Sometimes it feels like Vancouver is sitting on the edge of the world. Squeezed into a tiny gap between the mountains and the sea. Normally this means almost all views of the city involve looking at it from within, but last weekend we took to the water for a different perspective.
I have a new favourite café in Vancouver. Tucked away on the corner of two residential streets in Vancouver’s East Side this place has a real community spirit as well as delicious coffee and to die for pastries. So far I have tried an almond croissant and a dark chocolate, walnut and ginger biscotti and both were incredible.
The café is situated in the shop front of a former store and the current owners have kept the shop tradition going, stocking a selection of food and household products as well as a great selection of fresh, local produce. The building has retained its traditional features, and the tables, chairs and benches outside are perfectly in keeping with it and with the leisurely neighbourhood pace.
I have spent several happy afternoons relaxing out here watching the world go by, listening to the friendly interactions of the locals and watching the bees hover around the hives on the roof of the garage a few doors down.
The café was recently featured in Monocle magazine and I’ve seen it a cropping up on a couple of other occasions online recently so I’m pleased that more people will get to discover it.
 Le Marché is on the corner of 28th and St George’s but if you go you have to take me with you.
This is my last Montreal post you’ll be glad to know. We’ve been back forever now so it’s about time I stopped rambling about it.
 On our last day in the city we went out to Parc Jean Drapeau on one of the Islands created for Expo 67. The parc is really pretty and from there you get some wonderful views as you look back towards Montreal.
Our main motivation in going was to see the Buckminster Fuller dome up close and to visit the Habitat housing. The dome is quite a feat in engineering and really suits its current setting, however apparently it’s pretty small inside and completely engineered towards kids so we gave it a miss and stuck to admiring the outside.
Also on the island is an enormous sculpture by Alexander Calder. I absolutely fell in love with his stuff when we saw an exhibition of it at the Seattle Art Gallery last year so it was great to get to see something else of his. This sculpture is much bigger than the delicate mobiles that festooned the gallery but its an intriguing shape gave us lots of talking points as we wandered towards, around and underneath it.
At the end of the bridge that connects the islands to the mainland are the apartment buildings designed for Expo 67 – Habitat. Designed by Moshe Safdie, who was 24 when he designed the buildings (therefore making the rest of us feel super inadequate), they are still inhabited. You can actually see images of the insides of people’s homes in the latest Monocle magazine.
The apartments look like concrete boxes all piled on top of one another, because they are. Despite that there is something incredibly humbling about standing in the middle of the complex. Windows and doors jut out at angles into the open spaces and into the skyline above, making for interesting views across the courtyard and out to the river beyond.
More Montreal and Quebec City pictures can be found on flickr.
During our stay in Quebec province we took a brief two day trip to Quebec City.  Situated a couple of hours North east of Montreal, Quebec City is Montreal’s smaller, older, slightly more European sibling.
The City is spread out in the way that most North American cities are, but the old town, and the port are all situated on top of or around the hill next to the river, and this was where we spent the majority of our time during our stay.
Old Quebec is made up of windy cobbled streets that were very reminiscent of European cities and incredibly crowded. All the buildings are made of bricks and tend to be only 2 or 3 stories high, making a nice change from the sparkling glass high rises of downtown Vancouver. We spent a lovely afternoon wandering in and around the cobbled streets, admiring the work of artists selling their wares and noticing beautiful windows and fun colourful rooftops.
The city is surrounded by its walls, they are in fact the only city walls that remain anywhere in North America. Easily accessed from multiple points along the way they provide a great vantage point for people spotting, or relaxing on sunny day.
Situated along the city walls is the city Citadel, which is almost entirely hidden from view appearing to be set into the side of the hill that old Quebec perches on the top of.
Less discrete is the Chateau Frontenac which dominates the town square and is apparently the most photographed hotel in the world or something. Given that pretty much everyone on the boardwalk was taking its picture I might actually trust the guidebook on that one.
This boardwalk was incredible, and something about it made me think of English seaside towns.
Our second day was not as sunbathed as the first, but I actually love the way the dark foreboding clouds hang over the river.
I loved Quebec City, and I would love to come back, but I’m not sure I’d want to tackle those cobbles when it’s cold and icy.
Have you ever seen a Cirque du Soleil show? They are absolutely incredible.
This year I have been lucky enough to see two, we saw Mystere in Las Vegas and the latest offering Totem in Montreal.
I am always enthralled by these shows. As someone who has spent a not inconsiderable amount of time on a trampoline and attempted to learn to juggle my impressed meter goes through the roof from the moment the first performer steps on to the stage. Time after time as the show progresses you think “oh my goodness I can’t imagine how they will top this†and then they do. Anyone fancy having a go at trampolining on a very narrow, very bendy balance beam that is resting on the shoulders of two fellow performers? No, what about the beam that’s resting on that beam?
One of the parts I was most impressed by in Totem, was the projection of water done as part of the set construction. With each act that came on a different projection was used and the water completely changed purpose. Performers came on in speed boats and fishing boats, and paddling a canoe, washed in on a raft, whilst monkeys and frogs were both washed away, bubbles were chased and creatures swam in from the depths. The plug was even pulled out.
Words could never really do justice to the performances so here is a video so that you can really see how astonishing the performances are.
