We slept off the Friday night drive and midnight poutine eating to rise early Saturday morning. We visited Le Marche de Jean Talon, a large market, for breakfast and people watching. Whereas Joe saw Montreal through a Brooklyn lens, I kept seeing and feeling Paris, for better or worse. We arrived at the market at 9am and many of the stallholders were just beginning to set up their wares. The market consists of outdoor stalls selling all kinds of fruits and vegetables and a covered section where you can buy cooked food.
We made the rounds, eating bits and bites of various things. The tomatoes were outstanding, they taste like tomatoes used to. Jean would later buy a large jar of fresh tomato sauce. We settled at an outdoor cafe at the edge of the market and sipped coffee and ate pastries. I'm happy to report that I spoke French and was responded to in French, which I didn't expect. I did have a bit of trouble from time to time but it was due to accent. Quebecoise French sounds like French with a nasally Syracuse accent.
This guy set up and strummed some soothing tunes. All the better for the people watching. Dodo-Chan felt compelled to throw him a few coins.
I tried all kinds of pastries over the long weekend but none quite hit the spot. They serve all the varieties you'd find in Paris but without the execution I was hoping for.
Only later did Geppie tell me that the young lady sitting nearby had followed us from one cafe to another. I noticed her glancing back at our table from time to time but didn't think much of it. Geppie could have had a nice home-grown date but NOOOOOOOOOOO. It was one of those coulda-shoulda-woulda deals.
Our day was just starting, which meant about 22 more coffees were in store. We began our walk in Little Italy and took it from there.
No comments:
Post a Comment