There’s so much to do around here in the summer. What with the festivals, public pools and water parks, bike paths and terrace dining, it’s a wonder any of us has time to work. A friend and I headed out of town yesterday to visit the Granby Zoo ^[1] and their new African safari theme. Wow did we luck out. With the heat wave broken, all the animals came alive and were out and about, running, playing and of course eating. Even the lions were running around, I think I’ve only ever seen a sleeping lion at the zoo. ^[2]The zoo set me back $30 including tax, but it was well worth it for the chance to see such exotic creatures up close. There’s rhinos and elephants, zebras and giraffes. And of course a gazillion kids. But that’s part of the charm, seeing the young ones wide eyed and enchanted.

After the zoo, you’re already in wine country, so why not snake your way back to the city on the Route des Vins. That’s what we did and sampled (okay, bought too) several local wines and finished off the day at a fromagerie ^[3] in St Jean where we had a cheese tasting out on the farm.

Once back in the city, we stopped to have a frosty beer on one of the many terraces lining Ste-Catherine street from St-Hubert to Papineau. This entire stretch of Ste-Catherine is closed for the weekend for the International Festival of Montreal Art ^[4]. Not only can you see loads of art and artisinal crafts, but the people watching is awesome too. Finally we strolled up to Place des Arts to scope out the Jazz Festival. God we were pooped, god what a perfect day!