NoNames Xmas Vacation 2: Some Things Old + Some Things New

[NoName]

Day 13 - Continued……





I pushed on further into the unknown.





This must surely be pushing the boundaries. Further research shows there are many of them and that yes, there have been trademark disputes with KFC.







The walk dragged on with steady progress being made. Turned right at Joyce Kilmer Park (161st St) for the short detour to Yankee Stadium. I mean, you can’t come to this area of the Bronx without seeing it up close right?




Quick look then back up to my main route, just over 1 mile to go.





It was starting to get dark by now but thankfully I quickly came to my end point – 138th St Station.



An enjoyable walk and a nice way to see a very different part of New York City. There were definitely parts where, justified or not, I felt a little unsafe but managed to make it without any real issues. Probably wouldn’t come back, except maybe to see the Poe Cottage I missed or to go to an actual Yankees game but definitely no regrets.

On to the train and a thankfully much shorter ride back to 59th St where I hopped off and took the shortish walk back to join the other two in the room.

 

[NoName]

Day 13 - Continued……





Refreshed for an hour or so and then we were up getting ready for our NYE dinner. Out the back entrance on 58th Stand a very short walk to a place we have been to before – Quality Meats. I’d tried to find somewhere new for us to eat but a mixture of pricing being in the extreme range and the sheer number of options being a little overwhelming meant that I kept coming back to this place. We’d enjoyed it quite a lot last time so had no reservations at all about returning.

We walked in a touch early so the table wasn’t quite ready. A quick drink at the bar downstairs and soon enough it was time.




Got to our table upstairs and were very well looked after. Service throughout the evening was very good. Made sure to order the standard too much food with a bottle of something appropriate to wash down.

Oysters to start



Steak Tartare, one of our usual favourites

Since NoName Jnr has decided he loves steak we thought we’d grab something big enough to feed the whole table so went for the 28 Day Dry-Aged Prime Porterhouse. Delicious!



Had to add the truffle butter to the steak and glad we did. So good!

Added a couple of sides to balance everything out – corn crème brulee, whipped potato & parmesan waffle fries. Yes, too much to eat!



Somehow NoName Jnr managed to fit an ice crème in at the end which was quite the feat.



Once he had finished there so were we. Very full, very satisfied and very glad we had come back for another enjoyable experience.



We waddled back to the hotel and back up to the room for what was intended to be a short rest before going out again to ring in the new year.

Embarrassment alert: we all fell asleep! We were that tired and full of food that within about 20 minutes of lying on the bed we were all out like a light. I recall waking up at about 1am, TV still on and kicking myself! Oh well! I guess we weren’t going to be in Times Square and the Central Park fireworks had been cancelled anyway so perhaps we didn’t really miss much anyway?

 

[NoName]

Day 14






Lazy morning this morning. We were flying to YUL however the departure was one of those that leaves not a whole lot of time to do much before you need to go to the airport. Departure was 2:21pm out of EWR and we had decided to be in a cab at 11am. As it turned out we probably left a little early but who know what the traffic was going to be like. Stayed in bed for a while before eventually getting up to pack etc. One last look at this amazing view:



Then we were downstairs to check out around 10:45am and into the taxi right on schedule. Streets of Manhattan were pretty empty so we got somewhat of a dream run downtown.

Before long we had left NY




And were arriving at EWR. A pretty quick ride all things considered. A brief issue with the cab driver’s card payment we heading in to the bad drop, which turned out to be a much easier process.

With these shorter intra-Nth America flights and the usual practice of charging for checking bags in mind, a few months before the trip I had signed up Mrs NoName for the HSBC Star Alliance credit card. All worked as it should and 4 or 5 weeks before we left she was a fully fledged Aeroplan 50K member, complete with gold bag tags. Now we were sorted for complimentary checked bags and lounge access. Nice!

We got to the bag drop and went through all the self serve rigmarole with some help from one of the UA staff – customer service is not dead! Maybe I was looking in the wrong place but the United website had mentioned only 2 free bags so I was expecting to have to pay for one. Not the case so another win.

That’s where the wins stopped though as once the bags were taken away and we made our way to security our progress ground to a halt. Took a while for the line to move but eventually it did and we were off to the nearest United Club lounge. Termina C has a couple of United lounges with the one we went to being near gate C123. Got to the entrance and the staff were very firm that Mrs NoName could not bring both of us in. Disappointing given NoName Jnr’s age but I suppose they are just following the rules. In any event, I told them to go in and enjoy themselves while I waited in the terminal.



Going on the photos Mrs NoName sent and her comments this is a pretty good lounge. Not on the Polaris level but it’s nice. Looked to be a biggish space, clean, good lunch options – bread rolls, wraps, salads etc plus the usual array of drinks.







Would have liked to have been there myself but the time went pretty quickly in the terminal anyway. I looked at getting something to eat there but pricing was outrageous so went without.

 

[NoName]

Day 14 - Continued……





The time came for them to leave and for us all to make our way around to the gate. Boarding came and on we went.




EWR-YUL
UA3715
Embraer175
20B, 20C, 20D


Flight left on time so we were up and going nice and efficiently. Short flight to YUL so lack of legroom was fine.





Flight attendant brought around a choice of a small pack of pretzels or a chocolate biscuit. Water offered. No Salon in sight. There was the option to purchase other items but we didn’t partake. Up and down pretty quickly and soon were arriving in YUL.



Quick immigration process. Just answered a few questions on the self serve machine and then a couple more standard questions from an agent at the exit about why we were coming to Canada. We were soon in a cab to our hotel.

 

[NoName]

Day 14 - Continued……





Arrived at the Humaniti Hotel Montreal and went to check in. I had booked this through Qantas Hotels as part of the 5,000 bonus point per stay promo that was run last year. We’d booked something else but when that offer came up I was happy to change to what looked a nicer hotel, in a convenient location for slightly less. Cost of 3 nights in a Halo room with 2 queen beds was $821.34 however I used a $100 Qantas Hotels voucher to bring the cost down further. Thought this was pretty good value. The hotel is modern, nice aesthetics, clean and tidy. Its also a hybrid with condos and hotel rooms in the same building with different desks and elevators for each.




Got to the front desk to find that our room wasn’t ready despite it being nearly 6pm. The lady apologised and offered us a drink at the bar to compensate for the inconvenience. However, when it became apparent the room was not going to be ready for a while yet she changed this and gave us complimentary breakfast in the restaurant for the next morning. Thought this was quite generous, particularly as we were planning to go straight out for dinner anyway which meant it wasn’t really an inconvenience at all. We gladly accepted and immediately put the hotel on the list to return to if we are ever back in Montreal.

We left our bags and took the front desk’s recommendation of a nearby ramen restaurant. Another cuisine NoName Jnr has recently gotten in to and this place did not disappoint. Walked 5 minutes or so to find Sansotei Ramen on Rue Sainte-Catherine. This place appears to be a small chain with a dozen or so locations across eastern Canada. We got our table and ordered and very quickly our ramen came out. Can’t recall the specifics of what we ordered but it was very good. Flavoursome, enjoyable.




We stepped out into a now snowing Montreal night and went for a wander to see some of the Lumino displays. This is a festival in downtown Montreal where various artists put together light displays. There are different displays all around the city so not in one particular area. Some were ok and interesting but on the whole I would say we were disappointed. Perhaps we had unrealistic expectations of what we would see? Perhaps it was the circa -10c temperature that night? Or perhaps if was the walk down a dark street to get to one of the displays only to be confronted with a couple of people injecting drugs right next to it? Whatever it was, we weren’t impressed and were happy to get back to the hotel after having a quick look around the immediate area.

Ice skating rink in downtown Montreal

Got back to the hotel and by now our room was very much ready and bags had already been taken up for us. Up to the room and we immediately liked what we saw. Not overly big, but tidy, modern, exactly what we liked.




Got ourselves sorted and comfortable before the nighttime routine – quick shower and bed for all. Ready to check out more of Montreal tomorrow.

 

[NoName]

Day 15






Day 15 began with us taking up the front desk’s offer of complimentary breakfast. Restaurant was pretty quiet which made for a pleasant atmosphere. We all went for the Canadian Breakfast which was more or less the same as your typical big breakfast at any number of cafes in Australia – bacon with maple syrup, eggs, toast etc. Very satisfying.



From here we walked through downtown towards Rue Saint Catherine where we were going to buy Mrs NoName a belated Christmas present. Won’t get into the details but suspect it partially made up for me travelling alone in F the whole way to NYC.








Mid-morning and we were done with the shopping. Headed towards the Old Town area for a look around.

Notre Dame – a section under renovation which is kind of a negative from a photo perspective.



Old Town







Maybe it’s the time of year but it seemed very quiet around here. Found it a little underwhelming. Nevertheless, we managed to find a place in the area for lunch. Nothing notable, just a casual spot with cheap pizza, which of course we were happy to go for.

 

[NoName]

Day 15 - Continued……





Continued through old town.

Off down to the river where we decided to take a look at the Ferris wheel – La Grande Roue de Montreal. Seems just about every city has one these days and I would normally ignore but NoName Jnr was interested in a ride. Since it was going to provide nice views him and I went on while Mrs NoName got warm in the café next to it. Tickets were CA$27.50 for me & CA$15.00 for NoName Jnr including tax.





Ice skating next to the wheel. Chose not to relive our NYC experience.





From here we walked back along the river to the Montreal Science Centre. Wasn’t something that appealed to Mrs NoName so she decided to leave us and head back to the hotel. There were a couple of different options here which were from memory the general exhibits area and an IMAX documentary type presentation. Sorry, this likely doesn’t convey exactly what the two were and unfortunately the website doesn’t seem to refresh my memory. In any event, we only had around 90 minutes or so until the place closed so just chose to pay for the exhibits. Went in and took a look around. There is really quite a lot here, more than we had time for. Probably need half a day to see it all. It was interesting, NoName Jnr enjoyed himself so would recommend.

 

[NoName]

Day 15 - Continued……





The bell went to indicate it was time to leave and so we made our way out into a darkening Monreal afternoon. Walked back to the hotel to find Mrs NoName well refreshed. Another hour or so and we were refreshed ourselves and ready to go for dinner. After last night’s success we decided to take up another of the front desk’s recommendations. Walked back down towards Notre Dame and found ourselves at Kyo Bar. As the name and website suggest, this place does Japanese and quite well if our experience is anything to go by. Ordered a few different plates of sushi rolls, miso cod and katsu curry. We basically shared with NoName Jnr mainly sticking to the Katsu.






Night shot of Notre Dame on the way home. Looks much nicer with the light displays lit up.



Back through the streets to the hotel.





Another of the Lumino displays. Sorry, but this was quite pathetic IMO.



Maybe 20 minutes later after a quick stop at the supermarket next to the hotel to get some breakfast items for the next morning, we were up in our room showering and ready for bed.

 

[NoName]

Day 16





A quick breakfast in the room and then we were off. First up this morning was a visit to Mont Royal Park. The park is a large greenspace on top of Mont Royal and contains various different activities from ice skating to hiking to cross country skiing to tubing etc. We were keen to check it out. Walked to Square Victoria metro station and jumped on board the orange line the five stops to Mont-Royal station. A quick transfer to the 11 bus and soon we were climbing up the windy road up to the park. All up around 40 minutes from leaving the hotel and we were out walking through the snow-covered park taking it all in.

First stop was Beaver Lake where we had wanted to do some tubing. Unfortunately the tubing hill was closed due to lack of snow. Sorry? Yes apparently the snow wasn’t deep enough to safely operate the hill. Ok no problem, we settled for hot chocolate in the café instead. A hot drink inside a warm building was always going to be appealing. There was also an ice skating rink next to the lake which people were enjoying. I would assume once it gets cold enough to freeze the lake enough then there might be ice skating there too.

We walked through the park towards one of the main features – Kondiaronk Belvedere – which is a viewing point which looks out over downtown Montreal. It was very cold and quite slippery in places so needed to be careful. Eventually we made it over though.







A great view!

Mont Royal Chalet right next to the viewing point.

 

[NoName]

Day 16 - Continued……





I had originally wanted to walk down the grand staircase back to downtown but having experiences slippery areas on the way over we decided that it was likely going to be a little too treacherous for us today. Made the smart choice to just go back to the bus stop and get down that way. A 10 minute walk and we were waiting for the bus. Back down the road to the bottom of the mountain and off at the same stop from earlier. On the orange metro line again back the way we had come.



This time we changed to the green line at Berri-UQAM. Six stops later and we were off at Pie-Xi ready to have a look at the Olympic Stadium. Some may recall that we visited the Munich Olympic park on our trip two years ago and given I love the Olympics, visiting the Montreal version was a no-brainer.

Detour to the Maisonneuve Market a shortish walk away for some lunch. I had seen this pop up on various lists of places to visit in Montreal so had been keen to check it out but again, found it to be underwhelming. Was very small and although we managed to find something suitable to eat we would probably have preferred to go elsewhere in hindsight.





From here we walked over to the Olympic precinct and sad to say it was like night and day compared to Munich. The area in general wasn’t much to look at and Stadium and displays around it were fairly average IMO. I guess when you consider the financial disaster that it ended up being and that it is the only summer Olympics where the host country failed to win a gold medal, its understandable that the citizens of Montreal may want to forget it ever happened.

Went to have a quick look inside the biodome first up



Then a quick look around the Olympic precinct.





Montreal Tower – Supposed to be ready in time for the games but only completed 11 years later




Summing this up I’d say it was a little disappointing. Maybe it is a nicer experience in the summer when walking around the parklands on the other side of the stadium is more feasible. But even so it would be hard for me to return.

Walked back to the station ready to return to the hotel.



A pretty quick train ride. Off a stop early for a walk through Chinatown. Looked not too bad and we put it down to return for lunch in a few days when we were back.




After that it was the same routine as yesterday - refresh then dinner. Nothing exciting here. We’d loved the ramen from the other night so at NoName Jnr’s urgings we went back. The repeat dose was just as good as the first. Loved it and would absolutely return for more if we’re ever back. Back to the hotel again, packed up and then bed. Early start for the train ride to Quebec City tomorrow.

 

[NoName]

Day 17






Up and out the door ready to go to Quebec City this morning. Checked out and like NYC, we left most of our bags with the hotel. We were returning for another night in two days so only needed to take a small amount with us. Our ride on ViaRail to Quebec City was going from Gare Centrale which was a less than 10 minute walk so we dragged our 1 bag through the fresh snow and made our way there. Shovelled some kind of takeaway food into our mouths before boarding for a more or less on time departure just after 8:30am. I had heard stories of how bad ViaRail were when it came to delays and cancellations but we didn’t experience this at all thankfully and a few hours later we were pulling in to Gare du Palais ready for a new destination.

I had been happy enough to walk from the station to our hotel a mere 850m away however Mrs NoName quickly put that idea to rest and we were in a cab. Good call. It was -12c with a feels like temperature of -21c so every opportunity to stay warm was welcomed. Got to the hotel 5 minutes later and we were immediately happy with our accommodation choice. Hotel Clarendon is a 4-star hotel on Rue Sainte-Anne right in the heart of Old Quebec. The hotel is beautiful and fitting for the area it is situated in. Two nights in a Standard Room (2 double beds) was $484 through Booking.Com which we thought was great value.



Room wasn’t ready when we arrived which was not surprising as it was right on lunch time so still pretty early. We left our bags and went out to find some lunch.



The front desk had recommended Bistro 1640 and given it was close by we decided to go there. Typical bistro but food and atmosphere were good. Definitely recommend.




Pizza for NoName Jnr, French onion soup for Mrs NoName and a Classico burger for me

 

[NoName]

Day 17 - Continued……





Hunger satisfied, we ventured back out into the cold to look around what we had already realised was a gorgeous town.

Fairmont Chateau Frontenac – an iconic hotel and what inevitably pops up in photos of Quebec City.




Inside the stunning hotel







Dufferin Terrace Toboggan

 

[NoName]

Day 17 - Continued……





Took the Funicular down the hill to see more of Old Quebec and in particular Rue de Petit-Champlain

Rue de Petit Champlain






Freshly made maple toffee sticks – yum!

Chateau from below



Made our way back up through the streets to the top of the hill for the most anticipated activity of the day!

 

[NoName]

Day 17 - Continued……
It was now time to ride the toboggan! NoName Jnr especially was very excited about this but Mrs NoName had been put off by the extreme temperatures and the long line to ride. We bought two tickets (C$5 per ticket) and then joined the line. Soon, NoName Jnr had had enough so he went to find Mrs NoName and waited inside while I had the pleasure of spending an hour standing in -20c slowly making my way to the front. Really enjoyable!

It was late afternoon by now and well and truly dark but this only added to the experience with the chateau and surroundings now lit up.





Conveniently NoName Jnr reappeared moments before I took possession of our toboggan. We made the struggle to the top of the slide and prepared to come back down.



And away we go! So much fun!

With that done and with me especially absolutely freezing we quickly shuffled back to the hotel and into our now ready room. Reasonable size and perfect for what we needed.



Nice view out the window too



Dinner rolled around and we decided to try another front desk suggestion (also mainly due to the close proximity) and made the very short walk to La Buchette – website doesn’t seem to work so here’s the MENU saved elsewhere. This was a great choice, it was on the same street (Rue Sainte-Anne), food is French and was delicious. Small venue with a kind of funky vide. Recommend, and in fact we came back the next night.




Mrs NoName & I shared a steak tartare & a Beef Bourguinon – both were fantastic!




NoName Jnr had a kids burger which also came with a cookie and ice cream for dessert.



With food out of the way we were pretty much done for the evening. Back to the room and into bed for sleep.