually delicious!  You can find poutine at almost every restaurant in Montreal that serves french fries.  One of my missions in Montreal was to try and find the best poutine and many people recommended La Belle Province.  My friend Charlotte and I decided to walk there figuring if we were going to eat 8,000 calories of poutine a half hour walk to and from La Belle Province would be necessary.  I have to admit that it wasn't the best poutine that I have had so far in Montreal but I am still glad I tried it. 

A Giant Orange
After my poutine adventure I met up with my friend Mitali and her two girls for another date.  Upon questioning my friend Molly Ann (who has lived in Montreal longer than either of us) it was decided that we go to Orange Julep.  Apparently, Gibeau Orange Julep is a sight to see.  After a short metro ride and crossing the busy autoroute we finally made it.  A big surprise was that they also served warm pretzels.  To those of you who know me well, you know that I love warm pretzels and NOBODY sells them in Montreal.

Photo courtesy of Mitali

Sonya, Mitali, Leah and Leena sipping our Orange Juleps

Pascal
For my last date, I decided to go solo with only my book and my city.  It was a rainy afternoon and I thought that would be a good time to ride the metro.  I hopped on at the Villa Marie (on the orange line) and rode to Cote Vertu to start my long ride to Montmorency and then back home.  Since it is a very long ride I decided to bring my book, How to be Canadian (a funny read if you are looking for a book about Canada) but instead of reading I ended up mesmorized by Pascal.  If you ride the Metro you will discover that it is a very great place to people watch, if you are into that sort of thing.  Usually there are children screaming, mothers yelling at their screaming children, teenage girls laughing, teenage boys trying to impress the teenage girls but to no avail, people reading and listening to music and even some who are sleeping.  As I opened my book to read an interesting man caught my eye.  He looked about my father's age and had a little twinkle in his eye.  His hair was torn between being white and gray and he was carrying a worn out bag.  I decided to check his footwear to see if his tennis shoes matched my father's but was slightly surprised when I saw the name Pascal written in black Sharpie above his heels.  I have to admit that earlier that day I was feeling sorry for myself and lonely but after seeing Pascal I decided that my problems couldn't be that bad if I didn't have to write my name on my shoes.  For the rest of the metro ride I tried to decide why Pascal had to have his name written on his shoes.  Maybe he was forgetful, maybe he didn't want anyone to take his shoes, maybe his wife made him do it, I guess I will never know.

I wanted to post a map of the Metro route but for some reason couldn't.  If you are really interested in seeing how long my trip was you can look at: http://www.metrodemontreal.com/map.html