If you like beautiful nature and a fantastic city, then you need to take a trip to Montreal and Quebec City! Check out all of my recommendations for when you visit! Stay tuned as I am actively updating this blog post.
BASILICA-CATEDRAL DE MARIE-REINE-DU-MONDE
If you follow me on Instagram you know that #MairaLovesCathedrals is a thing. Well, I was able to cross off another bucket list item and add another cathedral to my collection in Canada! I visited the beautiful Basilique Marie Reine du Monde Cathedral which is French for Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral. It is a beautiful minor Basilica in Montreal, Canada. I particularly liked it because of all the statues above it and surrounding it. It is the 3rd largest cathedral in Quebec and serves as the seat of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Montreal.
Calvin and I were lucky that the day we visited this Cathedral, a couple had actually just gotten married! So It was very fun to watch the couple stroll out of the Cathedral..well we didn’t actually see them walk out of the Cathedral. We saw them outside taking pictures, so who knows….maybe they got married somewhere else. This particular area of Montreal had a ton of churches and cathedrals!
There were so many statues all around it! It was a very cool place.
BIOSPHERE
Montreal was such a cool city with so much to do and see including this really cool looking structure! And no, this sphere looking thing isn’t just for show, it’s actually called the Montreal Biosphere and it is a museum dedicated to the environment! It was super cool, has anyone been here? Or does anyone have any recommendations for Vancouver?
EAT POUTINE IN CANADA
I love when the universe looks out for me…like when I travel to Canada and want to try poutine and I end up catching the end of their famous Poutinefest Festival!
I did it friends! I was really nervous to try this Canadian delicacy because it just sounds really….interesting. According to Wikipedia, Poutine is a Canadian dish, originating in the province of Quebec (which is where I visited), made with French fries and cheese curds topped with a light brown gravy. When I first told my friends that I was going to Canada, all I kept hearing was ‘YOU HAVE TO TRY POUTINE’ so naturally, I added this item to my travel bucket list.
Don’t get me wrong, I love fries, gravy, and cheese…I’ve just never had them in 1 dish before. But it was DELICIOUS!! Tasted sort of like mashed potatoes. It was really good, but really filling. I only ate half of my bowl and I still wanted to go on a juice cleanse after haha.
The great thing about poutine is that there are so many variations of it. I ordered the most basic one (fries, gravy, and cheese curds) but my friend ordered his with smoked meat, onions, mushrooms and his tasted even better. I will definitely be trying the more extreme variations next time I’m in Canada!
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL SHOW IN CANADA
31,000 steps and a full day in Canada later, bucket list travel edition item #34 was completed: go to a Cirque du Soleil show! We saw Luzia, the newest show inspired by the cultural richness of Mexico and IT. WAS. AMAZING. Not only were the tricks and performers super impressive, but the music was awesome (downloading all the music for my half marathon training playlist), the costumes were beautiful, the story was emotional AND they served margaritas. Glad I got to see a show in Canada, where CirqueDuSoleil actually originated more than 30 years ago!
I felt like a child when I saw the big white tents because I’ve always related big tents to awesome circus shows!
The show was so intense and emotional…I think the picture above is a great representation of what I was feeling! Check out more photos on my very Mexican adventures in Canada here!
MONTMORENCY FALLS
They told me I would fall in love with Quebec City, and they were so right. Absolutely in love with this place. Montmorency Falls was breathtaking and apparently 30 meters taller than Niagara Falls! We got soaked just by standing next to it.
You can check out a video of my experience here. It was so beautiful!
MOUNT-ROYAL
One thing that wasn’t on the graduation bucket list but totally should have been was travel! Luckily I got to do that after graduation and one of my fave places to visit was Canada! Including when I got to climb Mount Royal! Mount Royal is a mountain in Canada with a beautiful view of the city! And if you say Mount Royal really fast it sounds like Montreal!
Great hike with a beautiful view of the city.
NOTRE-DAME DES VICTORIES CHURCH
July 1st is the national day of Canada, a holiday celebrating the enactment of the Constitution Act which formed Canada back in 1867! To celebrate Canada Day, I went cathedral-seeking and found the Notre-Dame des Victories church in Quebec City! This church is a National Historic Site of Canada and a great addition to the Maira Loves Cathedrals collection!
Strollin’ through Quebec City I learned a very valuable lesson. Don’t wear strappy sandals and walk on their cobblestone streets because you might mildly hurt your ankle LOL.
OLD PORT IN MONTREAL
What do a Sun Devil and a Wildcat have in common? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Just kidding, we both share a love for the Old Port of Montreal and are very happy to take a little break from the Arizona heat!
The Old Port was beautiful! So many people and little shops and while we were there, the Poutine Festival was happening!
PARC JEAN-DRAPEAU
You know who would go to an EDM festival in another country after hearing about it just 1 hour before it started!? Someone who is ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT LIFE. That’s right friends. A Montreal native complimented me on my earrings (pictures coming soon!), we became buddies and then she told us we should check out the Piknic Electronik festival at Parc Jean-Drapeau and it was SO. MUCH. FUN. We danced, partied, made some friends and drank sangria from cute little buckets (bucket list sangria haha).
SAINT LAWRENCE RIVER IN QUEBEC CITY
I loved Quebec City, the cobble stone streets, the French language, the rich culture, and the fact that Quebec City sits on the Saint Lawrence River! Currently planning on returning here in 2018 but this year, my next Canadian trip will be to Vancouver! Have you been to Canada?
THE SPLENDID MAGNIFICENT
This piece of art is called #LeMalhereuxMagnifique which translates to The Splendid Magnificent and is located in the Latin Quarter of Montreal. The sentence by the artist to accompany the sculpture is: To those who look inside themselves and thus cross over the borders of the visible. I tried to recreate the pose and my wonderful friend Calvin didnt bother to tell me that I was doing it wrong (lol).
I had the best time and cannot wait to return. I hope this post inspires you visit.
Thank you all for reading, and stay enthusiastic!
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-Maira