montreal journal - day 4

Ostensibly in search of a French paper mill, but really just wandering around because it was too early for lunch, we began the day by walking along Canal Lachine. To our right, the view looked very much like the picture you see here. To our left, were worn down warehouses and graffitied buildings lining a busy truck route. The walk was blustery and we almost gave up hope of finding the paper mill, until we noticed a poorly marked stairwell leading below one of the buildings. After all of this, we decided not to go inside, because a.) it looked closed (and, let's be honest, a bit creepy), b.) we didn't really need any paper, and c.) we decided we couldn't speak "paper mill" french and wanted to avoid looking like fools during the inevitably awkward tour.

Quaint French paper mills aside, the real reason we were wandering around an industrial warren of warehouses was because we wanted to get lunch at a place in the neighborhood. Paul Patates is a 50's era diner, all chrome and neon - a very classy establishment. Because it sounded the most satisfying, we both ordered the number three combo: an "all-dressed" [with nowhere to go, but in our mouths] toaste - a grilled hot dog with mustard, ketchup, relish and homemade coleslaw; a plate of poutine, in place of the ubiquitous fries you might see in an American diner; and a bottle of homemade spruce beer. More places in Quebec used to brew their own spruce beer, but this practice has nearly gone the way of the Dodo. Paul Patates is one of the few in town that continues the tradition and their soda is crystal clear and lightly sweetened, with strong carbonation and a back of the throat resinous flavor that finishes off each sip. It was incredible. And, their poutine was among the squeakiest that we had.

Each with a full belly, we decided to go to a place where we wouldn't feel pressure to eat more. We dropped in at the Musee de Beaux Arts, which is free this fall. This was fantastic, because we could reserve that extra money for more meals. The museum's collections were pretty small, but luckily, they were currently hosting a clever traveling design exhibit. Focusing on the idea and imagery of streamlined speed, the exhibit juxtaposed items from the 30s and 40s like toasters and typewriters with the airplanes and trains that inspired their aerodynamic lines. These were the fastest appliances we had ever seen.

Since we enjoyed trekking all across town, we left the museum to head back in the direction of Canal Lachine, in order to drop by another of the city's markets - Marche Atwater. Though this market was in all of the guide books as having a beautiful building and being filled with gourmet food, we preferred the slightly more utilitarian, but much more international and interesting, Marche Jean Talon. After all, there was no Olives et Epices at this market... However, we did grab a jug of tart cider, which was a perfect compliment to our evening meal.

Although we had sadly missed the Pop Montreal music festival the weekend prior to our arrival, our trip did coincide with the Festival du Nouveau Cinema, an annual week of independent and progressive international films. We had read an article about a short film by two Montrealers and tried to get to it only to find that it was already sold out. Determinedly, we waited in line and managed to slip into the film. What we thought was a showing of one short film, was actually a competitive short films program. The piece that we had gone to see, Madame Tutli-Putli, was a mix of live action (just the eyes, disconcertingly enough) and stop motion animation. The film started out as a woman's darkly comic train trip, but quickly took an eerie turn. Neither of us had ever really seen an animated film that was actually scary. The animation was realistic enough to be frightening, but also had a certain doll-like, make-believe quality that was equally spooky. It did not disappoint. Among the rest of the films, we both enjoyed a short documentary about a rural French hunting club, as well as the film about the Balkan War. The rest of the films were a mix of bleak locales and bleaker experiences.

We returned from the films somewhat later than expected to a simple meal of market bread, cheese, cider...and a few of our Au Pied du Cochon leftovers. As we always say, some foie gras each day keeps the doctor away.