Pot of gold and more sunshine

Gem here. Now that I have digested all the food from New York it is time to report on the rest of our trip. We decided to hit the road and drive north from NYC to the beautiful state of Vermont. We stayed in a cute little house right on Lake Champlain enjoying the cooler temperatures curled up in front of a nice cosy fire.

By day we meandered along the country roads exploring the gorgeous villages and sampling all the delightful local produce; cheeses, ice cream and the liquid gold- maple syrup. Our timing was perfect as we were lucky enough to be there at the tail end of the extremely short maple sugaring season which only lasts 4-6 weeks/year but for some farmers was only 2 weeks long this season due to the weather. We visited a quaint little 3rd generation sugarhouse where we wandered among the 150 year old sugar maple trees, watched the precious sap drip from the spout in the trunk and then the 8 stages of boiling and making the syrup ready for all the hungry hoards.



The slow drip of clear maple sugar sap

We bought up big and I ate pancakes every morning with lashings of local maple syrup- heaven!!!!!!!!!!!

Pots of gold!

The final leg of our journey took us over the border and into the French Canadian city of Montreal where we stayed in the beautiful historical suburb of the 'Old Town' - Vieux Montreal. Cobblestones, stunning old buildings and churches and lots and lots of incredible French food (many menus encouraging you to follow the chefs suggestion and add Foie Gras to all their dishes!).

We had a gorgeous lunch at 'Lemeac'- Pumpkin soup Gratin (didn't think it was possible to beat French Onion Soup but this version with its grilled bread and oozing cheese topping was to die for), grilled calamari with a balsamic and zucchini salad, the obligatory Pomme Frites and husband had Beef short rib with a pearl barley risotto. 



www.restaurantlemeac.com



Another memorable meal was at 'Le Club Chasse Et Peche'- I had gorgeous Sea Bass followed by chocolate meringue with Maple ice cream and husband had piglet risotto with truffle oil and shaved foie gras then Guinea Fowl cooked two ways. (http://www.leclubchasseetpeche.com/)

Of course a trip to Canada is not complete without trying the national favourite dish of Poutine which originated in Montreal's state of Quebec. We sought out the home of Poutine which came highly recommended by the locals: 'La Banquise'. Basically the dish consists of pork larded fries with a topping of salty gravy and fresh cheese curds. Glorified chips and gravy to an Aussie and could easily be called a 'heart attack on a plate', 'La Banquise' offers over 20 variants on the classic dish. I chose the original and husbands selection was topped with pepperoni, bacon and grilled onions- as I said, heart attack on a plate. In saying this it is the perfect hangover food and definitely something to try 'when in Rome'!

To top off a fantastic holiday I became quite familiar with the local wildlife. On our final day we took a stroll through the lovely parks of Mont Royal with gorgeous views over the city of Montreal. I have to say I have never seen such tame squirrels- this one took me by surprise and I was so glad husband weighed up rushing to my rescue or taking a photo?! I lived to tell the tale but my apple wasn't so lucky.