Montreal Day 8

Cloudy and humid; CNN reported a hurricane warning for Maine, and the weather report forecasted rain for the weekend. While the mall was beckoning me to return (at this point I think I’ve seen about half of the shops in that area), there was an outdoor photo exhibit and some sights that I didn’t want to miss.

After only a banana and a cup of tea in the hotel room, I took the subway out to the Olympic park that was built for the 1976 Olympic Games. The Stadium was famous for having the world’s highest non-vertical tower. It certainly was distinctive looking, but it really didn’t do much for me. One could pay to ride up to the top of the tower, but since I’d already seen the view from the top of Mount Royal on a much prettier day, I abstained. Instead I walked over to the botanical gardens where they had a photo exhibit called “Alive” put on by Yann Arthus-Bertrand (the same person who did the exhibit “The Earth from Above” that I had the good fortune of seeing in Copenhagen several years ago). Alive was a collection of pictures by the world’s leading nature photographers (including Frans Lanting, Thomas Mangelson, and Mitsuaki Iwago) and a bunch of factoids about how we’ve screwed up the planet. I found the text a bit irritating, but there was one quote that I really liked: “The Condors must be saved, not so much because we need them, but because we need the human resources that can save them. Those are the same resources we will need when we shall save ourselves…” by Ian McMillan in 1870. As expected, the photographs were magnificent and inspiring, but I got the impression that I’d seen many of the pictures before. I think I liked Earth from Above better.

I decided not to pay the $16 to go into the rest of the botanical gardens since the café was closed and I was getting hungry. I considered going to see an exhibit on Madagascar (featuring lemurs) at a place called Biodome (part of the Olympic area), and while I’m quite fond of lemurs, I decided to save this indoor exhibit for the weekend in case the weather was bad. Instead I hopped the subway back to the Latin Quarter for a pastry for lunch. This time I chose a baseball sized sphere which turned out to be a crispy dark chocolate coating over a ball of rum flavored dough. It was so rich I could only eat half of it.

From there I took the subway out to see the Biosphere. This is a giant geodesic dome built for the World’s fair 1967 to demonstrate Buckminster Fuller’s dream of having entire cities contained inside such domes. While undergoing some maintenance welding in 1976, the acrylic panels on the outside of the dome caught fire, and the entire shell burned off in just 15 minutes. Since it burned so quickly, the metal framework was not damaged, and it is that which remains today. Inside the dome is a museum dedicated to the environment. Outside the museum I was pleased to discover a photo exhibit called “Walking on Thin Ice” about the arctic. While I didn’t recognize the names of the photographers, I found it more interesting than the exhibit I’d seen earlier in the day.

My husband had asked me to try to find him new shoelaces, so I took the subway an extra stop beyond the hotel to a “normal” neighborhood. Here I was pleased to find a drugstore almost immediately where I could complete my mission. I also found a lively street with interesting shops and houses as I walked back to the hotel.

For dinner I was with an even larger group of guys from two leading companies in the cell phone industry. While much of the conversation was over my head, I am learning a lot about what my husband does. We ate dinner at a tapas restaurant. I’d never had tapas before, at least not by that name. It was a meal of ten different appetizers, some rather ordinary like guacamole and tortilla chips, others more interesting like fried Greek cheese. I was too stuffed for dessert, so I went back to the hotel when most of the guys went out for drinks to celebrate the end of a rather productive conference. We still had another day and a half in town, but I wanted to pack as much as possible so that I knew how much space was left in the suitcases.

Montreal Day 7

By now I was determined to get some shopping in. Sure, I’ve been to Walmart and some malls, but I’ve only gotten a few things for myself, and time is getting short. I began my day with a piece of Napoleon pastry from my favorite café, then I took the subway to one stop beyond the major mall area. I’d noticed that the bus tours of Montreal go to Dorchester Square so I figured it must be worth seeing. Unfortunately it was just another park with a statue much like other parts of downtown that I’d already seen. The only difference was that this one was surrounded with tour busses and full of tourists photographing squirrels. However, it was a beautiful day, and I was just happy to be in the sunshine.

I walked along the main shopping street towards the malls, poking my head in one shop after another, and it wasn’t long until I was drawn into the subterranean maze of malls. I’d hardly bought clothes for myself besides jeans and t-shirts since my daughter was born six years ago, and I felt now was the time to update my wardrobe. The prices were also right, so I had a very good shopping day. Lunch was a gigantic spinach salad at a salad bar in the food court of one of the malls.

When I could carry no more and my feet were in agony, it was time to take the subway back to the hotel and meet the guys for dinner. Tonight we were joined by an important colleague from another company. He had chosen a restaurant based on an internet review which he thought was only a few blocks away. It turned out to be more like a mile away, so our expectations were high by the time we finally go there. It turned out to be French and Italian food with a rather snooty staff that did not care to speak English and a menu only in French. We made out choices on the safe side, since there was a lot of the menu that we couldn’t figure out. The food was good but not exceptional. No pastries for dessert, just a choice of caramel custard or tiramisu. I love a good flan, and the walk back to the hotel was just right after this meal. The night was surprisingly warm and balmy, so we didn’t even need our sweaters.

Home

I arrived safely and uneventfully back in Sweden yesterday evening. I've now got a bunch of work to catch up on, a ton of laundry to do, and a whole lot of pictures to sort, but I'll try to update more on the rest of my trip to Montreal soon.

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.

Montreal Day 5

I started the day in the hotel's gym. It was not nearly as impressive as it seemed in the picture, but it does have a few treadmills, some free weights, and a whole lot of mirrors. I've been walking so much that I skipped the treadmill and focused on arms and abs.

There are no Target stores here, but I did locate a Walmart that's right by a subway station. I spent the morning shopping at Walmart, then I spent the afternoon photographing and poking around the Latin Quarter. It was nice to be able to move at my own pace instead of rushing by in search of food that's agreeable for a large group. For a late lunch, I went back to my favorite pastry shop. This time I chose a cylindrical creation that was layered vanilla cake and hazelnut cream wrapped in dark chocolate and topped with meringue. Yum again!

Besides the funky shops, I really enjoyed the variation in architecture. I took a lot of pictures of houses and balconies and street scenes, then I returned to the hotel in time to meet the guys for dinner. My husband was tired of crowds and in the mood for pub grub. We saw an appealing yet quiet looking pub down a side street in the Latin Quarter, and it turned out the food was great. I’d been planning on a nice healthy salad, but couldn’t resist the Raclette d’Atlantique (smoked salmon covered in melted Raclette cheese) which luckily did come with a side salad. It was great, and I figured I’d abstain from dessert. Then the guys ordered coffee and chocolate mousse cake, and I just couldn’t resist. It turned out to be the best chocolate mousse cake I’ve ever had. It was so light and smooth and melted in my mouth. Pure chocolate paradise.

Montreal Day 4

My husband's conference started today, so now I'm on my own to do what want. I went back to Old Montreal with my camera, but since my feet already feel ready to fall off, I invested in a Metro pass. It was only $20 for the whole week, so I'm sure I'll get my money's worth.



So I took the Metro to downtown then walked through Old Montreal. My first stop was the Historical Museum where they had a photography exhibit on Industrial Montreal. Unfortunately, they were closed Mondays. So I walked and took pictures, repeat as needed. I'd had a salad for dinner the night before and a croissant sandwich for breakfast, so I had a brownie sundae with cinnamon bun ice cream and caramel sauce at Ben & Jerrys. It was divine! This was a new flavor of ice cream for me, and I was not disappointed. I ate on the patio in the sun with my book, and life was good. It was 64 degrees F/18 C with a slight breeze, but the sunshine beckoned for people to bask in it, and a lot of people did.

I was pleasantly surprised to find an exhibition by a local wedding photographer, so I spent quite a while there getting a lot of ideas and inspiration. The other place that I'd planned to visit was the photography exhibition World Press Photo 2008 along with a showing by Montreal photographers. I decided to walk there via China Town. China town was full of fascinating little shops and restaurants, but I managed to restrain myself to a barbecue pork bun for snack and a couple of bananas for later.



World Press Photo 2008 was very interesting. There were first, second, and third place winners for both single pictures and multiple picture stories, in categories such as news, people in the news, daily life, portraits, sports action, sports features, arts & entertainment, and nature. The variety of style and technique was enormous. Some worked more for me than others, but all compelled a closer look. The Montreal photographers exhibit was equally interesting. Again the variety was impressive, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

That evening it was dinner with the guys again. I had a Thai chicken salad, yum! The guys kept talking and ordering more beer. It was very loud in the restaurant, and I don't think I could have followed the conversation even if I could hear it all. So I opted out and went down the street for a pastry and a cup of tea. The pastry I chose was called a doudou, and it did bear some resemblance to a turd tart. It turned out to be 3 spherical éclairs (covered in chocolate and filled with custard) on top of a chocolate ganache tart. I thought I'd died and gone to pastry heaven.

Montreal Day 3

This morning a colleague from France joined our group for breakfast. We went to the same restaurant where we’d eaten crepes the first night because it was one of very few that was open before 9 AM. Breakfast was very good. I had a toasted baguette, brioche, and a bowl of hot chocolate. The omelets also seemed to be very good. The French guy had been to Montreal a couple times before, so it was interesting to get his opinion on the differences between Montreal and Paris. He didn’t think they looked at all the same because of Montreal’s skyscrapers. He thought Montreal looked like Boston or Philadelphia.

I took three years of French in high school, but I can’t say it’s been of much use to me here. I think I was expecting people to speak French with an American accent, but it isn’t that at all. The French guy confirmed that Canadian French did not sound like European French, probably like the difference between American and British English. Not only does it sound different, but there are some variations in terminology, and some expressions while spoken in French, are actually translations of American expressions and would not be said that way in France. There was also a bit of a twist noticeable even with breakfast: one could order crepes with maple syrup, and the baguette was served with jam and peanut butter.

After breakfast, four of us took a cab up to the top of Mount Royal. From there, we walked a loop around the top of the mountain, stopping at viewpoints, squirrels, and antenna towers. The guys were amused to discover that at the very base of the transmission tower, their phones had no reception. The view of the city was fantastic. It was a very nice walk on a brisk and sunny morning. A few trees were beginning to exhibit the first of their fall colors.

Next we walked down to an enormous church, St. Joseph’s Oratory. We took a few minutes to bask in the sun at the base of the structure before facing the 282 stairs. From the outside, I was expecting something ornate and European looking on the inside, but I was surprised by the modern interior. Construction began 1924 and wasn’t completed until 1967.