AUGUST 2019 : CANADA : DAY 8 : Montreal

We are staying near Le Village on the map below. Today we spent time in Vieux Montréal (Old Montreal)

The view outside of our hotel window. They say there are two seasons in Canada - Winter and Construction. The building industry closes down when the snow arrives, so building contractors make the most of the fine months to complete projects.

Breakfast included. Nothing to write home about. Feels like a high school cafeteria.

Interesting walk from our hotel to Old Montreal - about 10 minutes. Beautifully restored old buildings and attractive flowers everywhere.

I was impressed by the quality of the displays throughout the area.

We had booked a walking tour for 11 am. 

We met across from Place d’Armes, which was buzzing with tourists.

We had an excellent guide, who was a retired engineer. He kept us all captivated with stories of early Montreal. These buildings are the Town Hall and Courthouses.

This is Chateau Ramezay, which was originally built for the Governor in 1705.

There is a traditional French garden at the rear - with a progression from vegetable and flower bordered plots to larger trees.

We were wondering where all these magnificent public flower displays go in the winter. 

The Basilica of Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Coeur, a Gothic Revival Church completed in 1829. There were some beautiful paintings and stained glass windows, telling Montreal’s history, including of an Indian saint.

A public sculpture in one of the small alleyways, called Whisperers.

Flags and signs. The first flag is the provincial flag of Quebec, the second the Quebecois flag during the British occupation, the fleur-de-lys was replaced by the beaver.

The church of Notre Dame de Bon Secours, which was founded in 1655 by a nun, now Sainte Marguerite Bourgeoys.  Now it is known as the sailors’ church as it is close to the port and has blessed many ships’ crews before they set off on voyages.

Lunch at a boutique brewery. Mark decided to order a local specialty Poutine - usually French fries, cheese curds covered in gravy but he had a modified version - chicken, bacon, aioli, French fries with gravy. They had a range of vivid drinks on the menu, none which appealed to us.

On our return journey we walked by the port. It was more like a fun park with a Ferris wheel, Zipline, climbing equipment, paddle boats etc. All popular with the tourist families. We were disappointed it didn’t offer more ambience like Toronto harbour. Originally, this was this was main port for Canada, where grain and furs was exported. Montreal is an island port and is at the end of the St Lawrence Seaway, which gives access to both the Great Lakes and The Atlantic Ocean, opened in 1959.

The highlight of the day. We walked up to the community park at the end of our street. Very much part of Le Village. A karaoke night. Very gay, very individual, very mental health, some doped out but so heart-felt and such a beneficial activity. Felt quite teary as there were such wonderful efforts, talented singers and awkward moments. There was total crowd support.

Dinner in the Latin Quarter. Two streets away.

M&M

AUGUST 2019 : CANADA : DAY 7 : Toronto - Montreal : 7 hours (train)

We left the hotel early and walked to Union Station. It was about a 25 minute walk. It was quiet on the streets being a Sunday morning. Down Bay Street a film crew were setting up their equipment. The bizarre thing was that there was a homeless man asleep on the footpath right in the middle of their operation. He was just invisible. Just like all the other sleeping homeless on nearly every corner.

At Union Station, commuters lined up for their trains, a portable machine weighing bags along the queues. As luck would have it, I booked all our tickets on line when we arrived and I heard the guard say today that all the trains along this line are booked this week due to the last few days of the summer school holidays.

8.30 train to Ottawa

2.20 pm train to Montreal

Farms along the way

Walking through the centre of Montreal we encountered some animated squirrels in a church yard.

Our hotel, Hotel Les Suites Labelle, which is in the Downtown district, close to the Italian Quarter and near the Old Town and Port.

We set off to explore. There was a lot of activity down Rue Sainte-Catherine Est. Recognition of Gay Pride with flags, rainbow walkway and businesses acknowledging the theme. In the park nearby an open air gallery and community garden. Around the corner, the University of Quebec and the Italian Quarter with streets lined with cafes, bars and restaurants. Lots of activity. A little overwhelming. I hope to make sense of it all tomorrow.

M&M

AUGUST 2019 : CANADA : DAY 6 : Toronto

We are really enjoying Toronto, particularly the summer weather and the city grid system, which makes exploring much easier. We plan our day, plot the points in maps.me on Mark’s mobile so everything is accessible and walk everywhere.

At last we have found good coffee and a light breakfast menu at Aroma, thanks to a suggestion of Irv’s last night.

We set off this morning from our hotel, past City Hall towards the port, through a tunnel, illustrated with Indigenous elders.

The Fan convention continues

Free concerts being set up at City Hall and along the waterfront

We enjoyed an hour cruise around the islands off Toronto. They were originally connected to the city by sandbanks but during storms in the late 19 th century the sandbanks were washed away. Some of the islands are inhabited and others are nature reserves. We had some more impressive views of the Toronto skyline.

Afterwards we walked along the shore to the St Lawrence Markets.

The markets are very popular and have an extensive range of products. One section in a large marquee was for local market farmers.

We passed the dog park.

Lunch at a Japanese restaurant in Chinatown.

A visit to the Art Gallery of Ontario.

I had heard about the Group of Seven. Canadian artists who formed an alliance in 1920 dedicated to promoting Canadian landscape painting.

There were some interesting sculptures, including a whole gallery of Henry Moore’s work.

The most popular exhibition today was the work of a young avant-garde artist, Brian Jungen, who uses consumer products for his sculptures. This time it was backpack totem poles and sports gear modelled into traditional Indigenous masks and artefacts.

Tonight we walked up towards the attractive University district, which is also the fashion district with all the big label stores. We had been recommended an Indian restaurant, The Host, which was full of atmosphere and authentic Indian food.

Louis Vuitton

The Host Indian restaurant

There is a constant line of patrons queuing to check in to the hotel in the lobby. Today there was an interactive robot entertaining the troops as they stood in line.

M&M

AUGUST 2019 : CANADA : DAY 5 : Toronto

We thought the best way to get an understanding of Toronto was to do it by bus. A good choice in hindsight, as we had a very engaging live commentary which covered a considerable area.

There were some remarkable historic buildings - fire stations, the Art Deco Concourse, Casa Loma, brownstone buildings which have survived major city fires and the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Some impressive modern buildings - School of Art ( coloured crayons as the supports), a variety of shaped structures, City Hall.

The Royal Ontario Museum combines the classic with a modern extension.

It’s all about the skyline

It’s also all about the TV series Suits. It is filmed in downtown Toronto, where the streets around the Adelaide Centre are regularly cordoned off for filming.

Large public art

Eateries. Lots of burger and fries vans. We found a healthier option in one of the malls, the Eaton Centre, which span blocks and blocks with several floors underground and walkways under the city, for the freezing winter months.

There is a Fan Expo on over the weekend. We were alerted to this when super heroes and various cartoon characters began walking around the city.

In 2005 I worked with a young Canadian teacher, who was in Canberra for two years when her husband did a Public Service exchange. We have remained in contact. Twelve years later Alla has three children, the eldest 12. Irv, her husband, collected us from our hotel and drove us the hour to their home in Richmond Hill. This gave he and Mark time to discuss all things political. On our arrival, Noah, Gabrielle and Isaiah had a Marvel inspired play for us to watch. Very dramatic.

We had a lovely meal outside in their garden. It just seems like yesterday that they were in Canberra.

M&M