Montreal in a day
Because of the intense conference schedule, today was my only day for tourism here in Montreal. I hit town with the intention of making it count, and I think I followed through well enough. Here are the main things I saw and did, in roughly chronological order:
The only thing I wanted to do but couldn't was to visit the Underground City. By the time I figured out how to get there, it had closed for the day. Reading Wikipedia, I also realized I missed out on the Gay Village, which sounds really interesting.
In my random walk around town I logged more than 24,000 steps on my pedometer. Naturally this takes its toll on an unprepared wanderer such as myself. In particular, I noticed the following effects:
Another mistake I did was the slushie. A long time ago I had one of these, and I didn't like it at all. In fact, I told myself not to have one ever again. However, I noticed many people in the street toting something suspiciously like slushies, and decided to give them another chance. I quickly reaffirmed my previous conclusion that slushies really aren't my cup of tea. Bleh!
All in all, however, I had a very nice day. The sunny weather certainly helped show Montreal from its best side!
Well, now it's back to work for me. I've got to prepare for the conference by figuring where I should be tomorrow and what sessions to attend. See you, everyone!
- I saw Habitat 67 up close. This is one of my favourite examples of modern architecture worldwide.
- I set foot in Parc de la Cité-du-Havre, where I spotted a red-winged blackbird.
- I walked through Chinatown. It reminded me of Vancouver.
- I wandered around in Old Montreal, as seen below.
- I was lucky to pass by the Bank of Montreal head office.
- I tried to get a good view of the Youville Stables, but failed. I don't know why the guidebook recommends that place.
- I ran into some kind of fundraiser involving people pulling a locomotive (instead of the other way around). Here I spotted some classic "police line do not cross"-tape. Exciting!
- I strolled along the Vieux-Port (old port), where the Eureka! science festival was underway.
- I took a look inside the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours chapel.
- I watched a slightly kinky street performance artist in Place Jaques-Cartier. The show involved dangerous use of whips and jokes about having been raped in Mexico...
- I photographed the balcony of the Hôtel de Ville (the city hall, not a hotel), where Charles de Gaulle delivered his famous Vive le Québec libre speech.
- I admired the Notre-Dame Basilica both outside and in, and also took a guided tour. It sure is lavish.
- I had a look inside the Complexe Desjardins shopping center.
- I tried to take in the Sun Life Building, once the largest building in the entire British Empire.
- I purchased a vaguely anthro (and very touristy) iBear-iMoose-iDeer-iWolf t-shirt in a souvenir shop.
- I (finally!) tasted actual poutine for the first time in my life. It was chock full of gravy-cheese-clogged-artery goodness!
The only thing I wanted to do but couldn't was to visit the Underground City. By the time I figured out how to get there, it had closed for the day. Reading Wikipedia, I also realized I missed out on the Gay Village, which sounds really interesting.
In my random walk around town I logged more than 24,000 steps on my pedometer. Naturally this takes its toll on an unprepared wanderer such as myself. In particular, I noticed the following effects:
- After wearing my cheap backpack all day, a major patch of sweat formed on the back of my shirt. Yikes. I realize now why some people prefer expensive backpacks with air flow systems or similar.
- I neglected to put on sunscreen. Bad idea! My forehead has now turned a positively crustacean shade of red. My complexion couldn't be more conspicuous if I'd been a Klingon or something, and I feel a bit uncomfortable about attending the conference in this state...
Another mistake I did was the slushie. A long time ago I had one of these, and I didn't like it at all. In fact, I told myself not to have one ever again. However, I noticed many people in the street toting something suspiciously like slushies, and decided to give them another chance. I quickly reaffirmed my previous conclusion that slushies really aren't my cup of tea. Bleh!
All in all, however, I had a very nice day. The sunny weather certainly helped show Montreal from its best side!
Well, now it's back to work for me. I've got to prepare for the conference by figuring where I should be tomorrow and what sessions to attend. See you, everyone!