When asked if I would like to spend a day at the new chic Square at Quartier DIX30, I didn’t hesitate to accept. Especially since the invite included a personal driver and a helicopter tour from the Square to Montreal and back! Check out the VIP day I spent and the places that I discovered along with my fashionable blogger posse.
1st stop: girly brunch at Juliette et Chocolat. I loved their smoothies!
Second stop: Kitsch meets chic at Lollipops Paris where you’ll find funky shoes, handbags and accessories.
3rd stop: hr2 – My personal favourite place of all in the Square and my reason for returning again and again (find out why here and here). As part of our VIP shopping day, we each received a $200 gift card which we all spent at hr2. That alone says a lot for this designer discount store. Some of the girls bought dresses, while others, myself included, opted for leather handbags. I made a point of choosing a Christopher Kon bag because he’s a Montreal designer. I love that hr2 carries local!
4th stop: Williams Sonoma for kitchen gadgets and more. I flirted with a crystal martini set, but ended up only buying a pair of pretty oven mitts that were on sale.
5th stop: Pottery Barn for home and patio furniture and decor. I since discovered West Elm in Griffintown which I prefer, but they are both from the same family. I didn’t bother going into Potttery Barn Kids, but I’m sure it’s great if you have kids.
6th stop: Peak Performance for golf wear now and ski wear later. I had the chance to visit the store when it first opened back in January and enjoyed trying on all the high end ski wear from Sweden with my fashion blogger friends. It’s the only store in Quebec, but a bit beyond my budget. I actually prefer Salomon downtown on Ste-Catherine for ski wear. It’s about the same price point, but Salomon is French and has a prettier selection.
Helicopter break: After shopping, our driver drove us just outside the Square where the Chic Adventure awaited us: we were served champagne in a tent while we waited for our turn in the helicopter. Three of us at a time took a 20-min aller-retour over the Square and over the Saint Lawrence to circle over my house (see pic below) and the iconic Farine Five Roses, where we followed the Champlain Bridge back to the Quartier DIX30 and landed safely. It was exhilarating to see Montreal that way (ok, maybe the excitement was partially from the bubbly)! This coming weekend (July 27 & 28), if you’re shopping at the Square, you can enter to win a heli tour (with champagne!) or book your own tour.
Most fashion bloggers don’t need a personal shopper, but they definitely don’t turn down a personal chauffeur!
7th stop: A Mediterranean 5@7 – while the other three bloggers took their champagne/heli tour, the rest of us headed to Zyara, my second favourite spot at the Square. It’s a SATC-chic-with-a-Mediterranean-twist restaurant. We each had a beet mojito and shared a few Lebanese appetizers in their sunny lounge.
8th stop: Rouge Nail Bar for a manicure or pedicure and a glass of wine while we watched the second SATC movie.
9th and final stop: SIAM for a Thai dinner. We all adored the Thai appetizers and for my main, I always go for green coconut curry, and I was not disappointed. I was glad that we sat on the terrace to catch the last rays of sun before we had to head back to Montreal. The food is good at SIAM, but I prefer the ambiance at Zyara.
Les pompiers! This was the unplanned and bonus portion of our evening. As we were driving off, we passed a group of firemen on the sidewalk. In no time, our driver turned the car around and we hopped out and snapped a pic with the men in uniform and that was it for me, a happy ending to a perfect day!
To read more about my favourite spots at the Square, check out my article here.
