Last Days in Montreal

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If you’ve been watching the news, you may have seen that Canada and the Midwestern U.S. are experiencing a “heat dome.” “Heat dome” seems a euphemism for “hell on earth.” It is miserable, and apparently the worst is yet to come. I hate to complain, especially while on vacation, but the humidity and heat is taking its toll. Ain’t nobody happy.

Fortunately, we were able to spend the entire day in air-conditioned bliss at the Montréal Museum of Science. The Indiana Jones exhibit currently on display combines movie memorabilia (props, costumes, etc.) along with the science of archeology. Each visitor gets a headset with an interactive device. As you make your way through the exhibit you enter numbers based on what you are viewing and the device provides sound and/or video clips. You are also taking part in an archeological “treasure hunt” and have to find clues to solve a puzzle. It was definitely worth doing, but was very crowded, even with visitors purchasing tickets for staggered entry times. The rest of the museum was pretty cool, too, especially the typical exhibits you expect to find at a science museum. We also saw an IMAX 3-D film there that was very well done.

We spent some time in Parc du Mont-Royal, which is a huge city park in the center of Montréal and was designed by the same man who designed NYC’s Central Park. It’s called a mountain, even though it’s only 763 feet in elevation. That’s where the girls adopted a couple escargots for the afternoon, Arden claiming that she’d never even seen a snail before. I’m not sure that’s true, but they loved watching those little guys slime their way around the picnic table.

We’ve been riding the Métro (subway) a fair amount. It’s not as slick as the Paris Métro, because there aren’t as many lines / stations, but it’s a pretty easy way to move about town. Montréal seems to very much be a bilingual city. Most people, it seems speak French and English. And there are so many other languages and cultures represented as well. It’s a very diverse place.

Wherever we see a RÉSO sign, we are drawn towards it. RÉSO is a play on the French word “réseau” which means “network.” It’s the Underground City, where the residents of Montréal can go to escape the harsh winter, or in our case, the harsh summer weather. It’s the largest underground complex in the world. All we care about it that it’s air-conditioned, for the most part. The Métro is connected to it as well as large office buildings, shops, restaurants, etc.

This morning we took our last Métro ride and walked a long way, down Ste-Catherine Street toward the Old City. Looking forward to coming home, but we will miss the French influences on the food, especially. The girls will definitely miss the little splash park a block from our apartment – fun for all ages.

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Photos

Arden, horse-crazy girl
These horse-drawn carriages are all around the Old Cities of both Montreal and Quebec.

Escargots!
A couple escargots and a couple girls.

Metro
The girls with a Art Deco Paris Metro entrance in the background. This actual Paris Metro entrance was a gift to the city of Montreal.

Welcome home
Arden standing at our front door. That's pretty much the entire length of our street.

Gay Village
Ste Catherine Street and the Gay Village. Pink balls were strung over the street for several blocks.

St. Patrick's
Detail from interior of St. Patrick's.

Berlin Wall
Section of the Berlin Wall in the Underground City

Splash Park!
Yay! Cold water!

Comments

[Roberta]

Wonderful!
What a great time it looks like you've had. How wonderful for you and the girls. They'll remember this always. What fun! r