Melissa Lenker
Melissa explores Montreal and learns the value of indoor heating.
After several days of cleaning, unpacking, and filing expense reports, I was forced to re-enter the real world after spending October fishing for lake trout in New York’s Adirondack State Park. My rekindled appreciation for indoor heating was accompanied by a slew of deadlines and projects due early December.
Although I would like to spend my time playing tourist to Quebec’s numerous attractions, I have spent most of my time aging otoliths, drafting reports, and doing homework. Otoliths are fish ear bones, and you can age fish by counting annual otolith rings much like you would age a tree. It sounds simple enough in theory, but preparing otoliths is an exacting process that leaves no room for mistakes. Even if the otoliths make it through the preparation process well, aging otoliths is less of a science and more of an art. One almost never “reads” an otolith, but “interprets,” an important distinction. Lucky for me, lake trout otoliths are among some of the most difficult to work with due to lake trout’s long life and characteristically dark otolith cores. However, after a month of work, there has to be a little time for play, right?
My parents visited me in early November and I had the chance to simultaneously play both Montreal tour guide and tourist. Montreal is a foodie paradise, known not only for its poutine, but also smoked meat and bagels. I decided to take my parents to the most famous smoked meat restaurant in Montreal, Schwartz’s Delicatessen, a small unobtrusive diner on Saint-Laurent Boulevard. Although the diner blends into the landscape of small shops in the shadow of Mont Royal, it’s impossible to miss the long, winding line of people outside the delicatessen door.
After consuming a deliciously thick, greasy smoked meat sandwich on rye bread, we walked several blocks to the Fairmount Bagel Factory for a famous Montreal bagel. What makes Montreal bagels unique? They are boiled in honey water and baked in a wood fired oven. The Fairmount Bagel Factory only had standing room for a handful of customers; the rest of the small lobby was completely filled with floor to ceiling racks of bagels. I cannot claim to be a bagel expert, but my fresh, sesame seed Fairmount bagel was by far the best bagel I have ever consumed. No cream cheese, salmon, or avocado needed.
We concluded our day in downtown Montreal with a visit to Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mont Royal. The enormous, copper-domed shrine to Saint Joseph welcomes ill and crippled pilgrims hoping to experience the curative power of founder Saint Brother André. Its oddest attraction is undoubtedly Brother André’s heart, which is preserved in formaldehyde and on display for tourists and pilgrims alike.
My parents’ visit also included a trip to Abbey Saint-Benoit-du-Lac in the Eastern Townships, and the Montreal Botanical Gardens and the Insectarium. The Abbey’s blue ermite cheese is reputed to be the best in Quebec province, and it certainly delivered! Not to be outdone, the Insectarium’s impressive beetle display could have easily been mistaken for a case of glittering jewels.
I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving eating turkey and pumpkin pie whist visiting my boyfriend’s family in upstate New York. I am thankful for many things in my life, such as my wonderful family and my boyfriend Tory. However, after my recent stint in the Adirondacks, I have realized that indoor heating is grossly underappreciated. So this year, I sent my Thanksgiving gratitude to indoor heating… merci beaucoup!
