Montreal Day 6

Sore from the gym and on my own all day, so I started by taking the subway to an abandoned church that we’d walked past the first evening. I thought it would make an interesting subject for photos in contrast to all the magnificent churches I’ve seen here. I’m glad I didn’t procrastinate because while I was there, they blocked off the street and set up a crane with a wrecking ball on it. I talked to the construction guys who said the church was being inspected to see if it was salvageable or not. This was a side of Montreal that most tourists probably don’t see, but I’m glad I had the time to experience it.

From there, it was back on the subway and off to the historical museum again. By the time I got there, I was rather hungry since all I’d had was a banana and a cup of tea for breakfast. This was clearly the expensive part of town, so I walked for about 2 hours before I found something I wanted for lunch for a reasonable price—a Subway sandwich. This might seem kind of anticlimactic after all the fantastic food here, but I really do like Subway, so I wasn’t disappointed.

The historical museum had a nice display on the history of Montreal, but the main reason I was there was a photo exhibit on Industrial Montreal. Most of the photos were excellent and a fine reminder that art is all around us, even in the mundane subjects such as factories and warehouses. It just takes a good photographer to bring it out. They also had an interactive display on “Who burned down Montreal?” At first I was not so interested in playing the game, but it turned out to be a great way to get a feel for the culture of the period.

More walking, more churches, more photos, and another subway ride back to the Latin Quarter. There's a quote attributed to Mark Twain along the lines of, "You couldn't throw a brick in Montreal without breaking a church window." That certainly rings true. Even in Europe I have not seen so many churches in such a tight area. Some of them were magnificent, and others not at all well maintained.

I had thought of doing some shopping this afternoon, but I was too tired. There’s a restaurant dedicated to chocolate, which I simply had to try. I ordered a chocolate fondue, but one could only get an exotic fruit mixture for dipping. I asked if I could get just bananas instead, but they refused. Instead I ordered a brownie. It was probably the best brownie I’ve ever had, but dinner it wasn’t, so I resumed my quest for a salad. I eventually settled on a small salad and soup from Quiznos eaten in my hotel room with my feet up.