Category Archives: Uncategorized

Bayeux, The Heart of Normandy

Bayeux is not situated in the south of France, so one does not visit here for blinding sunshine and lounging on the beaches. The average high in June is 64 F, skyrocketing all the way to 69 in August before it starts dipping back down, with a possibility of a grey day or sudden showers. Perhaps it’s global warming?

But yes, we do come for the beaches – Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.  We visit for remembrance of June 6, 1944, D-Day, and all of the history, reliving and celebrating The Liberation, and the courageous men and women who made it happen.

While our focus is D-Day, tired at the end of the day from exploring all of the magnificent military sites, it’s a good plan to regroup in a welcoming home away from home in a lovely little French town.  Bayeux is perfectly situated to provide an excellent home base for touring the nearby historic WWII sites. It is one of the only cities to escape bombing and destruction during WWII and is known as the first major town secured by the Allies during Operation Overlord.

We have stayed in Bayeux for each our visits to Normandy, and can attest to it’s beauty and tranquility, lodging and restaurants.

One of our two recommendations for lodging is historic Hotel Churchill where the halls are decorated with extraordinary black and white photos of WWII, Band of Brothers, and other army material.

One memorable birthday visit at Hotel Churchill, future-hubby had arranged flowers, card and presents.  Madame de l’hôtel hid his roses in the back room overnight and then surprised us both with the flowers and a wonderful Joyeux Anniversaire brioche cake at breakfast which we shared with all of the other guests.

 

Hotel Churchill is situated  downtown, steps from the picturesque watermills, just a block or so from the famous tapestry for which Bayeux is best known.

 

 

The 11th century tapestry is 230 feet long of embroidered wool on linen, and depicts the scenes of the Norman Conquest in 50 different panels. It currently resides at Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux.  

Bayeux Cathedral

 

 

 

 

The cloth’s original home was the Bayeux Cathedral where you will find beautiful murals and crypts.   Both of these sites are worth a visit in your downtime.

As well, Le Mont Saint Michel UNESCO World Heritage Site is approximately 2-1/4 hours drive from Bayeux.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are many lovely spots downtown to stop for un café.  Rain or shine, coffee makes every day better.

We try to plan a visit to include a weekend in Bayeux as every Saturday morning, rain or shine, residents and visitors alike flock to la Place Saint Patrice for the bustling weekly market.

The scents of grilling sausages, meat, and paella will draw you near.  Is it time for lunch?

 

 

 

 

 

 

The photo opportunities are endless at the market.

Succulent tomatoes…

…and energetic Jack Russells

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday dinner?

Domes of nougat – pistache!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To find the market, just follow the steady stream of housewives meandering down the sidewalk with empty market baskets.

The walk through town reveals beautiful old timbered buildings, doorways, and flowers…


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Industrious bees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Le Bon Vie does not live by photos alone.  Let there be wine, cheese and pain! or bread…let there be many lovely French baguettes!  Cave-Bistrot Le Volet qui Penche  is rated one of the top ten restaurants in Bayeux, right in the middle of downtown on the water and one of our very favorites.  We would dine here each evening if it was open.  Recommended as a wine cave for charcuterie, they have fresh entrées, an extensive wine collection, and friendly knowledgeable sommelier, who also has a wine stall at the Saturday market…how convenient.

Another new favorite Bayeux B&B…Clos de Bellefontaine Guesthouse. It is an enchanting maison with the host family living in one side of the home, and the guest rooms with a separate entrance off a lovely yard and patio. There are two guest suites with modern bathrooms, one on each upper floors, with drawing room and breakfast room on first floor. Breakfasts are generous with many homemade choices. Carole, the hostess, is friendly and accommodating, a great chef, homemaker, and artist in her spare time. Parking is in the enclosed secure gated yard, and Clos is walking distance from shops  and restaurants. We had a comfortable weeklong stay in the cosy yet elegant rooms. It was wonderful to relax in the drawing room at end of day with a book and snack or aperitif, and sometimes meet the other guests, and Marcel, the resident Jack Russell.

Everything is better with coffee,  wine, and a Jack Russell.  Happy travels. C’est tout!

Tranquil Painters’ Paradise in Giverny

Claude Monet has long been my favorite impressionist artist.  We tend to temper each visit to the beaches and museums of Normandy with a relaxing few hours enjoying the tranquil beauty of Claude’s final home in Giverny.

In 1883, Claude began by purchasing a farmhouse surrounded by an orchard, and initiated a vast landscaping project including lily ponds that would become the subjects of his best-known works.  Here the Father of French Impressionism adopted a method of painting the same scene many times in order to capture the change of light and the passing of the seasons.

In 1899 he began painting the water lilies, first in vertical views with a Japanese bridge as a central feature, and later in the series of large-scale paintings that was to occupy him continuously for the next 20 years of his life.

This peaceful paradise is much the same as it was when Claude Monet passed in 1826.  A visit is easy to include on a Parisian or Normandy itinerary as Giverny is located approximately an hour west of CDG airport and about two hours southeast of Bayeux, which we consider the heart of Normandy.

Each season at Giverny is a unique experience…different flowers,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sometimes sunny, sometimes gray, but always some violet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lovely walk around the Water Garden,

and the Lily Pond.

early-June view from Monet’s bedroom

J’ai du bon tabac

la cuisine

After our visit among the gardens, it was time for a little shopping under the watchful eye

of le chat de garde,

Cozy tea time rendezvous

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

followed by a wood fire grilled lunch at Le Petit Giverny and un bouteille de vin.

À votre santé

J’aime la lumière quand pareille aux bouches sensuelles des modèles de Renoir elle donne au travers de l’olivier à la pelouse mille baisers.  -Claude Cambour

 

 

 

I love the light when like the sensual mouths of Renoir’s models she gives through the olive tree to the lawn a thousand kisses.

-Claude Cambour, peintre


 

 

C’est tout!

Remembering D-Day in Normandy, WWII Film Festival, and Canadian Sites

In the small rural towns in northern France, the first two weeks of June each year are a special time for remembrance, celebration of D-Day and liberation, and all things military and WWII.  Both of our fathers served in WWII and as you know, my husband loves anything WWII or military related, so we return again and again to Normandy, but then again who does not want to return to France? Allons-y!

In June 2017, we decided to participate in the 1st Normandie-World War II International Film Festival in St-Marie-Du-Mont and Carentan.  The festival is organized by the US World War II Foundation. By sponsoring the event, we were invited to the Red Carpet night held at Utah Beach Museum in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.

The 2017 VIP event honored 2nd Ranger Battalion and D-Day Pointe-du-Hoc veteran George Klein. As promised there were Band of Brothers actors, wine and food, tanks, guns and aircraft…it was fabulous.

James Madio (Technician Fourth Grade Frank Perconte Band of Brothers), John MacLennan (husband extraordinaire), and Rick Warden (First Lt. Harry F. Welsh, Band of Brothers)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kathy schmoozing with James Madio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If Band of Brothers does not ring a bell, it was originally an HBO series, chronicling the story of Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army  and based on the book written by Stephen Ambrose, interviews with survivors of Easy Company, as well as soldiers’ journals and letters, and experiences of these young men who knew extraordinary bravery and extraordinary fear. 

 

We have watched Band of Brothers numerous times. Any male actor who is anyone is probably in it and it is 100% Rotten Tomatoes.  Tom Hanks – check.  James McAvoy – check.  Damian Lewis – check…the list goes on.

The Normandie-WWII International Film Festival is the only film festival in the world featuring the latest on WWII content only, from feature films to shorts. Over 50 films made the cut for the inaugural film festival which were projected in the Carentan Salle du Théâtre. We viewed a few of them over the four day festival and met up with Robin and Jane Brockman at a few events and again for dinner in Bayeux. Robin had submitted a WWII action film entitled Here Again.  He is an American & British national and author, editor, playwright, director, and actor. He grew up in Kansas and joined the US Army at 17, serving as a paratrooper in America and as an infantryman in the Vietnam War. There he underwent a profound Near Death Experience. Later he was an observer in conflicts from the Middle East to El Salvador, Ethiopia to Bosnia, and on the Turkish-Iraqi and Syria-Iraqi borders.  Rob and Jane reminded us that we meet the nicest, most interesting people all over the world.  We wish him well in his future film-making endeavors

 

 

Besides the film festival, our trip would begin with a memorable military bang. As John’s birthday treat, I booked a full day personal tour of Canadian D-Day sites with Bayeux Shuttle.  Mike, our guide was extremely knowledgeable and thanks to him, we were in for a special treat when we again visited the Juno Beach Centre, which is the Canadian WWII museum.

It’s a Canadian Museum – of course there will be curling.

June Beach serenely beautiful

52,022 Poppies representing the 52,022 Canadian soldiers buried in France.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The day of our visit, David Teacher, M.B.E. was at the museum speaking to a group of school children.  He was among the first soldiers to land in Normandy as he drove his three ton truck off a landing craft.

Crowdfunding had enabled David, who is in a wheelchair, to come back to the 2017 D-Day events to drive a Bedford QL WW2 truck on Juno Beach just as he did on D-Day. Can  you imagine the hoops and hurdles to make this happen?  Insurance requirements, government permits allowing one of these trucks on June beachhead, fabricating a special lift to raise David up into the truck and therefore additional liability insurance, getting the truck from the London military enthusiast collector to Juno Beach, film crews, weather concerns…mind boggling.  Our tour guide was involved in making it happen, so we were able to meet David Teacher and see the awe and enthusiasm of the school children crowding around him. He signed a copy of his book for us: Beyond My Wildest Dreams.

We read there is a plan afoot to take David to Belgium as he is a Battle of the Bulge veteran and to the Netherlands where he also served. He gives his time freely to charities and volunteers speaking to school parties about his war time service.  We were honored and touched to meet this wonderful man.

 

Boys and their toys

 

Canada House: Thought to be the first house liberated by troops who landed on Juno beach. These troops were from the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. Around the house, more than 100 Canadian soldiers were killed or wounded in the first minutes of the invasion.

 

 

On the House are three plaques: one to the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, one to The Fort Garry Horse and one to the Régiment de la Chaudière

 

 

 

 

 

We visited the somber garden at L’Abbaye d’Ardenne where the memorial reads: “In memoriam: on the night of 7-8 June 1944, eighteen Canadian soldiers were murdered in this garden while being held here as prisoners of war. Two more prisoners died here, or nearby, on 17 June 1944. Lest we forget.” 

L’Abbaye d’Ardenne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another day found us attending an all day parachute jump from WWII planes in farmers’ fields with thousands of our closest friends.  Like many multi-tasking Americans, we planned to arrive on schedule, see a few jumps, then drive out and go on to our next activity, stopping somewhere for a wonderful lunch and a coffee…not the French way.  Should have packed a picnic and lawn chairs, planning to relax, celebrate, and enjoy the festivities. The police planned a one-time controlled entrance for everyone thru the one-lane hedgerows into the fields set for parking.  In the evening, the traffic flow would turn around when the event is over. Luckily there were booths selling beer and grilling sausages, so it was not a problem to slow down and enjoy the moment.

The D-Day Experience is another must see at Dead Man’s Corner in Saint-Côme-du-Mont, featuring a 3D immersive exhibit, a flight simulator, two museums, two shops, and a memorial dedicated to airborne troops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What would a celebration be without a parade?  We spent another fine day at Isigny-Sur-Mer enjoying their annual D-Day military parade which is similar to 4th of July only probably a lot more military vehicles and tanks. Everyone dresses up like it’s the 1940’s and re-enactors come from all over including Belgium and the Netherlands to dress up like Canadians, British, and Americans. 

 

 

 

 

 

As we drove out of Isigny at the end of the day, we came face to face with a Sherman tank blocking the entire roadway. The drivers had no intention of moving unless perhaps it was to flatten all of us in our tiny Peugeots and Renaults, so we managed to back up quickly along with everyone else and find alternate routes out of town. Makes for a great story and memory….

We will be back again and again, and most certainly in 2019 for the 75th Anniversary of D-Day.

C’est Tout!

History Matters at Oak Park River Forest Museum

I recently found a newspaper clipping indicating my grandmother had donated to Oak Park a ceremonial Camp Fire Leader gown worn by my great-grandmother in the 1920s.  After contacting the Oak Park River Forest Museum, I was excited to learn they still have the gown in storage and there was a possibility of someday seeing and touching this family treasure.

At that time in 2017, the museum was preparing to move into their newly renovated space created inside Oak Park’s oldest municipal building at the southeast corner of Lake and Lombard.

Originally built in 1898 as a firehouse by Cicero Township, the Historical Society invested private funds to transform this vacant building into a LEED accredited eco-friendly facility.

The front facade still resembles a firehouse from the street with beautiful decorative arching brickwork around the upper windows.

Inside, a knowledgeable and extremely enthusiastic curator/board member filled our heads with every detail of the building renovation,  exhibits, events, and resources.

The original two fire house pole chutes were discovered in renovation and can be safely viewed from above and below. There are plans in 2018 to install a real brass fire pole, which children will enjoy.

 

 

Upstairs, an area is dedicated to children’s interests with old games and dollhouses and toys…

 

 

 

 

and a space dedicated to special exhibits.  WWI was on display during our visit which my husband and I both enjoyed immensely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hometown Legends display wall offers brief biographies of many Oak Park River Forest citizens who have contributed to society:  architects, artists, and writers, entrepreneurs, scientists, and social activists.  We all know about Frank Lloyd Wright and Ernest Hemingway, but we were surprised at the number of amazing people that lived in Oak Park.  Who knew the inventor of Twinkies was from Oak Park, or the author of Tarzan?

There is so much more to see at this lovely museum.  As well, the Historical Society of Oak Park & River Forest plans many museum exhibits, events, tours, house and cemetery walks. Be sure to check their website calendar here.

C’est tout! 

Thankful…All the time. Let’s Pay It Forward

If you know me, you know I’m all about travel and exploring the world. That’s what this blog is about. Hubby and I love to travel as much as budget, time, and responsibilities allow. We have so much fun, that much of the time, I don’t even have time to blog about it.

Over the past 13 years since I started keeping track, we have taken around 60 trips, whether long weekends or months long journeys. Someday I will calculate the mileage and I’m sure it will be amazing. We have another dozen trips in the planning stages and a seemingly endless list of cities and countries we want to explore and then go back again and again because we meet such wonderful people and make great memories.

Having just changed homes (yet again), we are home for a few months before the next adventure. One of our grandsons recently asked, “Grandma and grandpa, why do you keep moving?”  Hmmm…probably terminal wanderlust.  In his 8 years of life we have been in 5 different homes. He and his brother especially enjoyed our big forever home with the huge dodge ball friendly basement and yard that was really too much for us to worry about. Now we are in a condo that Goldilocks & big Bear says is “just right”. Finally we have a home that can sit unattended when we travel the world.

What is the segue way to Thankful? This is the time of year when Being Thankful is always playing on my mind. I am so thankful for where I am in my life. I have an amazing husband who enjoys the same things I do (24/7…but that is another story). We are retired and can do what we enjoy – particularly travel. We enjoy good health for the most part. We have lovely friends, and most importantly, we have healthy, happy children and grandchildren, most of them close by. What more could you ask for?

We also have a brand new cozy home to come back to when our wanderlust is temporarily satisfied.

Not everyone is so lucky. Living close to the city, we daily encounter people in need on the street. Every year we typically donate to our favorite organizations, but these everyday reminders of humans in need make me more thankful that I can help a little, particularly at this time of year when we encounter so much overindulgence.

Giving Tuesday is the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving . Many organizations that you donate to have matching donations on that day so make sure to put Giving Tuesday on your calendar and remember your favorite charities this holiday season (November 28, 2017).

Besides monetary donations, the MacLennan’s like to give back on a personal level whether it’s volunteering or sometimes adopting an elderly person or children off a gift tree. This year we are collecting scarves, hats, and gloves to keep in the car (because it gets pretty darn cold here in Chicago). When we come across those less fortunate, we will hand out something warm to wear with our donation, as well as some days a bag of something to eat like Subway and fruit. This requires planning ahead, so I’ve marked a few days on the calendar when I think we will be out and about in the car, so we can pick up food in advance.  Another day we plan to bring a holiday meal and some wish list items to a local homeless veterans shelter.

We have a great deal to be thankful for, and have a wide variety of favorite organizations. This is not a shameless plug for our favorites – I just wanted to share our list so it might jog your memory for ways that you might give back or pay-it-forward.

Special Needs:  

Chicago Blackhawks Special Hockey

WDSRA

We Grow Dreams

Cancer:

St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital

Military/Veterans:  

Operation Support our Troops

Midwest Homeless Shelter for Veterans

Children:

Toys for Tots (it’s a great tradition to get your children involved in choosing toys for the less fortunate & bringing to a donation center as a family)

Elderly:

Chicago Scots Caledonia Senior Living & Memory Care

DuPage County Convalescent Center (Adopt-a-Resident)

Animals:

DuPage County Animal Control Foundation

Public Television:

WTTW (When we are not traveling, I love to watch Masterpiece, Doc Martin and a ton of their shows. Outlander & Game of Thrones are a given but we need Public Television!)

Church: of course that’s your choice and it’s personal to us all

I hope that you, your loved ones, family and friends, are warm and safe, healthy and happy this Thanksgiving and Holiday season. If you are as blessed and lucky as we are, consider paying it forward on Giving Tuesday to your own favorite organizations or finding a way to make contact with those less fortunate and pay it forward.

We continued to be very blessed, very lucky, and very thankful!  Sending good wishes from our home to yours, Happiest Thanksgiving to you xo

C’est tout.

 

Normandie-WWII International Film Festival June 2017

Our 2017 significant vacation adventure is just about upon us as we prepare to travel next week. Our first destination is Normandy for the inaugural WWII International Film Festival to be held June 2 through 5, 2017 at Musee Du Debarquement Utah Beach in Saints-Marie-Du-Mont and Cinema Le Cotentin in Carentan.

Do not fear my little friends…there will be plenty of other Le Bon Vie fun to report on this holiday. Stay tuned for updates from some lovely European towns and cities.

C’est tout!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Countdown to 5 Glorious Days in Berlin

We are in the last week countdown before jetting off to Germany and are looking forward to visiting the cultural and historical hub that is Berlin. So far for us, Germany has been explored via a series of plane changes in Frankfurt and Munich on our way to sunnier climates in France, Spain and Italy. September 2016 we will finally visit Berlin, Munich, and Ingolstadt (yes home to Audi!) before moving on to Italy.  Stay tuned for some exciting travel stories and hopefully gorgeous photos.

Downton Abbey Fashions at Driehaus Museum

19 MuseumBeing a Downton Abbey lover, I was excited to find the Driehaus Museum in Chicago is presenting Dressing Downton – Changing Fashions for Changing Times February 9 through May 29, 2016. As the sixth and final season of Downton Abbey has concluded, PBS stations WTTW & WMFT have sponsored an exhibit of over 35 period costumes from the award winning show.

This exhibition explores fashions in Britain between 1912 (the year the Titanic sank) and the early 1920’s, the dawn of the Jazz Age. The impact of World War I greatly affected people’s lives and the way that they dressed. These changes are particularly highlighted.

The culturally and historically significant Driehaus Museum is located steps from the Magnificent Mile and the perfect setting for the Fashions of Downton. This grand and palatial mansion was the residence of Samuel M. Nickerson and is one of the few remaining examples of the 19th century Gilded Age-era in both design and architecture.

My first visit to this glorious mansion left me dreaming of years gone by, experienced only in old movies or British television series. After tickets and coatroom, obtaining a colored brochure of each exhibit and an audio presentation, I ascended one of the grand carpeted marble staircases to the first floor. There I joined the crowd of ladies who lunch in watching a short introductory film on the made for television show. The visitors on a Tuesday morning were 99% women with some serious Red Hat Society ladies. Today however, they were wearing white gloves and adorned with straw hats, feathers and such finery as to fit in at a proper tea party.

Promptly at 10am, the ticket taker appeared and we glided into the grand reception room from where the staircase ascended to upper floors and from which all the first floor rooms connected.

17 staircase

 

Tickets are purchased for every half hour admittance times. Quite well thought out. There never seemed to be people crowding in if you wanted to take a photo or in your way while you examined an exhibit. There is plenty of room to envision yourself a distant Crawley cousin, belonging in the priceless surroundings.

1 Martha Levinson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 Lady Crawleys spanish dress

 

 

15 presentation at court

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 presentation

 

4 stained glass ceiling

3 library

 

2 fireplace

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The library is furnished around an artistically significant fireplace and statuary which leads the gaze up to a stained glass ceiling. The ceiling is beyond words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13 Mary's riding habit

 

 

 

Each of the rooms on the three exhibit floors hold multiple costumes, informational directories, and photos from the television show.

The rooms themselves have directories as well that are part of the regular Driehaus Museum exhibition. There are no words I can use to describe the beauty and opulence of the mansion. It just requires a visit to absorb it all.

6 Edith's riding costume

 

 

 

 

 

11 Cora & Lord Grantham

 

 

 

 

 

14 Dowager Countess

10 Cora & Lord Grantham

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 Cora's gown Edith's wedding

7 Mary's dress

 

18 tea

 

Traditional English tea is available by reservation in the Murphy Auditorium, served by properly costumed servants .

There must be a gift shop! Oh yes there is, just next to the tea.  Many treasures abound.

 

 

 

Life after Downton…what will we see next? Luckily the Driehaus Museum is a must see on it’s own, holding many interesting programs and exhibitions. The Museum entrance is located at 40 East Erie Street, Chicago, IL, 60611.

C’est tout!

Digging into the past in with Agatha Christie in Old Montreal

st PatricksAs our December visit to Montreal comes to an end, I ventured forth with my trusty camera for photographic evidence of the holidays…but then was distracted by the past and an old friend.    Agatha Christie

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking along the waterfront in Old Montreal, I came upon a new exhibit entitled In the footsteps of Agatha Christie at Pointe-à-Callière museum.  Très excitant!

Agatha Christie has always been one of my favorite authors and earlier just this spring I read The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery.   This particular book is a travelogue of her yearlong trip around the British Empire in 1922 with her first husband, and contains letters and photos from her travels.  Interesting side note, Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare.

The Pointe-à-Callière Museum is the only major archeology museum in Canada, and caters to interest children as well as adults. There is much more to see here than this one exhibit, but time was limited, so I concentrated on digging into my favorite mystery writer’s life.

The Pointe-à-Callière exhibition is presented in French and English and runs through April 2016. Photos were not allowed except in the gift shop, but that was good for me, as I then took my time to drink it all in.

If you are familiar with Agatha Christie, you know of her interest in archeology as well of her archeological adventures with her second husband, Sir Max Mallowan. Max was a prominent British archaeologist specialising in ancient Middle Eastern history. At least half of this exhibit highlights this part of Agatha’s life in previously unshared artifacts, black and white films, audio recordings, notebooks and photos, from the Christie Archive Trust and her grandson. The other half of the exhibit shows the writer and her personal life, and also has many personal artifacts and huge larger than life photos of Agatha.

The exhibit presents how she incorporated her travel and experiences, and even her favorite dog into some of her novels. It was all terribly interesting darling, and makes me wish I could curl up in front of the fire with one of her books and a cup of tea. I do love Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, and wish I could have met the Agatha in person. Sometimes living in the past seems wonderful…in the meantime, it will have to be books, photographs and movies that take me there.

Looking into the past in Montreal…C’est tout.

railsquare philliphidden gardenCentre d'histoire clocktower

look into the past

Habitat 67

Montreal abandoned rail

Montreal’s festive holiday markets (Marché de Noël)

ice sculptureThe weeks leading up to Christmas are a fantastic time to explore downtown Montreal. Having recently spent three months living near Old Montreal, I was excited to travel back this week to visit the Christmas markets, or Marché de Noël as they are known in Quebec.

Today while walking over to Rue Ste-Catherine for a little retail therapy, I came across a pop up Marché de Noël in the square above Place Ville Marie, complete with Christmas trees, ice sculpture, and scattered comfortable Adirondack chairs covered in cozy (faux) fur throws.

fur accoutrement

Place Ville Marie is an underground shopping mall connected to the underground city, located across the street from the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth hotel. The Fairmont is the site of the Beaver Club, and many famous celebrity guests have stayed there.  Probably the most celebrated of all, John Lennon, held his ‘bed-in’ here in 1969, where the song Give Peace a Chance was written and recorded. As well, the Fairmont has a unique gift shop worth exploring and the BEST high tea, but that’s another story.

Back to the Marché…one of my favorite pâtisserie/boulangeries – bar à beurre, has a booth with samples of their yummy cookies and candies, and mason jars of the same for sale as gifts, and their signature shopping bags.  bar à beurre literally translates to butter bar…hmmm, no wonder their cupcakes and cookies are so wonderful.

bread

There is a artisanal bread booth, and a cheese and sausages booth, perfect for gift baskets…walk faster you little weight watcher!

les chocolats de chloe

But alas, I was caught up at the chocolate booth, Les Chocolats de Chloé.  I met lovely Chloé herself, luring in customers with her wonderful cocoa treats.  I guess a few bars for stocking stuffers would be okay…if I just can forget they are packed in the suitcase.

raplapla

Raplapla sells handmade dolls and animals to cuddle…so soft, and they have a doll hospital to repair your treasures.

Boucle & Papier  papeterie boutique had many fun gifts…. artisan stationary and labels and soft little handmade zipper bags…oh my. So many cute things.

relax

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love that the Christmas markets boast artisanal wares and unique gifts from boutiques, and am looking forward to treasure hunting tomorrow.

Joyeux Noël!  C’est tout!