Montreal-
Such a beautiful city! My friends Ellen, Claire, Maureen and I visited in mid-October- the leaves were changing, with the city a carpet of gold, yellow and red! The weather, although cold, was fine with a coat and gloves. In the evening, there was a foggy mist adding to the mystique of this city! My impressions of the city were not restricted to the beauty! As a French speaking province, I did not expect a large percentage of the population did not speak English! We loved the new food experiences- Poutine- french fries with cool and different toppings, smoked meats, and of course the pastries!!! And Uber! When our group visited Seattle a few years ago the receptionist at our hotel recommended we use Uber to get around. Our response- we are old and we don't know Uberš¤£. Now- we used Uber tons to get around, including the airport!!
Food!!!
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| fish and onion rings! |
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| Poutine- french fries with so many different toppings! |
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| smoked meat at Schwartz's |
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| Salmon at Gibbys restaurant- delicious!!! |
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| one of our many stops for coffee and pastries |
Things to do in Montreal!
The old area of Montreal covers several blocks from the turn of the century (19th to 20th) well preserved buildings filled with shops, restaurants, museums! Very well preserved and extremely clean in a Canadian festidious manner!
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| The interior of a very cool mall! |
Tons of murals on the sides of buildings!
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| Montreal has a subway (metro)- here is on the old style entries |
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| Claire with a nice view of the skyline behind her |
The center of the old town is the Catedral de Notre Dame, a beautiful gothic revival cathedral with twin bell towers, stained glass windows, carved wood pews, and art! Just in front is a public square with live musicians, people meeting and talking- beautiful day or night! Once each week they put on an evening light show- tickets required (https://www.aurabasiliquemontreal.com/en/). The art pieces light up, become animated, and, apparently through projection, tell the story of the paintings! Then the entire interior becomes this fantastic illuminated movie of the changing of the seasons, with each section of the cathedral outlined in lights! Sadly, no photographs or video are allowedš¢ But this link will take you to a synopsis of the light show. If you get a chance to see it, I recommend this show, although it is only about 30 minutes total!
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| Claire and I with Notre Dame towering above us |
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| Notre Dame from the public square |
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| a poor example of how the art work is lit up during the light show |
Parc du Montreal is the central park of Montreal! A giant park in the center of the city, with a hill large enough to provide views of the entire city. This is the perfect place to begin your visit. The climb is relatively easy, and the walking trails so beautiful! Thick with forest, we visited at the perfect time with the changing leaves- it really is a magical walk. At the top is a very cool exhibition hall with views of the city- there is a nice little coffee/snack shop inside and a souvenier/t-shirt shop. When I say snack shop, I mean in the Canadian sense- pastries and sandwiches!
The 1976 Olympic village is worth a visit- the exhibition halls are well maintained for conventions, and the stadium is still in use. But the funicular to the top of the tower gives excellent views of the city. Adjacent to the Olympic Village is the botanical gardens, complete with a giant insect collection, carnivorous plant collection, and giant greenhouses with many different eco-systems. Since it was October, the gardens held children's art workshops to decorate pumpkins. We happened to be there for the Chinese festival of lights! Possibly one of the most beautiful sights I have seen, the entire area is filled with neon lighted buildings, dragons, pandas, and the lake filled with intricate lighted floats depicting Chinese fishing culture!
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| funicular to the tower |
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| view of the stadium tower from the Botanical Gardens |
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| As it was October, there were children's art workshops to decorate pumpkins! |
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| the four of us under the lantern tree |
Walk along the St. Lawrence river- just across from the old town is the St. Lawrence River area with a beautiful walk, shops, cool bridges, and a giant ferris wheel! From the top of the ferris wheel- the beauty of the city just shines!
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| Cirque du Soleil training camp |
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| shadow of the ferris wheel- yes, Ellen and I took the ride! |
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| the four of us on our last day at the St. Lawrence walk way (can you tell it was freezing?) |
Quebec City
Talk about a cute city! Tourist brochures describe Quebec City as very romantic- as cute as this city is, romantic is the perfect description!
You have the upper town filled with, again, turn of the century well preserved buildings, including parts of the original city walls, and the lower, original historic town right on the St. Lawrence river. You can walk down to the old town or take the funicular to one of the cutest old towns we have ever visited!
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| view of the center of town- totally cute!!! |
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| an original town gate and wall |
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| Our hotel had a crepe (pancake) maker!!! |
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| This dude would NOT move! So just had to take the picture of the stairway to the lower town |
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| street view of the lower town- so cute! |
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| Awesome 3-D painting on the side of a building! |
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| goofing around |
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| view of the Fairmont le Chateau Frontenac hotel |
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| cool walkway of umbrellas! |
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| awesome chocolates! |
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| The main town square filled with people! |
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| a 2nd 3-D building painting |
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| St. Lawrence river- huge! |
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| old town square |
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| view of the lower old town from the upper town |
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| very cool town square |
Parc de la Chute Montmorency- just outside of Quebec City- about a 30 minute Uber ride- are the Montmorency water falls and surrounding park! Higher than Niagara falls, but a fraction of the size, the falls are a definite must-see!
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| the falls lead to the St. Lawrence river |
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| bridge over the falls |
In conclusion- Canada has so much to offer the traveler! This tiny part of the largest country on Earth is so beautiful. It has a hint of old Europe yet between the French influence and the Canadian kindness, it is exotic in a North American way!
