My friend Julie is a native Montrealer, but a rare bird who will defend the charms of Toronto to the death. Since I am yet to do a post on fair Montreal, I'm happy that she shared her latest perfect weekend with us. Merci!

"Montreal is my home town. But, my family is pretty scattered now so I have to make a special trip to catch up with close friends and stay connected to the city I grew up in. My close friend Valerie-Anne moved from her apartment in the Plateau to a triplex in neighbouring Rosemont. This was a great chance to discover a neighbourhood I wasn't as familiar with.

My relaxing mini-trip started on a Saturday with a children's birthday party in Parc Lafontaine, complete with face-painting and a piñata. It's the Plateau's most famous park, boasting 2 large ponds connected by a waterfall and an outdoor theatre.

In the afternoon, it was mimosas and hanging out with a bébé at the popular Les Enfants Terrible patio in Outremont. Later, for dinner, I enjoyed a delicious Neapolitan-style pizza at Pizzeria Magpie. I highly recommend it!  If you're into slightly clubby bars then you can hit up trendy Rachel-Rachel for some loud beats and young, pretty people.

On Sunday I ventured out of the city to see my family, in beautiful Bromont (see Una's previous post on the region). It was lobster season in Quebec and my wonderful hosts delighted me with a delicious dinner.

On Tuesday, I spent a lovely solo day exploring Rosemont, starting with an unexpectedly delicious brunch at a charming Norwegian café called Ellefsen. The coffee and smorrebrod were both exquisite.

Next, I visited stylish Mile End boutique Unicorn for some gift shopping. They carry local and Canadian designers, and lots of nice jewelry.

I then headed back to Cinema Beaubien, a small and lovely neighbourhood cinema, just the way I like them. Unfortunately I don't think they show subtitled flicks, but if you do dabble in French, you can catch the Québécois movie of the hour. In my case it was Xavier Dolan's lastest, Laurence Anyways.

Then for dinner that night, it was a delicious Korean birthday dinner at Omma on rue Bernard.

Before heading back to Toronto, I stopped at Fairmount Bagel to bring back a taste of Montreal to the peeps back in Toronto. A perfect mini-vacation."