Meanderings in Old Montreal

Listening to Canadian radio in our apartment now, coz we've played the vinyls so heavily that the needle's retracted into it's black plastic box. All three of us were wide awake at 5am, so it's been another long day. Had to have a two hour nap when we got home. My hub's currently cooking us roast confit of duck with farfalle pasta and mixed olives, though I'm really not hungry. I feel like it's breakfast time: I'm hoping by tomorrow I'll be back to something resembling normal.

We began our adventures today by hiking up to the hideous grey gravel striped bunker in front of the Gare Central, called Place Bonaventure (it may sound like a park, but it certainly does not look anything like one). The Railway Station, almost hidden behind this, is okay, in a functional, late deco sort of way, verging on brutalist. It's all rather grim and faded. Despite this, we met a sweet man who helped us with our tickets to Quebec City for this Sunday. Now we have the lie of the land, and know what needs to be done when we depart.

Next we descended deep into the bowels of the station to the subway, itself a cinematically grim underworld of retro architectural interiors. Caught the subway two fast stops across the city, and got out just above the middle of Old Montreal. Walked through Place d'Armes, which was packed full of multiple busloads of chattering Canadian tourists from nearby Ottawa. Walked over to the Saint Lawrence River and did a scenic walk to see Habitat 67 in one direction and the famous Expo 67 dome in another along with the Bridge and a jumble of other disparate Montrealian built icons.

We then happened upon a massive, multi-layered pirate ship of a complex arial ropes course, called Voiles en Voiles, which stretched up to ten metres in height. That was it - our 12 year old was overcome with excitement, and spent the following 90 minutes performing adventurous, solo, balancing acts in the air. You would never find anything resembling this challenge in Australia, so Laurie was beaming with pride and thoroughly delighted to stay and admire his girl's bravado.

I left them to it, and set off to examine the grand Marche Bonseceurs building, with it's silver dome. The shops in there were of little interest to me, but the Museum of Costume and Textiles was, so I paid the 6$ and spent half an hour perusing classic Issey Mikayke, Jean Paul Gaultier and affiliated haute couture dresses, handbags and shoes. I bought myself a quirky big plastic and brass 1940s ring upon leaving.

I then wandered happily off to investigate the neighbouring Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours chapel, the oldest in Montreal, built in 1644. Contemplated venturing in to the Margerite-Bourgeoys Museum, but had this nutty idea my family may wish to join me in that, so went back to get them. They could not be convinced to do anything so heavily cultural at that point in time, so we walked back through Old Montreal together, also snubbing the option of entering the Chateau Ramezay Historic Site and Museum. I'm half thinking of going back there on my own, if I can find time in the next few days.

By the time we reached Notre Dames Basilica and Notre Dames-du Sacre-Coer Chapel, my hub was suddenly overcome with spontaneous goodwill with regard to my penchant for historic sites. So, in we went. This was one site that I was relatively indifferent about, but as soon as we stepped in, my brows lifted and my eyes widened. I have rarely seen such a dark, extravagant cocophony of gold, wood, glittering iconography and intense embellishments. It was truly mind-boggling. We all felt more comfortable in the Chapel behind which, while still resplendent with riches, at least seemed comprehensible, unlike the over-the-top indulgences of the Basilica.

In need of lunch, we set off down Rue Saint Paul (the oldest shopping street in Montreal) and opted for a hip gourmet lunch place we found on our first day on Rue McGill. Had a delish late lunch there, then walked across to the nearby Montreal Historical Museum. This was really something. The ground floor covers the entire history of Montreal in a logical, compelling and interactive fashion. The next level up was host to an enticing exhibition on 'Scandal: Vice, Crime and Morality in Montreal 1940-1960' and the top floor was on the dislocation of the working class community of Griffintown, the industrial waterside wasteland we walked around on our first morning here. All three exhibitions were absolutely outstanding, and we were well impressed.