Long Weekend in Mont Tremblant

A couple weekends ago, J and I drove up to Mont Tremblant for his friend's sister's wedding. It was a long haul so we broke it up on the way up. We started the trip north after work on Thursday, stopping in Albany for dinner before parking it in Lake George for the night. On Friday, we headed up to Montreal and stopped for a sandwich at Schwartz's Deli (at my insistence) and then made our way to the v. charming, European-looking town of Mont Tremblant.

I thought Mont Tremblant was just a ski town - as all the people I know who've been have gone for that specific purpose - but since I don't ski or snowboard anymore (because of my fragile skeleton), I hadn't really had any interest in visiting. Well, as it turns out, it's pretty awesome in the summer too.Because J loves lobster and oysters, I had bookmarked a place in Albany, Albany Ale & Oyster, which boasted brown butter lobster rolls. Unfortunately, they weren't serving lobster anymore by the time we got there (which was on the later side) but luckily, they did have oysters.

We stayed at the Courtyard Lake George, which was actually a pretty cute little hotel which was just a two minute walk from the lake. So as not to disturb my normal exercise routine, I woke up bright and early on Friday morning to go for a run along the lake. It was gorgeous and I was extra motivated by the beautiful scenery.

J had some work things to finish up on Friday morning so I ended up taking a nap for a bit while he had his meeting. He woke me up in time for us to check out of the hotel and grab lunch at the Adirondack Pub & Brewery before we hit the road. Customs and border control was quick and painless and we got through without them even checking our ArriveCan app. We stopped at Schwartz's Deli for a snack of a smoked meat sandwich and poutine before heading to Mont Tremblant. Unfortunately for us, there was an accident so we hit a ton of traffic.

But, we got to the Hotel Quintessence to check in and crash the rehearsal dinner. This hotel was an absolute luxe experience. There was a comfy bed, a lovely seating area with fireplace, and the best part was the tub. J splurged to get this for us for the one night that it was available to us. He said if they'd had any additional vacancies, he would have been happy to book in for longer.

The next morning, we got up and walked around town a bit and met up with the rest of J's friends to have a beer before getting spiffed up and ready for the wedding. We got our libations at A Mano where we were served by one of the most aesthetically pleasing men I have ever seen in real life. If I had been in a creepier, more perverted mood, I would have taken a photo.

The morning after the wedding, J was pretty hungover and I was tired so we laid around in bed until late. At some point, I decided my hunger was outweighing my desire to stay in bed, plus I wanted to take advantage of the nice weather so we headed out in search of brunch and fun. The crepe place I was interested in had too long of a wait so we just got some beaver tails from Queues de Castor and then grabbed the free ski lift, just for fun.

I really wanted to get to the top of one of the mountains so we bought roundtrip tickets to the panoramic gondola and headed upwards. It was super nice that it wasn't too crowded and we were allowed a car all to ourselves.

The views from the top were spectacular. We hung out in Adirondack chairs for a few, relaxing and taking in the fresh air. We then walked a short trail to another viewing platform before riding the gondola back down the mountain. On the way down, I called to make reservations for dinner, something I was keen on considering we hadn't gotten a substantive breakfast or lunch. And because I knew I was going to be cranky otherwise, I insisted that we grab a snack before we headed back to the hotel to take advantage of the pool and hot tub. I guess I was too ravenous to remember to grab photos, but we ordered the poutine signature at La Forge with a couple of sangrias to wash it down. The poutine was smothered in a port wine gravy with duck confit and it was delicious.

After a sufficient soaking in the hot tub, we got dressed and headed over to La Savoie for dinner. I really wanted raclette so we got the appetizer portion and then we did a bouillon fondue (simmering stock). It was a fun and delicious meal.

After dinner, we were uncomfortably full so we wanted to take a little walk. I wanted to ride the free ski lift again so we grabbed that and then got our steps in.

The next morning, on our last full day, I got up early to go on a run. It was Monday after all, and I didn't want to break my streak! I ended up doing a bunch of laps around Lac Miroir (Mirror Lake).

After my run, I went back and showered and got J up so we could check out of the hotel in a timely manner. We ended up grabbing brunch at La Maison de la Crepe, which was where I'd wanted to go the day before. There was a short wait, but J and I did a few extra laps around Lac Miroir to kill some time. J got the brunch crepe and I got the la mar (seafood). The portions were really generous. I actually wished they were smaller because I would have loved to finish the meal with a dessert crepe, not that I needed the calories.

After we packed up the car, we walked down to Parc Plage to see if we could rent kayaks. It was free to enter the beach after we proved we were staying in town but as it turned out, we couldn't kayak here. We asked for assistance with the same young man who let us into the beach and then an older gentleman directed us to Club Plage et Tennis, which was a 15 minute walk away along Lac Tremblant. We rented a kayak for two hours and hit the water.

It was super fun to look at the mountain we'd been perched on top of the day before from the lake we'd been admiring from said mountaintop.

After an hour, storm clouds started to roll in and the water got kind of choppy and then it started to drizzle so we decided to head back to shore.

Our final stay in the area was at the Bel Air Tremblant. We opted for a dome rental and it was actually really cozy and nice. There was running water, toilet, and shower, so it was just really luxe glamping. There was a sauna and hot tub as well. There was still plenty of daylight to take advantage of, so we ended up borrowing some electric fat bikes and riding along the P'tit Train du Nord, a well-loved bike trail in the area. The fat bikes were so fun! We ended up having a blast.

For dinner, we headed back into a different part of town. It was super busy everywhere, likely due to the fact that many restaurants are closed on Monday nights so the few that remain open get bombarded. We ended up having a few drinks La Maison du Brasseur to entertain ourselves before a late seating at sEb L'artisan Culinaire

We opted for the four course prix-fixe dinner with wine pairing and it was really indulgent and delicious. I was so hungry at this point and we both wondered whether this would be worth it but honestly, it was an awesome meal and I'm glad we endured.

For our amuse bouche, we had a beef tataki paired with a sparkling rose; it was a delicious little bite that left me wanting more, which is the point of an amuse bouche so I'd say it was a success.

The second course was a conch fritter. I wished there was more conch in the fritter, but the sauce it was sitting in was creamy and acidic and moreish. To accompany this course, we were given a chilled white wine.

The third course, our main course, had two options so we each got one. I went for the fish while J went for the duck (one of his favorites). Both were spectacular. The fish was cooked perfectly and came with a really yummy pile of green bean vegetable medley that made for an awesome accompaniment to the delicate fish. The duck was so tender and decadent and rich. I got a white wine with my fish while J got a red with his duck. Honestly, I'm not a wine connoisseur so I can't say much about them.

For dessert, we had a chocolate cake with blueberry sorbet and it was really good. The cake was a flourless, dense, fudgy concoction that isn't really my favorite preparation but it totally hit the spot and it was lightened up by the accompaniments. We were given a really delicious dessert wine, which the sommelier came over to explain. It was a fortified Portuguese wine and it was syrupy and sweet and delicious.

After dinner, we headed back to our dome to take advantage of the hot tub and hang out on our last night of vacation. In the morning, I got up nursing a slight headache but went on a walk to make sure I didn't ruin my exercise routine. I ended up headed to the farm on the campus and said hi to a few animals before heading back to pack up and check out.

We piled all of our stuff into the car by 10:00 (because the property has a ridiculously early check out time) and then hit the road. It was a long drive back that we did not break up the way we did on our way up so we were in the car for a long time. I was pretty proud of myself for not falling asleep at all, despite my love of sleeping in cars and narcoleptic tendencies. We ended up grabbing brunch at a Ben & Florentine near Montreal and then dinner at Brother's BBQ before we got home. It was a hard day and I was grateful to J for being the driver.

xoxo.