Day 129 Montreal, Quebec: Hah, snuck in one more bakery, one more bike shop, and one more Amelia snuggle!

September 6, 2011

I wanted to put this shot in for its nostalgic value. This typewriter was used by my Mom for untold years and this weekend found new life with Sabrina.

Sabrina uses my Mom's "word processor", which was preserved by Harold.

Despite planning this day for route finding and packing, we grabbed Sabrina and Amelia and headed for a cafe, coincidentally next door to a bike and outdoor store. The cafe was Les Delices d'Amandine, which is another of those names that sound sort of good but for which a meaningful translation or interpretation is elusive.

Delices d'Amandine. Note the Jacques Cartier bridge reflected in the window. Dodie thinks she is taking me up on that tomorrow!

Not elusive was the great stuff we found inside:

Some innovative variations here, like the pistachio one.

The outdoor shop La Cordee (don't ask me what that means) has a moderate selection of bikes and equipment. The Dutch style bike from well known manufacturer Electra (model "Amsterdam") caught our attention, but actually if we switch out our bikes for Europe it will be to go to Bike Friday folding bikes or similar.

These BoBs are for rent:

As BoB users, we are just starting out in terms of understanding what is available in panniers. We also do not know if La Cordee has good prices or not. So tempting as it might be to grab the first Ortlieb we saw, we will hold off and have a lot more internet fun, scoping out models and prices.

The Grampies went gaga over a display of Ortlieb packs. We have seen various models of these cycle by over the summer but never noted the details other than how functional they seemed. Now, with a pannier powered tour in Europe on the drawing board, the details take on intense interest.

The failure of our breathable jackets from Cabela's has turned us to something 100% waterproof, even as only a short term solution. These durable looking clear plastic shells also feature a neat "Share the Road" logo.

So that's about it for Montreal. Oh, except for:

As Grampies on the Go we can now say we have achieved our primary mission:

Grandma and Amelia have now properly bonded. Prying them apart could be a chore.

Don't give up on this blog just yet, though. We still have to crawl back 6500 km to the Pacific, and lots is still going to happen before we make it!

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