Montreal

As many of you have heard me incessantly babble over my love for Montreal, I won’t bore you with another blog entry for why I love this immaculate city.  Instead, I’m going to post a few photos from my trip to the lovely city from July of 2015, and describe a little bit about each photo and why I was enthralled by it so much.

But, I must say that if you do want to feel like you’ve been to a “foreign” city that has a bit of the European flavor mixed with modern culture and not have to leave North America, I would advise you to drive, fly or take the train across the border and visit Montreal.  While all of the street signs and marquees are likely in French, fortunately, since it is a bilingual city, they’ll welcome you with a Bonjour, Hello, to accommodate your English.  But, be sure to take a stroll through the Old Port area and you’ll get an immediate rush making you feel as if you’ve been transported back to the 1600s or some era long, long ago.

Donning the skyline along the St. Lawrence River is the Bonsecours Market.  Even on a relatively cloudy day, the dome could still be seen shining in the sky.  The actual market was not what I thought it was going to be as it was filled with an array of restaurants and shops -- not an actual market with various foods and such on sale.  But nonetheless, it was still a very unique and historic place. 

One of my most favorite pictures that I have ever taken, and I am not really sure why.  But this picture of the French street signs that indicate which way one should go to visit some of the most prominent locations in Montreal with the gorgeous City Hall Building looming from the background is just so categorical of the historic region of Old Montreal. The pop of red in the signs illuminating the dark grey stone buildings was a very eye-catching sight. I could have literally stood in this spot for a good while just taking in the sights and sounds of Montreal.

The Notre Dame Basilica was one of the most intriguing places that I have ever been.  The exterior possesses the typical gothic style that one often thinks of when visiting older churches, but the interior (seen in a few photos below) is absolutely breathtaking.  We enjoyed sitting on the steps of the Basilica for awhile listening to the music that was being played across from Notre Dame in the Place d'Armes.  What a serene location to take a respite while on vacation!

Only in Montreal can you pull up a seat on a banana!  We enjoyed a miniature break on the banana seat outside of the Mont Royal Metro Station prior to enjoying breakfast at Viateur Bagels (yummy!)

After enjoying a delicious breakfast at Viateur near Mont Royal, we took the trek over to the Jean-Talon Market, and it was heavenly!  Jean-Talon has a variety of fruits, vegetables, cheeses and so many other options, even some horse meat (but please don't remind me of that!)  We enjoyed sampling a variety of all that they offered, but it is definitely a worthwhile stop!

The Parc Jean-Drapeau is one of the most peaceful and scenic places that I have been in a long time.  In some ways, it reminds me a little of Central Park, but in others, it is a world all to its own.  It rests upon an island in the middle of the St. Lawrence and contains a variety of gardens and other sculptures throughout the grounds.  But as you walk the trails, you will come upon one of the most scenic views of the city of Montreal (post to come).  Definitely take time to walk and stroll throughout Parc Jean-Drapeau.

While Parc Jean-Drapeau has a variety of trails and gardens, it also is home to the Biosphere, which I call the Montreal Jungle Gym.  While we did not tour the actual Biopshere facility, we were able to go inside of it to get an unique view.

While this isn't my best skyline shot of Montreal, it is nonetheless is one of my favorite places to pull up a seat and stare across the St. Lawrence at the busy city across from you.  Parc Jean-Drapeau has no vehicles, it is pedestrian or bicycles only, so it provides a quiet serene from the mad rush of the city just across from you.  I could sit there for hours and listen to the sounds of the river, park and city.  I also think this would be one of the best spots to view the fireworks celebrations - maybe I'll give that a shot sometime!

The interior of the Notre Dame Basilica is filled with a variety of colors which only escalate the sheer beauty of such a sacred place.  Walking in to the sanctuary, a youth choir was singing and just hearing how the musical tones resonated inside this sacred place brought such a peace and calm to the atmosphere.  It would be rather amazing to attend some sort of choral concert here.

And, then there is Rue Saint-Paul.  Should you find yourself ever in Montreal, I highly encourage you to take a stroll down Rue Saint-Paul.  It is mainly filled with tourist shops, but the history and architecture are so splendid.  If shopping isn't your thing, there are plenty of restaurants there, as well, or just take a seat and enjoy people-watching.