Traveling Abroad...well, sort of

Sam and I are on our first international travels together alone in over four years. And while I used to not consider traveling to Canada going abroad, I do now, especially considering the likelihood of doing it again in the next few years with two kids running around is pretty slim.

So here were are in Montreal, Quebec, Canada - to be official. It really doesn't feel like Canada, more like its own country, which is the point of all this French speaking anyway. English is definitely the minority language here, but I find myself struggling with trying to spit out a few words of French to be polite (like I would if I were actually in France), or just going with English and letting the bilingual locals switch over to accommodate us. Clearly, I am feeling like an inferior American when it comes to other languages.Sam and I arrived yesterday evening after a day of flying. It took us a while, and I actually found the ride a little slow, sitting on an airplane with no little person keeping me constantly busy pulling things out of my carry-on. But I have forgotten how nice it is to travel grown-up style, with just myself to worry about. And Sam never told me he needed to go potty, spilled on himself, or cried because he was bored or tired. He was, and always will be, a great traveling companion.We have started our vacation with about 11 hours of heavenly, uninterrupted sleep - we needed to recover from a busy week prior with international visitors and our friends' wedding. This morning we walked down to Old Montreal along the waterfront. The buildings are old, the streets are narrow and cobble stoned, and there are many beautiful buildings. We went into the Notre Dame Basilica, and being back in a huge, ornate Catholic church took me back to our travels in Europe. It was pretty hot and humid today, and we haven't experienced this probably since our travels back in New York City or D.C. Several times, we commented on how we were SO glad that Morgan wasn't along with us. Originally, we planned to bring her, but Erica suggested that we take advantage of this time and have an adults-only vacation, since it will be a lot harder to do that once baby #2 arrives. With the heat and being in an unknown city with an opinionated, "I need to go potty" toddler would not be quite as much fun.Montreal is a very cool city, just like we had heard. It feels a bit like Paris, New York, and Boston all rolled into one unique place. Unfortunately, much of central Montreal is under construction, so it's a bit noisier and chaotic than I thought, but still a very enjoyable city.The Notre Dame Basilica - looks a lot like the one in Paris from the outside (minus the backhoe and piles of dirt)....
..... but on the inside, it's quite colorful and dramatic.