I’m glad I spent it with you.
Day 4
Thursday brought rain, so neither one of us was eager to head out and explore. I woke up early (shocker) and ate a piece of cold pork with some OJ, and then decided to check out the hotel spa. 
The aesthetician’s excitement that I was from Nashville was only trumped by the excitement that I was a newlywed on my honeymoon. She hugged me tight, twice, and squealed with delight before getting to work.
After an hour-long facial, I found myself back on the couch with a reheated piece of pork and a cup of tea watching What Not to Wear. Neil finally decided to get up, and after much deliberation, we showered, dressed, and headed down to the front desk to see about dinner reservations. The concierge talked us into a place called The Keg, a steakhouse near the Cirque show we had tickets to in the evening. We let him make us a reservation and headed out to Rue St. Catherine to shop and stroll avec umbrellas. After a quick stop in Starbucks (at my request, not Neil’s) we decided it just wasn’t strolling weather, so we decided to stop in and visit our friend Teresa at McKibbin’s. For a snack, we went for McKibbin’s Poutine, which was topped with shredded cheese, grilled chicken, and a curry sauce. It was actually pretty good for pub fare (we took a picture but it looked kind of gross. We’ll spare you). Teresa poured us a few pints and continued to berate Neil for fidgeting with his ring. She also told us that The Keg was a tourist trap and we were much better off going with our first choice, Modavie.
We settled up with Teresa and bid adieu (tear), then took the Metro back into old Montreal. The Keg was right around the corner from Modavie, so I stopped in to let them know we wouldn’t be making our reservation. As soon as I walked in and saw the Applebee’s-esque decor and advertisements for surf and turf, I knew we made the right decision. I got a completely different vibe when we walked into Modavie, which had an impressive wine bar and a cozy atmosphere. We were seated upstairs, near the jazz band (which, sadly, only starting playing when we got the check) and next to the a window overlooking a pretty street corner.
For starters, I opted for the Mediterranean salad and Neil ordered the cream of asparagus soup. Both were delicious, but mine was especially good thanks to the garlicky dressing and rosette of smoked salmon, which sat daintily on top of super-fresh greens, tomato, cucumber, chunks of feta, and more kalamata olives than I could possibly eat. 
For the main course I chose the tagliatelli with chicken and pancetta, which was tossed in truffle oil. It was a huge portion, but I did my best to eat the crap out of it. Neil wisely chose the rack of lamb at the recommendation of our server. In short, it was amazing. There were five or six different lamb options on the menu (it’s Modavie’s specialty), but this particular one which was covered in sesame seeds and served with potato gratin and a generous serving of goat cheese. The lamb was incredibly tender, and the goat cheese was, well, I’m a girl who loves her goat cheese. ‘Nuf said. With my help, Neil cleaned his plate, leaving only the carrot puree, which is really just garnish, right?
Stuffed beyond belief, we skipped dessert and let our digestive systems get to work while we sipped coffee and took in the opening set of the jazz band. 
It was just a 10 minute walk to the Cirque du Soleil tents, so we strolled over and found our seats. We saw a new show called Ovo, and it was very cool. This was my first Cirque experience, and now I get what all the hullabaloo is about. We walked/metro’d home and immediately abandoned our now too-constrictive jeans and sweaters for fluffy white hotel robes. It was about this time that Neil discovered our smilebooth photos from the wedding had been posted online, so we perused all 790 shots, then watched the end of Beetlejuice on TV and fell asleep.
It was a perfect day.
