Although the town of Middlebury offers lots of summer entertainment (shout out to our new frozen yogurt shop!), it’s always great to break beyond the bubble and explore the “real world.” After a few weeks of hard work at the admissions office, where the size of our tours has steadily been growing, a few of us interns decided to take a mini-vacation to the big city. Nope, not NYC…Montreal!
Exploring the streets of Montreal!
Montreal is actually one of the closest big cities to Middlebury, which many people are surprised to hear. It’s a mere 2.5 hour drive north, and Zak was kind enough to volunteer as chauffeur. After stumbling into the car in the early morning and fueling ourselves with coffee, we arrived in Montreal with tons of time to explore. It’s pretty cool that we have the option to be in a different country within a matter of hours…and Montreal, with all of its French-speaking citizens, certainly feels like a different world.
Our first stop was the “Green Panther” restaurant, known for its vegan deliciousness, and fitting because of the ever-present panther imagery. We devoured some amazing falafel and they hiked the brief yet stair-ladden trails of Mont Royal to take in the panoramic scenery. While I had been to Montreal one other time, in the dead of winter, the beautiful, summery views of the city and surrounding waters didn’t fail to take my breath away (or perhaps that was because I was huffing and puffing after all the stairs…). It’s actually a bit of a shock to see so many buildings and shops after spending months at Midd, where the tallest building is our 6-story Bicentennial Hall, and the surrounding views are of mountains and greenery. I’d say both hold beauty, but in very different ways. We also visited the Biodome, an interesting indoor zoo/ecosystem center, where we were amused by sloths, beavers, and a “maple forest.”
The view at the top of Mont Royal.
Of course, a trip to the city wouldn’t be complete without a hostel stay. As college students, we were happy to pay only about $30 each to stay in a dorm-style hostel. Hey, after living in co-ed campus dorms for years, our clean and welcoming hostel immediately felt like home. A nice dinner plus a visit to the amazing “Juliette et Chocolate” creperie, as well as a longer-than-planned visit to a cool, narrow bookstore during a downpour provided us with some great memories. As we each tucked into our bunk beds after watching Zak perform some interesting card tricks in the hostel lounge, it was a matter of minutes before we fell asleep.
Hostel life…convenient and comfortable!
We headed back to Middlebury on Sunday, completing our entire trip in just over 24 hours. International travel does have its hardships though, and we spent a few minutes at the border crossing being investigated by some grumpy US officers. But, we made it through and returned to the homeland. While the transition from Midd to Montreal certainly is drastic, and enthralling in that we are exposed to actual city life, it was nice to return to our rustic, rural home. I spent the rest of Sunday sleeping and skimming through pictures of our weekend, grateful to have had the chance to fit in a quick weekend getaway with good friends.
A rewarding end to a Saturday night.
Montreal must-do’s:
1) Walk down St. Laurent Boulevard…shops, restaurants, and culture galore!
2) Visit Mont Royal…perfect for jogging, walking, and awesome views!
3) Juliette et Chocolate…come for the crepes, try the brownies…ok, just try everything.