Art & Altitude
After another lovely slow start, including brunch at Eggspectation, across the street from our hotel, we made it to the contemporary art museum. They were having a special all-museums-in-Montreal-are-free day, so everywhere was packed, but we were mostly able to see what we wanted. The museum is favorite for their collection of the art of local pillars, Riopelle and Borduas, but neither of them rocked our world. We were very taken with a video installation focusing on the faces of girls taking part in the annual Kyoto archery contest and there were several other very interesting pieces. Leaving there we hopped on the Metro and went up to the Musee des Beaux Arts and did a whirlwind tour of their two buildings. It was a shame not to spend more time, because they had some lovely works, especially 19th century Canadian stuff and Inuit art, but it was enough for one day.
We got back on the Metro and went out to La Ronde, the amusement park on the Ile Ste. Helene. Gotta say that any city where you can take public transportation to a decent amusement park is aces with me! The weather was clouding up as we arrived and there were swarms of moths everywhere, especially around the rollercoasters, for some reason. But the lines were short and it was a perfect temperature for me and we had 2.5 hours in which to get our rollercoaster fix. We were able to get in seven rides:
- The Boomerang (forwards/backwards through a loop)
- The Super-Ride (the first corkscrewing rollercoaster I'd ever been on, last time I was here at age ~12)
- Le Monstre (one of the tallest wooden rollercoasters in the world)
- Orbite (sort of like the Golden Tower at Tivoli, but instead of cranking you up the pole and dropping you, they use hydraulics to shoot you up the pole and then bounce you down)
- Le Vampire (the track is overhead, with the seats suspended from it and your legs dangling--this was extremely cool and probably our favorite ride)
- Manitou (like the Pirate Ship, except you're spinning around, as well as back and forth)
- Condor (an oddly peaceful ride--rings of little rocket ships painted like eagles go way up a shaft and then spin around so you're just about horizontal, 100 feet up)
By the time eight o'clock rolled around, we were getting cold and hungry, so we were happy to get on the bus back to the Metro and make our way back to Vieux-Montreal. We had a nice, quick Mexican dinner at Casa de Mateo before scurrying back to the hotel for the night.
Now it's time to throw all our stuff in the car and head back to Boston!
We got back on the Metro and went out to La Ronde, the amusement park on the Ile Ste. Helene. Gotta say that any city where you can take public transportation to a decent amusement park is aces with me! The weather was clouding up as we arrived and there were swarms of moths everywhere, especially around the rollercoasters, for some reason. But the lines were short and it was a perfect temperature for me and we had 2.5 hours in which to get our rollercoaster fix. We were able to get in seven rides:
- The Boomerang (forwards/backwards through a loop)
- The Super-Ride (the first corkscrewing rollercoaster I'd ever been on, last time I was here at age ~12)
- Le Monstre (one of the tallest wooden rollercoasters in the world)
- Orbite (sort of like the Golden Tower at Tivoli, but instead of cranking you up the pole and dropping you, they use hydraulics to shoot you up the pole and then bounce you down)
- Le Vampire (the track is overhead, with the seats suspended from it and your legs dangling--this was extremely cool and probably our favorite ride)
- Manitou (like the Pirate Ship, except you're spinning around, as well as back and forth)
- Condor (an oddly peaceful ride--rings of little rocket ships painted like eagles go way up a shaft and then spin around so you're just about horizontal, 100 feet up)
By the time eight o'clock rolled around, we were getting cold and hungry, so we were happy to get on the bus back to the Metro and make our way back to Vieux-Montreal. We had a nice, quick Mexican dinner at Casa de Mateo before scurrying back to the hotel for the night.
Now it's time to throw all our stuff in the car and head back to Boston!