A touch of Europe.

I know it's been a long time since I posted on here. I've been a bit distracted by my knitting blog of late. There's another little distraction in our life since I last blogged here too. Having Adelaide round is such a joy. She keeps surprising us, when she does something new, or when she loves being held by us. Sometimes, it's just amazing to wake up, and remember that we have a beautiful little daughter.
It's tiring too, though. Sleepless nights take their toll, and she needs so much attention at the moment. So we decided to take a little break.
We left Freshwind early this Easter, setting off at Lunchtime on Saturday, and heading to Montreal. We have a history with that wonderful city. We got engaged there, and also took our honeymoon there. It's such a fantastic place. It's very strange how much more European it feels than Toronto. It's not just the fact that they speak French, either. There's all the greeting with kisses, French food, and European architecture. You can even buy wine and beer in the grocery store (boy, do I miss that one).
What was surprising, was the part of Europe that I discovered while we were there. On Monday, just before we came home, we checked out of our hotel, and headed into Old Montreal. Needing some refreshment, we found a little cafe. When I took a look at the menu, I discovered that they would serve me Turkish coffee. Not only this, but they would prepare it at my table! I've been trying to do this myself for years now, and I think that I've learned fairly well. My only teacher was Google. But now, I had the chance to learn from a master.
Sure enough, when I ordered it, the owner of the cafe emerged with a burner on a trolley, and set about making the drink. I asked questions, he answered them, we laughed, and I enjoyed the pleasure of being served my favourite coffee in what seemed like the most unlikely place.
I ordered baklava with the coffee, and spent a good while enjoying the feeling of being on vacation in Europe. I love North America, but I do miss Europe sometimes. I miss the variety of places you can visit, the traditions, the culture. I miss the fact that you can visit the other side of the continent for very tiny amounts of money. I miss being able to visit a coffee shop and order a coffee that tastes different from the last 50 coffees I ordered.

If you fancy trying the delights of the coffee at A Propos the next time you're in the Montreal area, you can find it here. It was delicious, by the way.