Montreal Day 9

The guys wanted to go to Walmart, so I went back to the mall area. Since the weather was still OK (relatively warm and not raining), on the way, I stopped in China Town and at the Performing Arts Center where they were promoting the “Days of Culture” which was going on all over the Quebec province. There were local happenings in every neighborhood it seemed, but as far as I could tell, there were mostly kids stuff or lectures (in French) near where we were. There was a photography exhibit about Cancer, and I looked at a few very well done and touching black and white photos, I found it too depressing. Besides, there was still shopping to be done. I’m normally not much of a shopper, but now I’d gotten a taste of it, and I didn’t want to give up while there was still room in my suitcase.

As soon as I got oriented at my mall of destination, I got a message from the guys who were ready to meet for lunch. The pickings were slim at this mall, so it was back on the subway to meet them at the mall with the giant food court. I chose a taco salad. The guys had a little shopping to do, so we split up agreeing to meet in an hour. There were a few places in this mall that I wanted to investigate more thoroughly, and one hour was hardly enough, so I had to prioritize.

Replacing my thoroughly warn out Easy Spirit walking shoes was a high priority that I hadn’t had much luck with all week. I had gotten a great deal on these shoes as a discontinued model four years ago, and I hadn’t found anything as comfortable for a reasonable price since. But now my feet hurt and my shoes had holes in them, so it was time to stop bargain hunting. I found a pair of Rockports that were very comfortable but $130. Ouch. Was I willing to spend that much on a pair of shoes? I asked the guy to hold them for me, and I kept looking.

The guys were intrigued by the underground city and wanted to follow the tunnels to other shopping centers. So we walked, and walked, about 4 km I estimate. There were a couple of shopping centers and a few restaurants, but not much of interest. The most amazing thing was that we could walk that far, from building to building, without ever stepping outdoors. These tunnels also connect up to train and subway stations, thus connecting much of the city. That must be really handy when the weather’s bad.

We eventually ended up at the mall where I’d started earlier. We had snack there. I had a cylindrical piece of chocolate mouse pastry, but it wasn’t nearly as good as the chocolate mouse cake I’d had previously or the pastries from my favorite shop. I really wanted to do more shopping, so I stayed at the mall while the guys continued their walking tour of tunnels and shops (though no longer avoiding the outdoors). Before I knew it, I noticed shops closing up. Much to my surprise, not only this smallish mall but all malls closed at 5 PM on Saturday. I ran like crazy to the subway back to the other mall where my expensive shoes were waiting. I knocked on the closed door to the shop, and a salesclerk just shook his head at me. I kept knocking, and the guy who had helped me let me in and sold me the shoes.

Back to the hotel then out to dinner with the guys. We went back to the pub in the Latin Quarter where I had cheese fondue. Yum! One of the guys also had fondue and tried to order a refill of cheese. The waitress was baffled because nobody had ever done that before. After discussion with the cook, he was informed that they couldn’t do that. If he wanted more, he’d have to order the whole meal again. As far as I was concerned, that left the perfect excuse for dessert.

As part of the culture days, I’d seen a flyer for some sort of music and light show at the waterfront with the theme of Fire. Our subway passes were good for the whole day, so that halved the walk to Old Montreal and made the idea more appealing to our rather tired feet. This time I had my camera with me, so I was pleased to get some pictures of the beautifully lit buildings. The “music” was of the experimental sort and often rather painful to listen to. I had a strange urge to yip and howl like a coyote. The music was accompanied by some paddleboats in formation, flares, and a ring of fire on the river. In tents nearby were a glassblower and a blacksmith.