While I tend to wax on about why travelling with kids is so worth it, there are times when I’m forced to eat my words. Since I schlep my seven year-old around from one destination to the next, I make a point to let her decide how we spend some time each holiday. When you give kids this freedom, they not only find it fulfilling, but parents are often surprised with what the wee-ones choose.
Last summer in Montreal, we spent the majority of our time exploring the Insectarium, Biodome and La Ronde, the famed Six Flag theme park.
Montreal with kids
Naturally, these were all excursions I thought she’d enjoy. I was curious to hear how Eve would decide we spend our last morning. Perhaps we’d plunge into the hotel pool or track down a toy store? Maybe she’d feel sorry for me and want to play personal stylist, guiding me through Montreal’s many fashionable boutiques? Nope.
After breakfast, we carried our sophisticated, disposable cups of hot chocolate and trekked the hotel stairs to explore its carpet. That’s right. On Eve’s special day, the one thing she really, really wanted to do, was check out what kind of carpet was laid down on all 23 floors.
First we experienced an initial adrenaline rush upon discovery the mezzanine level had two different kinds of carpet! Like all great highs, this one crashed quickly, after disappointingly discovering the second floor had the same hallway carpet as the first. And the third floor had the same carpet as the second, and so on and so on.
We kept climbing, the stairs providing a much needed workout after days spent snacking on pain au chocolat and bagels.
“Oh man, floor nine has just gotta be different! Please, oh please, let it be different!” pleaded my girl.
It wasn’t.
“Floor 13’s gonna be different, I just know it!” she cried.
Again came the crushing disappointment.
On the 15th floor, she wanted to give up, but I insisted we press on. This was a battle I couldn’t afford to lose, especially after giving up a morning ideally spent shopping.
“Fine!” said my now, red-faced cherub, after being told we were going to see this quest through to the bitter end.
“But now you have to open the stair doors!” she demanded.
Where did we stay?
We panted on until….what’s this? A change in carpet pattern? Since I can tell you’re dying to know, the 18th floor at the Delta Montreal, does indeed sport different carpet than the 17 floors preceding it.
Completely satisfied, my girl and I celebrated with an elevator ride back down to our floor. Snug in our room, we packed up, and talked excitedly about getting to the airport early, just so we could check out their flooring.
Half a year later, Montreal’s museums and theme park are but a distant memory. Still fresh in her mind, is the carpet adventure she got to choose.
