Cluny Artbar

An afternoon in Montreal that I'll probably never forget. 
It's also the afternoon I got majorly lost.




Left: Minestrone soup from Cluny ArtBar. 
Right: Passed by a random building on my quest to find the cafe. I do like the forest green color against the backdrop of brick-red. 


 I'd read online about Cluny ArtBar - this great cafe which garnered rave reviews for set lunches and brunches and which also happens to be connected to an exhibition hall that's all part of The Darling Foundry, Visual Arts Centre. I figured it would be an all-in-one afternoon; great lunch at the cafe, followed by a visit to the exhibition that would probably showcase some interesting artwork by contemporary Montreal artists. It's listed online as a popular spot for local office workers which is the perfect statement to make one think that it's probably in the middle of the business district to cater to office workers in the surrounding financial buildings, yes?? WRONG. It was literally in the middle of nowhere (to me at least)! I remember walking alone across deserted parking lots, hearing my footsteps echo resoundingly as my boots crunched into the bits of slush and snow that still covered most of the streets at the time, and traipsing past deserted looking buildings, along silent streets without seeing any other person. I'm sure it wouldn't have been so bad if my data plan hadn't run out that day and I wasn't relying solely on screen captures of the area from the Maps app. I do remember passing by some random guy who was looking at his iPhone and thinking, is he completely lost and referring his Maps app as well?? Looks like I'll never know.



Smoked Salmon sandwich. It was actually pretty average but it was also one of the few things left on their menu at that time. I'd gone on a Friday afternoon at around 3 or so and apparently they'd run out of their usual lunch sets. :( So I probably didn't end up trying whatever they're famous for. (Or so I hope)(So next time I'll give the cafe another shot if I ever go back to Montreal. Which I'm DYING TO DO!)









I think we tend to be a lot more forgiving of ourselves when we're on holiday. Perhaps it has to do with being away from most things in life that define us. Probably also because when we're on vacation we're away from whatever deadlines we tend to be rushing for. And when something goes awry, there's the feeling that so many other things take a toll as a consequence. 

If I get lost when on a holiday however, I'm not so harsh on myself. I take my time, fold my map up and place it into my bag. I take a good, slow look at my surroundings...and take a few more photos. People-watch. And it's all ok. Drifting, or so it's called. Moving along without a plan, taking in whatever Serendipity sends my way. 

xx