Montreal

This was an action-packed day. And it set the tone for the next few days as well. We were on the bus at 8:30 and off we went. We had an awesome driver, Christian, who is originally from Argentina. I started speaking Spanish to him, and he really enjoyed talking to me through the day. He’s lived in Montreal for 20 years and speaks Spanish, French, English, Portuguese, Mandarin, Italian and I think at least one more language. I was in awe.

We also had a great guide, Christina. She was very knowledgeable about the city and was able to convey a ton of information in a very enjoyable format. I wish I had guides like her everywhere I go…

We started the day at the Cathedral of Marie Reine du Monde (Mary, queen of the world). It is a replica of St. Peter’s Basilica but on a smaller scale. It was very impressive, but I had no idea at the time that it would pale in comparison to later sites.

The cathedral is located in a downtown area. Lot’s of skyscrapers. And the world-famous Fairmount Queen Elizabeth hotel is right next door.

After reloading on the bus, we were taken to the World Trade Center of Montreal. This has an entrance to the underground city, which obviously allows people to shop in the winter without having to deal with snow and ice. There are offices all throughout the Center, and it has a ton of glass allowing sunlight in to help battle the winter blues. There were also some interesting artifacts.

Exiting the World Trade Center, we walked a few blocks to the highlight of the day, at least for me. The Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal.

I believe since it’s dedicated to the Virgine Mary (Notre Dame means Our Lady) that the colors are then blues. Could be wrong about that though.

There are 2 balconies and the total seating is 3500. This is where Celine Dion got married. The organ has 7,000 pipes!!!

The stained glass windows, like the one seen above, are unique to this basilica in that instead of depicting biblical scenes they instead show important moments in the early days of the church in Montreal. The city was founded to bring Christianity to the indigenous peoples.

Most people don’t want to get married in a massive sanctuary that holds 3500 people, so there’s a smaller chapel behind the altar which is shown above. This is where the vast majority of weddings and other events are held.

Once you exit the Basilica there is a sqare across from it that has a statue of the man who helped found Montreal. His name was Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve.

Montreal is on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, but there is a “mountain” in the middle of the city, Mount Royal (and if you pronounce it the French way you see where the name Montreal came from). Soon after Maisonneuve arrived with settlers from Quebec City, there was a flood. He prayed to the Virgin Mary to spare them and promised to carry a cross to the top of the mountain if they survived. They did, as so the cross on Mount Royal stands to this day. No building can be built taller than the top of the cross by law here. You can see the cross from downtown through a new art installation which is basically a giant metal circle (that Christina says cost $5million).

After we got back on the bus we were taken to Old Montreal, an area of shops and restaurants. It was quite charming. We spent some time browsing around and I bought a magnet to add to my collection.

Back on the bus to drive up to Mount Royal for a picnic lunch, we passed a building with a giant mural of Leonard Cohen, who among other songs wrote “Hallelujah”. He was a son of Montreal.

I enjoyed lunch: turkey on some French style hard crust bread with a tort for desert with fresh berries piled on it. We were at a little pond in the park.

Then we went further up the mountain and hiked up to a lookout point that shows the city below. Unfortunately, a storm was moving in and we got a little wet.

Our final destination of the day was a place called the Atwater market. It’s a shopping venue with indoor and outdoor spaces; outside currently there are a ton of flower and vegetable plants available to buy, but Christina told us by July 1st they’d all be gone. She said Christmas season is quite magical to wander this area as well. And in the fall the flower vendors are replaced by thousands of pumpkins!

I wandered outside the market for a bit; there’s a canal that runs near it which is apparently used for transportation and recreation by the locals. I loved the swan boats and the boat covered with flowers.

Finally, we headed back to the campground tired but having had a wonderful day. The next day was a travel day, from Montreal to Quebec City. Before I hitched up, I made sure to update my travel map. I think, if I counted correctly, I’ve camped in 28 states and 4 Canadian Provinces. Still more to come!