HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Girls night out-it’s been sooooooooo long…..
BUMMER OF THE DAY: Can’t think of a single thing
WORD OF THE DAY: Snickers shot
I knew after the big travel day yesterday that I would be a little tired today. I have a 3 hour city tour booked and I had a choice of times between 9, 10, 12 and 1pm. With the weather being as nice as it had been over the previous days and to get a small lay in I decided on the 1pm tour, which the pickup time was 12 noon. I woke early at 7am and read and internetted for a few hours and then reset my alarm for 11am to get ready for my pickup. Well I am on holidays after all and a LLD (little lie down) can be taken at any time right!? I have arranged with Nancy to have dinner tonight, so she is going to contact me this afternoon to arrange a time, so it will be nice to see a friendly face again and have some laughs.
I had to apparently check-out of my room today and recheck in as Amy had originally made the booking for 3 nights and I added on an extra 2 nights and as it was the a Thursday and a Friday, they call that the week-end and the rate changed to an extra 30CAD a night more. Well I went downstairs 10 minutes before my pick-up time and both receptionists were busy, so I was happy to wait my turn. Well at 12.05pm, 15 minutes later and they were still busy my transfer arrived. He was really nice and said we could wait, and finally one of the reception guys excused himself from the time consuming clients and took my room number and said he will do the checkout-checkin for me while I was out. Perfect. I could see why the transfer guy wasn’t in a rush as I was the only pickup and we were at the Gray Line office within 5 minutes. So I went in and paid for the tour (plus pesky taxes), got my ticket and had 40 minutes to kill till the coach arrived for the tour. I was right in the middle of downtown, so there were shops, people and food outlets all around me. I went into one of the shopping malls that had an eatery and purchased a chicken wrap and a drink and headed to a park that was just out the front of the Gray Line office. So I sat and ate lunch people watching for the 25 minutes before the coach pulled up and we were allowed to board. Well Ivan, out guide and driver for the day, was nowhere near as nice as Larry yesterday and I was on a bi-lingual tour. No matter what you think of the driver or any guide that has to do a bi-lingual tour, it is a tough gig and especially on a tour like this one when everything is close by and a city that has a lot of points of interest, he has to talk quite fast to get both explanations in English and French before we have passed the actual point. Keeping in mind he is also driving at the same time, a man that is pretty much doing 3 things at once is a miracle. Ivan was very monotone, but he would crack a funny every now and then, so I will be happy to tip the grumpy bugger at the end of the tour.
Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the fifteenth largest in North America. Originally called Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary", the city takes its present name from Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the city is located. French is the city's official language and is also the language spoken at home by 60.5% of the population in the city of Montréal proper, followed by English at 21.2% and 23.4% other languages. Montreal is the third largest French-speaking city in the world, after Kinshasa and Paris. Montreal is consistently rated as one of the world's most livable cities, was called "Canada's Cultural Capital" by Monocle Magazine and recently was named a UNESCO City of Design. Though historically the commercial capital of Canada, it was surpassed in population, as well as economic strength, by Toronto after 1976.
In 1611 Champlain established a fur trading post on the Island of Montreal, on a site initially named La Place Royale. At the confluence of Petite Rivière and St. Lawrence River, it is where present-day Pointe-à-Callière stands. In 1639. The Canadian territory remained a French colony until 1760, when it was surrendered to Great Britain after their victory in the Seven Years War. Montreal was incorporated as a city in 1832. The opening of the Lachine Canal permitted ships to bypass the unnavigable Lachine Rapids, while the construction of the Victoria Bridge established Montreal as a major railway hub. By 1860, it was the largest city in British North America and the undisputed economic and cultural center of Canada.
After World War I, the Prohibition movement in the United States led to Montreal becoming a destination for Americans looking for alcohol. Unemployment remained high in the city, and was exacerbated by the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. During World War II, Mayor Camillien Houde protested against conscription and urged Montrealers to disobey the federal government's registry of all men and women. The government at Ottawa was furious over Houde's stand and held him at a prison camp until 1944. That year the government decided to institute conscription to be able to expand the armed forces. By 1951, Montreal's population had surpassed one million people. The Saint Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959, allowing vessels to bypass Montreal. In time this development led to the end of the city's economic dominance as businesses moved to other areas. During the 1960s there was continued growth, including the World's Fair known as Expo 67, and the construction of Canada's tallest skyscrapers, new expressways and the Montreal Metro system. The 1970s ushered in a period of wide-ranging social and political changes, stemming in large part from the concerns of the French-speaking majority about the conservation of their culture and language, given the traditional predominance of the English-Canadian minority in the business arena. The October Crisis and the 1976 election of the Parti Québécois, supporting sovereign status for Quebec, resulted in the departure of many businesses and people from the city. In 1976, Montreal was the host of the Olympics.
For over a century and a half, Montreal was the industrial and financial center of Canada. The variety of buildings included factories, elevators, warehouses, mills, and refineries which today provide a legacy of historic and architectural interest, especially in the downtown area and the Old Port area. There are 50 National Historic Sites of Canada in Montreal, more than any other city in Canada. Today there are also many historic buildings in Old Montreal still in their original form: Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica, Bonsecours Market, and the impressive 19th century headquarters of all major Canadian banks on St. James Street, Saint Joseph's Oratory, completed in 1967, Ernest Cormier's Art Deco Université de Montréal main building, the landmark Place Ville Marie office tower, the controversial Olympic Stadium and surrounding structures, are but a few notable examples of 20th century architecture. Pavilions designed for the 1967 International and Universal Exposition, popularly known as Expo 67, featured a wide range of architectural designs. Though most pavilions were temporary structures, several remaining structures have become Montreal landmarks, including the geodesic dome US Pavilion, now the Montreal Biosphere, as well as Moshe Safdie's striking Habitat 67 apartment complex. The Montreal Metro is filled with a profusion of public artwork by some of the biggest names in Quebec culture. The design and ornamentation of each station in the Metro system is unique. In 2006 Montreal was named a UNESCO City of Design, only one of three design capitals of the world (with the others being Berlin and Buenos Aires).
Our first stop was the Place d'Armes. It is a square in Old Montreal quarter. Place d'Armes is the second oldest public site in Montreal; it was called Place de la Fabrique when it was first developed in 1693, at the request of the Sulpicians, then later renamed Place d'Armes in 1721 when it became the stage of various military events. From 1781 to 1813, it was used as a hay and wood market, and then developed as a Victorian garden after it was acquired by the city in 1836. The current dimensions of Place d’Armes correspond roughly to a plan begun in 1845 and completed in 1850, when Notre-Dame Street was completed. It was not until the demolition of the Notre-Dame Church in 1830, and its bell tower in 1843, that the square would assume its current size. By the 1970s, the Place d’Armes vespasienne had become run-down and dirty and was closed in 1980 for "moral and cleanliness reasons." The City of Montreal began renovating Place d'Armes again in the second half of 2009 and work was completed in 2011 at a cost of $15.5 million. The work unearthed the former public washroom, along with the walls of the previous Notre-Dame Church and a water well called the "Puits Gadbois."
We were given 30 minutes to walk the square and to also visit the Notre Dame Cathedral if you wanted to have a quick visit. It was 8CAD for entry, but I decided I could come back to see the insides of the cathedral tomorrow. Notre-Dame Basilica is a basilica in the historic district of Old Montreal facing Place d'Armes Square. The church's Gothic Revival architecture is among the most dramatic in the world; its interior is grand and colorful, its ceiling is colored deep blue and decorated with golden stars, and the rest of the sanctuary is a polychrome of blues, azures, reds, purples, silver, and gold. It is filled with hundreds of intricate wooden carvings and several religious statues. Unusual for a church, the stained glass windows along the walls of the sanctuary do not depict biblical scenes, but rather scenes from the religious history of Montreal. I decided to come back to visit the church so instead just walked around the massive square and take photos and just soak up the busy square. There was a Chinese harpist playing, workers on their lunch break, tourists and a few small drink sellers. Other buildings and monuments found in the square include the George III Monument which was erected in 1773 in Place d'Armes, the first known public monument in the city. On 1 May 1775, the bust of George III was found defaced in an act to denounce the Quebec Act which guarantees the use of French language. A reward of 500 guineas did not lead to apprehension of the culprit. It disappeared soon after, during the American invasion of Montreal and was only found several years later at the bottom of a well in the square. The Maisonneuve Monument Is a monument in memory of Paul de Chomedey (1895) commemorating Chomedey's defense of the young French settlement against the Iroquois. The buildings that surround the square represent major periods of Montreal's development. Fronting the square is Notre-Dame Basilica and the Saint-Sulpice Seminary. Other structures include the New York Life Building (1887), Montreal's first high-rise; the Bank of Montreal head office (1859), Canada's first bank; the Art Deco Aldred Building (1931) and the International style 500 Place D'Armes (1968).
From here we got back on the coach for our next stop, photo only at the Olympic Stadium. It is a multi-purpose stadium built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics. The stadium is nicknamed "The Big O", a reference to both its name and to the doughnut-shape of the permanent component of the stadium's roof; "The Big Owe" has been used to reference the astronomical cost of the stadium and the 1976 Olympics as a whole. The stadium is the largest by seating capacity in Canada. After the Olympics, it became the home of Montreal's professional baseball and Canadian football teams. Since 2004, when the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington, D.C., the stadium has no main tenant, and with a history of financial and structural problems, is largely seen as a white elephant. It currently serves as a 56,040-seat multipurpose facility for special events (e.g. concerts, trade shows), and continues to serve as a 66,308-seat venue for playoff and Grey Cup games hosted by the Montreal Alouettes. The Tower of Montreal the tower incorporated into the base of the stadium is the tallest inclined tower in the world at 175m. I was hoping we could get a chance to go up the tower, but it could be something I come back and do tomorrow and also visit the Biodome which is right next door.
Our next stop, also a photo stop only was Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal. It is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and national shrine on the west slope of Mount Royal. In 1904, Saint André Bessette, C.S.C., began the construction of St. Joseph, a small chapel on the slopes of Mont Royal near Notre Dame College. Soon the growing number of visitors made it too small. Even though it was enlarged, a larger church was needed and in 1917 one was completed and has a seating capacity of 1,000. In 1924, the construction of the basilica of Saint Joseph's Oratory was inaugurated; it was finally completed in 1967. Father Paul Bellot, an architect, completed the dome of Saint Joseph's Oratory (1937-39). The Oratory's dome is the third-largest of its kind in the world after the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro in the Ivory Coast and Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, and the church is the largest in Canada. On display in the basilica is a wall covered with thousands of crutches from those who came to the basilica and were allegedly healed. Pope John Paul II deemed the miracles to be authentic and beatified Brother André in 1982. In October 2010 Pope Benedict XVI canonized the saint. More than 2 million visitors and pilgrims visit the Oratory every year.
Our last stop was at Mount Royal. It is a mountain which is one of Montreal's largest green spaces. The park, most of which is wooded, was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed New York's Central Park, and was inaugurated in 1876. The park hosts athletic, tourist and cultural activities. The mountain is home to two major cemeteries, Notre-Dame-des-Neiges (founded in 1854) and Mount Royal (1852). Mount Royal Cemetery is a 165 acres terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont. Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery is much larger, predominantly French-Canadian and officially Catholic. More than 900,000 people are buried there. Mount Royal Cemetery contains more than 162,000 graves and is the final resting place for a number of notable Canadians. It includes a veterans section with several soldiers who were awarded the British Empire's highest military honor, the Victoria Cross. In 1901 the Mount Royal Cemetery Company established the first crematorium in Canada. The first cross on the mountain was placed there in 1643 by Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, the founder of the city, in fulfillment of a vow he made to the Virgin Mary when praying to her to stop a disastrous flood. Today, the mountain is crowned by a 31.4 m-high illuminated cross, installed in 1924 by the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste and now owned by the city. It was converted to fibre-optic light in 1992. The new system can turn the lights red, blue, or purple, the last of which is used as a sign of mourning between the death of the Pope and the election of the next. We stopped at the lookout that looked over all of Montreal where we could see the Olympic Stadium and to the left downtown Montreal with its bridges and buildings. It was a little hazy as it was a hot day, but my photos seemed to have turned out okay anyway.
On our drive back to the hotel drop-off all the green parks were full of people making the most of the sunny day. There were people sun baking, play with the Frisbees, balls, picnickers, people with their shirts off, dogs fetching balls-it was pretty cool to see and reminded me of London’s Hyde Park when the sun comes out there people are doing the same thing. I guess in Australia we take our sunshine for granted. We are a lucky country.
Nancy and I had arranged to meet for dinner tonight and when I finally got back to the hotel just after5pm we had arranged on a time of 7.45pm. It is really nice to have someone to catch up with here and break-up my own company for the week. I was met on time and Nancy had bought a friend Catherine with a ‘C’ and we just hit it off straight away. There are just some people you get along with from the second you meet them and I am happy to say Cat was one of them. Like any large city, parking is always a major challenge and after the girls ‘showing me around’ (unable to find a park) we found one not far from where we had started near my hotel. There are parking meters and then you pay for the amount of time that you need with coins. If you need longer majority of the parking meters will accept payment for your car spot so it saves you having to walk back to your park to re-top up your meter. Pretty cool huh! We headed to the main ‘restaurant’ area of town-Crescent Street and this place was pumping. There were people out and about, the bars were filled and the restaurants were busy. With the sun just starting to set the neon lights were all switched on and the place had a vibe. We decided on a smaller restaurant and the weather was perfect for ‘patio’ dining and we sat outside. You could still feel the heat of the day and if anything it was still quite warm. We had a great meal and we talked like we were old friends over a bottle of red wine that Cat had bought with her. Nancy wasn’t drinking, so after we had finished dinner and had half a bottle of red each we drove to a Salsa Club 5 minutes away. We were lucky we found a park with no problems and headed into Salsatheque. Cat had put our names on the door, so when we arrived we didn’t have to pay an entrance fee. It was just after 10pm and there were only a handful of people in there, but the salsa music was beating and the drinks were cheap with 3CAD for a vodka and coke till midnight. The staff knew Nancy and Cat well with hugs and hellos all round and we found ourselves sitting at one of the reserved booths to the side of the bar. The beauty here is that there are waiters that will go and get your drinks for you and we were able to put them all on a tab to settle at the end of the night! There are pros and cons to that. The pros is that you don’t have to leave your seat for a drink and later on to fight people at the bar and the downside was you really had no idea on what the bill was. We stayed for 3 drinks and then the gals wanted to show me another bar. So we walked back to the car and drove to the Jello Martini Lounge only to find that it was closed in support of the student marches that have been happening in the city all week. So we decided to head back to the Salsa Club where we stayed till the place closed at 3am. I remember being slightly disappointed, but really it was a blessing in disguise and I think I had drunk enough after I picked up the bill for our second return at 80CAD plus a 20CAD tip for our waiter. Considering that Nancy was only drinking soft drink that was a pretty big bill. It may not have helped that we had some ‘snickers’ shots (maybe 3 or was it 4) so I guess that would hike up the bill I suppose. But I have to say it was a great night. It is the first ‘girly’ night I have had for a LONG time and I had a bunch of fun. So thanks to Nancy and Catherine (with a C) for taking me out. I did say I would mention in the blog a few personal jokes, which I will not go into any details but key words include motorboat, flossing (big and small) and plans were talked about with a trip to the Dominican Republic for a holiday in the future some time. Sometimes the best laid plans are hatched from drinking nights. I am just glad I had no commitment’s tomorrow so I could get out of my hangover at my own time!!!
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