A Day in Montreal, Quebec
During his first visit to Montréal in 1888, Mark Twain proclaimed Montréal, 'The city of a hundred bell towers', saying, "This is the first time I was ever in a city where you couldn't throw a brick without breaking a church window." In this New World, the attraction of Old Montreal (and Quebec City) is strong, partly because of the age of the various architectural structures - including churches.
Our hosts had suggested that we could take the train into Montreal from St. Jerome, thus saving the hassle of finding parking spots downtown.
It's a 35 minute drive from the cottage to the town of St. Jerome, the end of this particular line, north from Montreal. The EXO trains are similar to the GO trains in the Toronto area... double deckers - which allow good viewing from the upper level.
40 minutes later, the train arrived at De La Concorde station, in Laval, (they don't run into Montreal at the weekends, but connect with the underground Metro for the journey to the downtown area). The Metro train just took 35 minutes to get to the Old City area, our destination for the day.
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| The Metro trains sport rubber-tired wheels, which make for a smoother ride. |
Our first stop was the viewing area of the restaurant called, Les Enfants Terribles. There is also an outdoor patio overlooking the city, but it was too cool to sit outside - even for a coffee!
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| Raindrops on the windows (from a recent shower) blurred the view a little |
No visit to Montreal would be complete for us without a visit to the Basilica of Notre Dame. A church has existed on this site since 1672, and the current edifice was completed by 1843. Upon its completion, it was the largest church in North America for 50 years. It is regarded as a masterpiece of Gothic Revival architecture.
It is, perhaps, most famous for its interior - especially the altar and sanctuary areas.
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| Courtesy of: http://gomontrealtourism.com/notre-dame-basilica/ |
Since we had attended the laser show, last August, we did not venture inside this time around.
Outside the basilica, there were several of the traditional calèches. This one was decked out for the spring!
Feeling the need for some refreshments, we stopped in at the Jardin Nelson, a cafe/restaurant at Place Jacques-Cartier. Here, we enjoyed a cafe-au-lait in a traditional bowl.
It was quite cool outside, so we were happy to have a heater above us!
Our next stop was St. Catherine Street - the famous venue for Canada's largest (in area) Gay Village. During the summer months, this street becomes a pedestrian walkway which attract throngs of visitors from all backgrounds and places of origin. The suspended rainbow balls make it a very colourful experience.
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| "Love Always Wins" |
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| Where's |
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| Tim Hortons, displaying the rainbow flag. |
Just a few blocks north, there were several interesting things to see, some of them quite humorous!
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| Outdoor, large chess game - it would seem that anyone could challenge others to a game! |
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| 'Les Chuchteuses' - (Three Women Chatting) |
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| Not sure which one is goofy!! |
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| Mark joined the Chuchteuses! |
The steps to the entrance were quite challenging!
The view, however, was worth the climb!
Inside, we were quite surprised at how relatively plain it was, compared to the ornate interior of the Basilica of Notre Dame.
We were lucky enough to be inside when the organist was practising for a recital.
Venturing down to the crypt, we found more traditional ornate decor, complete with stained glass windows.
On the way back to the Metro station, we discovered a wonderful fruit and veg market, and were in awe of the colourful displays and tempting aromas.
We were both tired at the end of our visit, and were grateful for the comfy seats on the train back to St. Jerome!
