Post cruise- last few days

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Geo: 45.5075, -73.5587

Montreal is the second largest city in Canada after Toronto and is the second largest French speaking city in the world after Paris. We stayed in the Novotel hotel which is a functional , modern business hotel in the centre but has the advantage of being close to most of the attractions. The beds however are comfortable, which when you are traveling is very important.While in Montreal we did try speaking French but as in Quebec they do not understand so just speak English and be done with it!

A great way to see the city is to do the red open topped tour bus which has a hop on hop off ticket. The tour guide on our bus was so funny we decided to stay on for the 2 hour ride and listen to his hilarious commentary. We passed one of the municipal buildings in which he said the crown jewels were stored during the second world war- a fact I never knew before. Also the Queen Elizabeth hotel in which John Lennon and Yoko Ono made their recording of "give peace a chance" while in bed. McGill University has a huge number of students (50000+) and consequently a huge number of buildings some of which are the oldest in the city. A trip to the top of Mont Royal is essential for the views across the city and also to pass the enormous cemetery of Montreal. Our friend Paul kindly picked us up from our cruise ship and took us up there so we had more time to see the view than from the bus.The bus takes you through the Chinese quarter, Latin Quarter, the Old Port and by numerous beautiful churches. The only one we visited was Notre Dame which has a beautiful interior and stunning chapel so well worth a visit. Of the many museums, the only one we visited was the Musee des Beaux Art. This is free to visit the permanent collection but we also went to the present special exhibition of Chihuly's wonderful works in glass We had seen some of his work previously in Kew Gardens, but the works on display in this exhibition were breathtaking. Huge glass sculptures of multiple colours and beautifully lit- words cannot do them justice.

Wining and dining is a serious business for Montrealers. A very nice French Onion soup can be got in “Vogue” and light snacks and drinks in lively bars can be found in The Crescent- a buzzing street in the centre where a very short black skirt seems to be the uniform for a lot of ladies! At the top of the range and seriously expensive but mouth wateringly good is “Le Filet”. The place is crowded and noisy but every course tastes different to anything I have ever had before. Booking is essential and make sure your credit card won't go over the limit! Another blow out job but excellent for a long lunch is the seafood platter at le Pois Penche on 1230 Maisonneuve. $90 for a huge platter of crab, lobster, oysters, clams, mussels, prawns and scallops washed down with a bottle or so of Rose($22) marvellous. Middle of the range is the Vieux Port Steakhouse just off from the Place Jacques Cartier, which has numerous restaurants to chose from. We had a seafood platter to share here but this one was hot but very tasty and with a plate of frites is enough. The waiting at this restaurant however was very chaotic. There were lots of chaps in white shirts and black aprons but they just brought the bread and water whereas the one maitre d'it took the order. However it was a good place to people watch. Also for dinner we tried the Bis on 1229 Montagne. This is a lovely Italian restaurant with good ambiance and the waiters here are very efficient and really nice. An amuse bouche is served at the beginning. We shared a beef carpaccio starter, which would have been too big for one. We then had the spaghetti vongole which they cooked how we liked it i.e. with white wine and garlic. This restaurant is virtually opposite to the Novotel and we would highly recommend it. For a cheaper meal if you don't want bar food, head to Chinatown. We tried the Bon Ble Riz on St.Laurent on the advice of our bus tour guide. A very simple restaurant but their service is very efficient and the food good. Pitchers of the house wine are also very acceptable.
On our final day we caught the Metro to the Olympic park. The Metro is cheaper than London (about the only thing that is!) and not surprisingly very like the one in Paris. The Olympic building is very impressive but apparently they are still paying for it years later. A huge amount of building work is going on in the site so it took a while to get to the ticket office where we could have chosen to go up the building to an observation deck, the planetarium or the Botanical gardens. We chose the gardens particularly as it was a beautiful sunny day and there was also an exhibition of sculptures made out of plants throughout the gardens. The gardens cover a large area and take a few hours to go round but there are a couple of cafes which sell draught beer and snacks. The sculptures were amazing so I include a few photos o some of them.
Montreal is a city which grows on you the longer you stay so I am glad we had 3 days to get around it. It does not have the beauty of Quebec bu has plenty of good places to visit.

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Comments

[Paul]

Sounds like you guys had a busy, busy couple of days after our departure - and saw all of the best sights - including Chinatown and Jacques Cartier.Hey Tiz: surely Montreal - hotels especially - and even restaurants aren't nearly as expensi
ve as London? Remember $1 canadian = 0.6 pounds.Glad you made it home safe and wellPaul