Montreal's little gem... at Birks

Birks store on Ste-Catherine

Think inside the blue box!

In case you were considering a visit to Montreal to end the summer with a little getaway, here are a few photos of my girls' outing last year (with my sister-in-law and our two girls).

Now that I've lived twenty years in Toronto, I'm a tourist in Montreal. I did not know there was a café inside Birks, downtown's landmark with a round corner (at Ste-Catherine and Square Phillips).

Birks is the jewelry store known for the trademark blue box they introduced in 1944. The one which has developed a Pavlovian reflex in generations of Montreal women!

(Here's a cute family story about Birks: My brother was buying a gift for his wife at this store, accompanied by their little girl. She kept loosing her pants because he had forgotten her belt when he dressed her up. The sales person kindly gave him a ribbon to tie around her waist in lieu of a belt. When he got home, it took my sister-in-law one second to notice on her daughter the blue ribbon stamped with the Birks logo. Surprise!)

Birks Café within the store

About the building
The Romanesque Revival building has won kudos for the quality of the additions and renovations over the years. In 1894, Henry Birks moved his company into this four-storey sandstone building he commissioned from architect Edward Maxwell.

To access Birks Café, you need to walk through the grand store.

About the afternoon tea
Yum! And only $26.50. See their menu. It is served daily from 2:30 p.m.

I loved the food but I must say I preferred the tea experience at MoRoCo, where we could smell different teas from an assortment of options in little containers, but it was $50! (MoRoCo is included in the Yorkville VIP Stroll in my walking guide Toronto Urban Strolls 1.)

A few other places to consider when visiting Montreal
Brasserie T: This is the little sister of the famous restaurant Toqué. It offers a smaller menu than the bigger restaurant but it is as good and less expensive. Long and narrow, almost like a train wagon, it sits between fountains and the unique Quartier des Spectacles.

Bota Bota: The floating spa in the Vieux-Port de Montréal. Consider times when there's a special rate for the water circuit. Check the view from their hot tub in the hipandurbangirls.com blog.

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Walk through the Sculpture Garden at McMichael

A few weeks ago, I took my friends visiting from Montreal to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, very glad to finally have a chance to stroll around the outdoor Sculpture Garden inaugurated in 2011.

A short walk from the parking lot, it features nine monumental sculptures donated by the artist Yvan Eyre. (And I mean big; they weight between 2000 to 4000 pounds!) The loop sinuous trail, which takes no more than 10 minutes to complete, is perfect to generate anticipation as you keep wondering what lies around the next corner. I'd gladly return in the fall to do the surrounding trails.

Outdoor Sculpture Garden at McMichael Canadian Art Collection 

Til death do us apart
The Sculpture Garden sits across from the Group of Seven cemetery where I had the surprise to find natural stones bearing plates with the names of the gallery co-founders Robert and Signe McMichael along with those of six of the ten members of the Group of Seven and their spouses (Lismer, Varley, Harris, Johnston, Casson and Jackson). 

The gallery's website confirms that it is indeed the resting place for them and not just a memorial. The founders truly were art lovers!
  
While you're there
You don't have to pay admission to the gallery to access the Sculpture Garden. All you have to do is pay the $5 parking fee at the gate. 

You can also admire the artists' shack, the carved rock and the guarding wolves near the main building. And while you're at it, enter the gallery's lobby to see the totem (with a twist... you'll need to have an up-close look to see what I mean).


There's a café on the premises, open daily from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Its vast patio is the perfect spot for a glass of wine or coffee with a gourmet cookie. They serve food. I must say we found the grilled cheese sandwich and hamburger with fries quite disappointing but our neighbours seemed pleased with their quiche and salad.

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A little bit of Europe... in Yorkville

Starbucks' prettiest patio flanks the the east side of the Church of the Redeemer, at the corner of Bloor West and Avenue Road.

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Toronto Urban Close-Ups (Ward's Island)

I had heard about the Pebble Mosaic crafted on Ward's Island in late 2011. Finally saw it last week.

The Ward's Island Community Pebble Mosaic Project was inspired by the work of artist Maggy Howarth of Cobblestone Designs from UK.

You can admire my cousin's foot. Can you see she's a dancer?