On our drive as we reached the Vermont border, it was as if someone had flipped the light switch from rain to snow. Vermont was a winter wonderland. The trees were snow-coated and resembled white coral. Fortunately, as forecasted, it switched back to rain as we neared Burlington, and the balance of our drive was uneventful. We decided to celebrate my birthday in Montreal. We split our time between our friends and at Montreal’s smallest hotel—aptly named Le Petit Hotel, on Rue Saint-Paul Ouest, the prettiest street in Vieux Montreal.

Madame Organisée

Delighted to see friends as it has been well over a year since we last visited Maud, her husband Baudouin, and their children. Arriving later than expected due to wintry roads, we were warmly welcomed and promptly offered an aperitif before enjoying a delicious home-cooked meal with fondant au chocolat, a delectable dessert that was dusted with powdered sugar, decorated with four candles, and topped with a sign that read Bonne Fête.

Their home reminds me of what I imagine a diplomat's home would look like with finds from various places one has lived and traveled for my friends, that would be Montreal, New York, and Paris, and paintings of Morocco by Baudouin mother, Catherine de la Bretagne an accomplished painter based in Paris and the Vendée. Maud is making her mark in her adopted hometown of Montreal as Madame Organisée, with her unique approach to decluttering with Parisian flair. Maud marries her French aesthetic with the work ethic of a New Yorker. Maud worked with the distinguished French fabric house of Nobilis in New York and celebrated interior designer India Madhavi in Paris. The shift to decluttering feels like a natural progression for her career. Editing is a fundamental part of good design.

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA)

I draw your attention to one painting out of a myriad of roughly forty-seven thousand works of art and decorative arts from antiquities to the present day in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) collection. Flora Yukhnovich’s painting, Total Betty (2022) a striking oil abstract painting of florals on a large circle canvas that captures and re-imagines the aesthetic and splendor of eighteenth-century painting through the lens of twenty-first-century eyes.

Through painting, Yukhnovich pays homage to Boucher, Tiepolo and Watteau and their influence on her work is evident. Aesthetically and from a social-economic point of view, the eighteenth and twenty-first century have a lot in common, one of excess and inequity. Today’s consumeristic culture gives us an impression of equity and yet the wealth gap is greater than most can comprehend. A museum visit does allow us to be swept away in beauty without overindulgence. The renewed interest in Rococo is a synthesis of global tastes and inclusivity at the surface level and perhaps an outgrowth of pop art. The MMFA's curation throughout galleries is exquisite and exemplifies that exceptional art curation is an art form of its own.

Monarque

Upon arrival at the contemporary, our hostess led us through the brasserie to the Salle à Manger. We passed through a lively bar scene where some diners enjoyed their meal. The tables in the brasserie are closer together, without tablecloths, as in the Salle à Manger, the tables are clothed and amply spaced. For our first course, my husband and I ordered the Royale de Fois Gras, which included perfectly seared scallops and a combination of delectable flavors of the mousse of Yuzi fruit.

Following, for the main course, I enjoyed the cod with wild mushrooms, and my husband opted for a hardy meal of venison complemented with celeriac, pomme aligot (a variation on mashed potatoes with cheese) and for the finale, we ordered the Tarte Tatin which is caramelized upside-down apple tart. I cannot wait for my next visit. Anecdotally, I noticed most of the women diners wore a winter white or oatmeal sweater, including myself. The cuisine, the service, and the ambiance are worth the drive, even through inclement weather.

AKAMUS: Academy for Early Music Berlin

At the Anglican Church of Saint George, we saw AKAMUS, a German chamber orchestra, perform George Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) as a part of the Bach Festival of Montreal. AKAMUS has notably contributed to the rediscovery of the German Baroque composer’s work and was prolific. Over a lifetime, he composed over six thousand works. Performed in this beautiful nineteenth-century church in the English Gothic Revival style. It was a terrific performance. It brings a smile to my face thinking about it.

Chocolat chaud and more…

After lunch at Mandy's, we indulged in hot chocolate at Divine, a chocolatier on Crescent Street. The chocolate chaud was en par to the taste and quality one finds in Belgium and France that I relish. A far cry from the sugary hot chocolate powder mix that is typically the only choice Stateside.

Before heading home, we enjoyed cappuccinos with breakfast at our cozy hotel, where breakfast included St. Viateur’s bagels and smoked salmon. Sorry, New York. I prefer Montreal’s bagels, as I think they taste better. They are smaller, made in smaller batches, boiled in, water sweetened with honey, baked, and hand-tossed before packing. The honied water lends a sweeter taste.

Fortunately, Montreal is only a six- hour drive away, and it would be a game changer if we could have high-speed trains connecting New York to Montreal. It could reduce travel time by a bit more than a quarter of the time and reduce carbon emissions. It is nearly the same distance as Paris is to Bordeaux, and that is roughly how long it takes to get to these two cities.

Friends, a museum outing, a concert, terrific meals, attractive neighborhoods steeped in history with beautiful churches, cobbled streets, and great hospitality. We come back to Connecticut reinvigorated just as one should from a vacation.