ASRS in Montreal this year gave us a second chance to revisit French food and culture, but with shorter travel and better weather. Westley and I arrived Wednesday to check into our upscale AirBnb apartment. Despite limited late dining options, we found a French bistro with respectable onion soup and escargot compared to our recent Parisian experience. On Thursday, we battled hordes of summer campers at the Montreal Science Center to learn Nanualuk skills, perform virtual surgery, and browse comedy wildlife photos. After pho from Pho Bang NY and pineapple buns from Patisserie Coco, we scaled lofty rope courses aboard 18th century pirate ship replicas at Voiles en Voiles, where Westley managed to conquer even the double-black diamond course. We shared Nouilles de Lan Zhou for dinner, then mingled with Duke friends at a rooftop reception before Melody arrived. I gave my talk on Friday morning, then joined my family at the Notre-Dame Basilica and lunch at Le Central food court where we shared tagliatelle from Ragu and lobster roll and crab poutine from Gaspasie. We shopped for Korean cosmetics in Chinatown and souvenirs along Rue Saint Paul and Marche Bonsecours in the afternoon, then napped until dinner with my auntie Kin at Kam Fung followed by mango slush and dragon beard candy (including a peanut-free version for Westley). We overslept Saturday morning, but made up the lost time breezing through the Biodome, Botanical Gardens, Planetarium, and Insectarium. We remembered the beaver habitat from our last visit, but the massive French tacos at Chivetos put Melody and me to sleep through most of the Black Hole feature. Revisiting Au Pied du Cochon almost 20 years later brought us back to foie gras heaven with foie gras nigiri, duck-in-a-can, and an amazing pig’s foot stuffed with sweetbreads and more foie gras, of course. Our post-dinner Cirque du Soleil show Echo featured high-flying acrobats, comedic box stackers, and a giant red mannequin that kept Westley in giggles and awe. We awoke Sunday to skyline views of the city from Kondiaronk Belvedere, then hiked down the grand staircase of Parc du Mont-Royal to Mile End to secure our 5 lbs haul of PC The Decadent cookies from Maxi and compare bagels from Fairmount and St Viateur (we preferred Fairmount’s), queue up for Marche Hung Phat banh mi, and bargain for an Inuit basalt muskox by Kupapik Ningeocheak and Iroquois soapstone heron by Eric Silver at an art gallery. We watched the FIFA finals on spotty WiFi aboard our VIA rail to Quebec City, then checked into the city’s iconic Fairmont Le Château Frontenac to catch Spain’s win over Argentina at the hotel pool. We passed crowds enjoying the last day of the FEQ festival en route to dinner at Le Hobbit, and supplemented our free beignet dessert with Cows ice-cream while listening to the headliner’s concert from our hotel window. After our breakfast buffet at Place Dufferin, we spent Monday exploring picturesque Quartier Petit Champlain sampling goat cheese soft-serve, touring La Citadelle’s military installations, learning maple syrup production from animatronic beavers, and dining on rabbit pot pie from La Lapin Saute and Quebec-style shepherd’s pie from La Buche. We returned to old town after sunset to snap selfies, watch street performers, and enjoy more ice-cream before bedtime. On Tuesday, we took advantage of our Chase Edit benefit for another breakfast buffet and take-out meals, enjoyed a morning stroll along Terrasse Dufferin, then rode the train back to Montreal for our flight home. Between our high-flying adventures, art gallery treasures, and amazing meals, our Quebec journey helped restored our faith in French cuisine and culture again.