We arrived at our place of accommodation. We booked through Air BnB. If anyone has done this you'll know what I'm talking about. Our host was Jean, a France French guy who has been living in Montreal for years. It was very centrally located and not very far from great food and drink as well as tourist attractions. He has a cat called ice which I was super happy about and he was such a charmer. Jean made us feel very welcome and gave us all the insiders tips for touring around Montreal. I highly recommend air BnB for anyone going to a new place. Obviously read the reviews but if you get a good host it makes all the difference.
On our first day we had a little sleep in and spent the afternoon exploring Old Montreal. We wandered around taking in the sights of some of the oldest buildings and churches. Unfortunately due to seasonal closures there were some things that weren't open but we were still able to take loads of photos. We have seen some funny sights when walking around. For example, push bikes are very common in Canada particularly in Montreal and we saw an older gentleman with an oxygen tank strapped to his bike attached to nasal prongs. Well at least he's getting some exercise I guess.
Because we had a late start we just wandered to the city and looked around the shops in the underground city. We window shop these days, no room for extra things.
Old Montreal
Old Montreal
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| Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal |
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| City Hall |
Day 2: we got up early ate a big breakfast and ventured off to get ourselves some bixi bikes, similar to what they have in Melbourne, you hire a bike for a certain amount of time, you get a new code every time you pick up or drop off a bike. There are stations everywhere in the city so finding a bike is never a problem. We rode to Mont Royal 'The Mountain' which overlooks Montreal City. It was such a lovely day and we sure worked up a sweat walking to the top. But it's so worth it when you get there. We asked a lady to take our photo with the view behind us, we were chatting to her for a little while about Canada and Australia and then she had to go because she had to work. So we walked back down to the bikes and rode though the city back to old Montreal because we didn't have time to go to Pointe-à-Callière Montreal Museum of Archeology and History or see the Norte Dame Basilica.
So you were probably wondering why I mentioned the lady taking our photo at Mont Royal. Well there was a Marco Polo exhibition at the museum and we were waiting for a tour to start and there she was. The lady who we met on the other side of the city who took our photo was taking the tour. What are the odds. Any way we made our way thought the museum learning about the history of Montreal and then went to the Basilica. Now I don't do church but this place is spectacular! As soon as you walk in you're taken away by the shear beauty and size of this place. The church was founded in 1642 and between 1672 and 1800 the church was brought to glory. Then came the organ nearly 100 years later. 4 keyboards and approx 7000 pipes. I would've loved to have heard it in action but it was not to be. We ventured home to freshen up for dinner. We went to a local restaurant as recommended by Jean to experience a local Montreal dish which was a twist on shepherds pie. It was scrumptious. We then had a date at the circus. We went to see Cirque du Soleil's new show Kurious. We really didn't know if we wanted to spend the money to go. But we got cheap tickets and what would we be if we didn't see the famous circus in it's birth place? It was pretty damn good! On the way home we stopped in to a lovely dessert place and had Brownies for dessert and went home to bed. Was a big day.
Mont Royal (The Mountain)
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| Notre Dame Basilica |
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| Notre Dame Basilica |
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| 7000 pipes at Notre Dame Basilica |
Day 3: We woke up to rain :( oh well a bit of rain will not dampen the spirits. So we went off to find us a bike and rode to the Biodome. We were a soaked by the time we got there but we'd soon dry off. The Biodome is part of the old olympic stadium, the Velodrome which held the indoor track cycling in the 1976 summer games. The building has been turned in to 4 mini major eco systems found in the Americas. Tropical forest of South America, Laurentian Forest of North America, Saint Lawrence Marine eco system and a Polar Area. It was interesting to see but i felt a bit sad for some of the animals that were in there. Probably a bit small. We decided to navigate the train system rather than brave the rain again. We made our way to a place which, according to a shop assistant we got chatting to, has the best poutine in all of Montreal. Poutine I hear you ask and start googling. It is amazing if you get a good one. It is hot chips, gravy and cheese curds. I know it sounds like a heart attack waiting to happen but it is so delicious. Then there are other versions with added toppings and so much deliciousness. Full to the brim we waddled to find some bikes to try and work off the goodness we had just consumed. We ended up back at home in a slight food coma and sat in the spa and pool for a while.
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| Biodome |
Well this pretty much concludes our time in Montreal. We had a very late dinner with Jean and headed to bed. Saying our goodbyes to Jean and Ice we headed to the train station where our next stop will be Quebec City.
Until the next time... Peace out
Love Maddie and Andy xxx
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