{"id":1970,"date":"2012-06-06T00:26:35","date_gmt":"2012-06-06T04:26:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/?p=1970"},"modified":"2017-11-19T09:37:23","modified_gmt":"2017-11-19T14:37:23","slug":"the-great-ontario-to-quebec-via-rail-2012-biking-adventure-day-five","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/the-great-ontario-to-quebec-via-rail-2012-biking-adventure-day-five\/","title":{"rendered":"The great Ontario to Quebec VIA Rail 2012 biking adventure \u2013 Day Five"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arriving in Montreal in another downpour, I pedaled from the VIA Rail station<\/a> to my hotel for the next two nights \u2013 Auberge \u00a0Du Carre-Saint Louis. Situated right next to the quaint Saint Lewis neighborhood park, the hotel\u2019s rooftop terrace and hot tub overlook a street teaming with restaurants and shops of every description. The hotel is located in a neighborhood with a sinful amount of architecturally interesting homes. (I\u2019d have to wander around later when it wasn\u2019t raining.)<\/p>\n

(See slideshow of homes in the neighborhood<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

This quaint hotel is a walk-up from the street and has rooms of all sizes depending on your needs. My room is a compact but very comfortable room overlooking Rue Saint-Denis. The full-depth soaking tub would be a welcome treat after a full day of biking. Some other rooms have whirlpools.<\/p>\n

\"LeExpressAuberge<\/a><\/p>\n

In addition to a sumptuously big bed, there was a large dresser\/closet piece with amazingly wide drawers and tons of closed shelf space. Across from that was a decent sized traditional closet with mirrored doors. It was enough storage space for the wardrobes of four people. \u00a0Hardwood floors shined and a high pile rug awaited your first steps out of bed.<\/p>\n

Plenty of bandwidth was available via Wi-Fi for my entire stay.\u00a0 That makes for a happy journalist. To top it all off, the staff was extremely personable and bilingual.<\/p>\n

Early on day five, I quickly chow down most of the breakfast the hotel packs in your mini-fridge each day and head off for my biggest bike ride so far on this trip \u2013 the 50km \u00a0Le Tour de L\u2019ile de Montreal<\/a> (The tour of the Isle of Montreal.) This was the culmination of a week-long Montreal Bike Fest<\/a>. These Canadians know how to celebrate their bikes.<\/p>\n

\"LeTourdeLiledeMontreal\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Read about Le Tour in a separate artic<\/a>le<\/span><\/strong> where you\u2019ll discover why:<\/p>\n