Montreal was sophisticated and French. We spent most of our time walking around Old Montreal, making only one excursion by Metro to the Biodome. We had a fine time but the drinks at Modavie and most everything else in Montreal was expensive.
On the way back, we took back roads (VT Route 36) along Champlain and at Burlington took the tourist boat Ethan Allen 3 out onto the lake. The city is thriving and cool, with engaging young socialists politely selling their newspapers, and we want to go back this fall. I’m hoping we can take the train that runs from Amherst to St. Albans.
That night, we had a terrific dinner in White River Junction at The Elixir and then stayed at the Hotel Coolidge there. That town is having some renewal, as described in the good links from the hotel’s website at http://hotelcoolidge.com.
At its peak, 50 trains stopped in White River Junction each day, and it still handles a fair amount of freight train traffic. As I drifted off to sleep, the freight traffic was heavy. I half-dreamed about that hotel 100+ years ago, full of men waiting for those trains to come and to go, their hopes on board.
