We arrived into Laval, a suburb of Montreal, late in the evening, and met our new couchsurfing hosts JF and Manon.We were welcomed into their home and spent the evening chatting and getting lots of great advice about where to go and what to eat in Montreal. I also tried some of JF's parent's homemade red wine, which was delicious.

The next morning we were up very early, as JF and Manon leave early to cycle to work.(They are in training for a 2 month cycle trip across Europe next year).We took the Metro into Montreal and headed to a recommended Bagel place for breakfast.This was fantastic, with a really relaxed atmosphere, and the staff were very friendly too.We tried out the French we remembered from school, but the staff were soon to realise that we knew very little, so spoke to us in English!After breakfast we walked to Parc La Fontaine, past some traditional Montreal houses, with the staircases on the outside.The park was beautiful and it was a really sunny day, so there were a few people suiting around and many playing instruments.We sat listening to a guy playing guitar and watched the squirrels, including a few albino squirrels, and wished that we had bought some peanuts for them.We then walked down Rue Saint Catherine, looking at the various sculptures, fountains and buildings, and we went into Mary Queen of the World Cathedral-Basilica, which was fantastic, and free.It was really tastefully decorated and well lit, making it one of the most beautiful Cathedrals I have seen in a long time, due to its simplicity.

We then walked through Dorchester Square and Place du Canada, then down to Old Montreal.We spent time walking along the cobbled streets, looking at the beautiful buildings, including the Notre Dame Cathedral, and we walked down the artist's street.The old town was fantastic, and the whole city had a really nice, artistic feel to it.We decided not to go into the Cathedral, as it was $5 each and we were thirsty, so we went to a micro brewery instead, called Les 3 Brasseurs.I would definitely recommend this place for beer and lunch, and they have a glass wall showing the brewery behind it.Next we walked down to Quai Jacques Cartier and saw the St Lawrence River and a couple of tall ships.Finally we walked back up to Parc la Fontaine, as we had peanuts now, and we sat again in the park, this time feeding the squirrels.We walked for miles, and were very tired by the time we got the Metro back to Laval that evening!

The next day we had an early start again (I don't know how we did this every day when we were working!)We took the metro and headed to the same bagel place for breakfast.We had wanted to try the smoked meat and poutine, as these dishes, along with bagels, are what Montreal is famous for, but we did not fancy either of these for breakfast!We then walked to Parc du Mont-Royal and climbed to the top of the mountain.This was very tiring, so we stopped for coffee at the top in the Chalet and sheltered from the brief rain shower.There was also information up here about the discovery of Montreal, and we learnt that Montreal comes from Mont-Royal (Royal Mountain).We then walked along Boulevard Saint-Laurant, through China Town and all the way to the outdoor market.This was another very long walk, so we were really tired after walking so much yesterday too.The market was so colourful, with fantastic looking fruit and veg, and we bought some meat and beer ready for a BBQ that evening.

The four of us had a great BBQ, with some Saint Ambrose Canadian beer, whilst Manon and I had some more homemade wine.It was great to spend some time with our hosts, but again sad to have to start saying our goodbyes, as we would be leaving them, and Canada, early the next morning.

Maggie x