Whew! We just made it on the last metro and disembarked at our destination just in time. They closed the gates as we made it through. I was a little anxious over midnight drinks and dinner, and although Eric was relaxed and Tara did not rush us, I pushed to pay the bill and head for the nearest metro stop, maneuvered our way onto three subways, and avoided being kicked off and forced to find a cab, or worse, walk the many blocks to Renee and Maurice's home in Outrement.

I do love cities with subways. The fare is steep, and this morning, neither Eric's or my Visa cards worked in the ticket machine. I had to scrounge around the bottom of my purse for Canadian coins so I could buy three tickets. It was embarrassing but ultimately a success. I liked that we can go most anywhere in the center of town via metro, and it is efficient and comfortable.

After a breakfast of delights from the nearby boulangerie, and after a twelve hour deep sleep on the couch in the living room, I was raring to go to Old Montreal to wander about. Tara met us in front of Notre Dame cathedral and was desperate for a coffee, so we wandered around looking for a place we had discovered last time we visited, but it turned out that we chose the wrong direction. We settled on adequate coffee, and later when we walked to meet Maurice for lunch we discovered several good looking coffee places including the one we had wanted to find. When you are not looking you find all sorts of places and things you could not find when you were looking for them. Maurice suggested we meet at Jardin Nelson on Place Jacques Cartier, but it was closed for the winter, so we returned to a Creperie we had eaten at several times. Our time in Montreal is all about the food we eat! Maya and Tara had beef and cheese fondue, the rest of us tried the crepes and then we all indulged in chocolate fondue for dessert, all in all a massive meal, which helped in dealing with the incredible cold outside. It was raining early in the morning, and then the rain turned to ice so that the cars were crashing into one another and the sidewalks were treacherous. It warmed up a bit and later started snowing lightly. Winter has begun here, although we are told it has been a mild autumn.

Eric and Maya and I visited the Place de Calliere museum, which chronicles the history of Montreal from the time that the French first came. It is immediately on the banks of the St Lawrence, near the port. Renee came to pick Maya up for the evening, while Eric and I tried to walk to McGill underground. There is a way to do it, but without a map, we did not get as far as we hoped. There is an entire underground city, and theoretically if you don't wish to you need not go outside in the downtown area! We were to see Tara in her play at 8, so we were too late for a meal. Instead, we tried tea at Nocion, where Tara and I had nixed the coffee when we were on our coffee marathon. There are wonderful little middle eastern desserts, which Eric and I divided up in halves so we could taste them all.

Tara's play was very good and entirely unexpected. She played Shirley, a not too successful gangster, who hires even less competent ones and ends up dead after all sorts of mishaps and obstacles. We laughed and enjoyed it. Tara is happy and clearly in her element here, and that is most reassuring. Maya spent the evening with Renee and Maurice, playing her violin for them and engaging in a marathon Monopoly game.