We arrived in Montreal in the evening after visiting Ben & Jerry's. The first night, we just went out to eat in the Longueuil area (near our hotel)...where I promptly realized I'd definitely forgotten all of the French I used to know! It was fun hearing the language again, but my comprehension was pretty much nul. Mince!
The next day, we were up nice and early, ready to see tons of sights that I'd planned out. Unfortunately, the day wasn't quite what I'd hoped for. We arrived at our first sight only to find that the workers were on strike so the first 2 places we'd planned to visit were closed. So we headed to the Botanical Gardens (which I'd planned to visit in the afternoon, since the weather was supposed to clear up by then). A cold, rainy day is not the ideal way to see a huge garden, but it was still gorgeous. I just wish I'd had a jacket! Later that afternoon, we roamed around town and just took in the scenery.
The next day, we toured the Notre-Dame Basicila which was pretty incredible (Celine Dion got married here). I really enjoyed our guided tour, and especially our cute tour guide.
Then we headed to St. Joseph's Oratory. We learned about the church's founder, Brother Andre, on our morning tour. He is currently nominated for sainthood (there was a petition to sign in the church). The inside of the church was actually really plain for a Catholic church, but there was one stand out "feature" - Brother Andre's heart. Yup, that's right, his heart. It's on display in a case. We didn't take a picture, cause really we were just so stunned that his actual heart was sitting there. It was really bizarre.
After we were done at the churches, we ate a legit Canadian lunch (poutine, anyone?), swung by the Biosphere so I could snap a pic, and headed on to Toronto! 
After the morning at the CN Tower, we hit up Niagara Falls in the late afternoon. We arrived around 5:00 and were on the Maid of the Mist almost immediately. This was my first time to Niagara and I had a fabulous time. Who doesn't love getting soaked and taking pictures from under a poncho?! If you've never been, I'd highly recommend it. And don't forget your passport - I don't understand why anyone would go all the way here and then stay on the US side. It's WAY more spectacular from the Canada side. Hey, we've gotta give 'em something, right? :)
