Monday was a restful day. We did a bit of shopping in the afternoon (Drew needed a couple pairs of shorts). In the early evening we biked to The Plateau, considered one of the hippest and most fun neighborhoods in Montreal. And of course, you can’t leave Montreal without having a smoked meat sandwich. For that we went to the world famous Schwartz’s. The deli looked unremarkable from the outside, but inside was packed with people. We had the signature sandwich served on rye bread with yellow mustard and chatted with a group of native Québécois while we ate. It has been a good stay in Montreal; we especially appreciated the cultural diversity of the city. It felt different from that of the Bay Area, more eclectic and communal.

We left Montreal on Tuesday morning*. We picked up our rental car and headed to Burlington, Vermont. It wasn’t part of our original travel plan, but hey, sometimes you listen when life calls you to be spontaneous, especially when we were only an hour and half away from the border. It turned out to be a worthwhile side trip. We visited the University of Vermont, took a leisurely stroll through downtown and around Lake Champlain, and enjoyed a laid-back lunch.

*We had originally planned to rent a car for our drive to North Hatley and Quebec City, but this proved to be more challenging than we anticipated. Apparently many car rental companies don’t allow different pick-up/drop-off locations. We had to improvise and decided to return the car to Montreal and take a train to Quebec City instead.

We arrived North Hatley in the Eastern Township of Quebec in the late afternoon. This small lakeside village, established in 1897 and has a population of just 750, was more charming than we expected, idyllic and peaceful with a sweeping view of rolling hills surrounding Lake Wassawippi. It was a nice change of scenery after the hustle and bustle of Montreal. We had a lovely dinner on a terrace by the lake before heading back to our chocolate-themed B&B (seriously, a chocolate-themed B&B, Chocolat Auberage).

We woke up early the next day and drove around Lake Wassawippi for the breathtaking views. We imagined buying a vacation home on the lake, swimming, boating, fishing, and enjoying a slower pace of life (oh geez, we’re already thinking like retirees!). On the way back to Montreal, we stopped by the Abbey of Saint-Benoit-du-Lac. This turned out to be one of the highlights of this trip. The Monastery was founded in 1912 by a group of exiled monks from France. The beautiful grounds overlook Lake Memphremagog. The modern monks continue to live by the strict rules of Saint Benedict but remain self-sufficient by making a variety of homemade goods such as cheeses, jelly, butter and ciders for sale, from which the proceeds go to support the Abbey. We bought a few pieces of their award-winning cheeses and even saw a couple of the monks in their traditional habit on our way out.

We barely made it back in time for our train to Quebec City, and after a three-hour train ride, we arrived to a quaint, European-like city on the Saint Lawrence River and felt immediately transported back to Italy. We have a walking tour planned for Thursday and can’t wait to explore this place!