A friend asked if I wanted to go and look at a swing event happening downtown. I thought she meant there was a swing dance event going on there which would be fun to watch, so I agreed.
We walked to where the performance was supposed to be taking place but couldn't see anything. After glancing around, she then pointed across the street and exclaimed, "There it is!" I peered to where she pointed but I couldn't see any dancers...
We walked to where the performance was supposed to be taking place but couldn't see anything. After glancing around, she then pointed across the street and exclaimed, "There it is!" I peered to where she pointed but I couldn't see any dancers...
Turned out I had misunderstood when she said 'swing' . She had been taking about swings as in hanging seats, not the jazz influenced style of dancing I thought she meant...
Situated on Promenade des Artistes in the Quartier des Spectacles area of downtown Montreal, 21 Balançoires (21 Swings) runs from April 17th until June 2nd. There are seven sets of three swings, each individual swing generating different notes and rhythms determined by the swinging motion of the seat - how high and fast you go. When the swings are used together they create a melody. Free to use, it was a great excuse to sit in the sunshine and behave like a big kid!
That evening, T enquired if I had had an interesting time downtown, and if we had visited museums or art galleries. I replied; "No, we spent the afternoon sat on swings." Safe to say it was not the answer he was expecting!
The weekend following my playground adventure was hot and sunny. T had been working nights most of the previous week, and I was still struggling a bit; so all in all it was a weekend for pottering.
Saturday was exciting; we bought a bike rack for the car and went to the supermarket.
On Sunday we did at least try something new. M had seen a shop that stocked English goodies on the way into downtown, so we meandered to it in the sunshine, and came away with...English mustard!
I hadn't been able to find Coleman's Mustard or anything remotely similar out here and had been reduced to mixing dijon mustard with wasabi paste to get something close to English mustard; with the spicy mustard taste and the kick that hurts your nose but leaves you craving more... It was a pretty good substitute, but not quite the same.
On our way back home armed with our bright yellow spicy purchase, we passed Schwartz's; a deli famed for it's smoked meat. It's one of the foods on our 'Foods in Montreal we Must Try' list which we have never got around to sampling.
Until now.
Opened in 1928 by a Jewish immigrant from Romania called Reuben Schwartz, the deli has grown into something of an institution. Part owned by singer Celine Dion and her husband since last year; some locals consider it to be the best smoked meat in the city, whilst others consider their local delis' smoked meat to be just as good and with the added bonus of coming without the touristy downside of long queues. But we needed to taste Schwartz's for ourselves.
Until now.
Opened in 1928 by a Jewish immigrant from Romania called Reuben Schwartz, the deli has grown into something of an institution. Part owned by singer Celine Dion and her husband since last year; some locals consider it to be the best smoked meat in the city, whilst others consider their local delis' smoked meat to be just as good and with the added bonus of coming without the touristy downside of long queues. But we needed to taste Schwartz's for ourselves.
I would like to tell you what varieties of meat they sold and describe the shop a bit more for you, but I was having a bad day with the nausea and therefore only managed to stay in the place for about 4 seconds before the smell became too much for me to stomach. T and M were more successful however, and came out with a big packet of smoked meat and smiles on their faces about the prospect of eating it for lunch.
I'm not a huge fan of meat, and I was still feeling sick when I sampled it, so all in all I wasn't a good taste-tester that day. To me it was OK. It was only very lightly spiced and smoked which was nice as it wasn't overpowering as smoked things can sometimes be. The guys seemed to appreciate it much more than me, and I get the feeling we will be returning to the deli in the very near future...