Trippin’ Around North America

Montreal, The City

September 26

A Gray Line Shuttle to Downtown and we are in the bustling city. The three hour bus tour of the area appealed to us and off we go. The weather was chilly but dry, a nasty wind blowing.

I phoned my friend Andy in Vancouver from the heart of the city, Andy lived in Montreal until about 1955 [?], age 16 [?]. Apparently they lived just a skip and a holler down the road from where we were standing. It must have been a different Quebec in those days.

In spite of it's size, the city seems to have a friendly atmosphere, unlike some other larger modern cities. It may be all the monuments and remnants of a different era that are everywhere you walk or look. Although it doesn't have a particularly attractive background setting from the viewpoint at Mont Royale...

the downtown area is an interesting mix of old and new architecture. Not that I am an expert, it is just an interesting city. The people are also very pleasant and friendly.

After the tour we did a substantial, walkabout, eventually venturing underground to the vast network of a paradise for shoppers. Ten minutes was enough of that for us. Apparently there are about 30 km's of corridors of shops and boutiques. In that regard it is like any other large city. They all look the same.

We are not "city" folks and would not intentionally plan a visit to a humungous big city. It was on our route eastward so we did a one day visit. Tomorrow, we continue east to the much smaller city of Quebec.

Other than the Montreal Panorama above, the pictures are a smattering of the days sights.

posted by Doug and Fellette @ 5:43 PM