Montreal...the city of my dreams...

Hi all, sorry for the lack of postings...it's been a hectic 2 weeks!!

So got the early bus to Montreal on Monday June 10th and head out to have a look round the city. So impressive...felt right at home straight away! Busy and jam-packed like New York, yet a pretty relaxed place.

Wandered round the Old Town, nowhere near as nice as Quebec City, but it was still charming and was glad we saw it. Enjoyed watching the locals practicing their Par Cours on the Champs de Mars near the Old Town. Had a walk down to the Quartier des Spectacles where they were setting up for the many festivals during the summer, one was due to start on the Thursday we were there...Francopholie (French music from around the world). Buzzing atmosphere, headed to hostel and chilled.

Woke the next day to discover it was absolutely peeing it down...great! So did a bit of research and found there was a place called the Biodome which recreates different ecosystems and environments like the rainforest, woodlands etc and has loads of different plants and animals. Pretty interesting place...the rest of Montreal, it seemed, had the same idea.







Rainforest in Biodome


So was crowded, but we didn't mind as someone rather special decided to come too. Paul Walker. The God. For those of you who don't know him, he is the star of the Fast & Furious movies, but mainly, he is fit, really fit. Even more fit in the flesh. He sat on the table next to ours (where me and Lisa were having heart palpations). He was so lovely and even gave us directions to the show we were seeing (which he was in too!). So all in all, a great day!

Lisa, PAUL WALKER and me :)

The following day, i.e. the come down after meeting Paul Walker, was quite cool also (not as cool though). We went to Parc Jean Drapeau which is located on the Island just across from Montreal and is where the F1 is held. It only ended the Sunday before we arrived so it was pretty quiet and they were pulling everything down. Still, we had a nice walk around in the sun and popped in the Casino for a drink.

Structure at Parc Jean Drapeau with Montreal skyline behind

Then on to the gay village, which was lively, colourful and had a great vibe. Mooched round the financial district and checked out some of the amazing hotels that are in the very rich area...dreaming of a day when we could swap our dorm beds for a luxury suite. Walked round McGill University, lovely architecture and had a great feel to it. Then across to the art museum, where there was lots of funky art on the street for everyone to see. Had a bite to eat, grabbed our stuff and headed for a friend of a friend's place where we were crashing for the rest of our time in Montreal.

Financial District

< Looking down onto the Fine Art Museum












After chatting to our new friend Olivier til late, the following day we decided to have a lie in. Walked to Jean Talon market - the largest in North America. Was huge, loads of variety and very multicultural. Ate in a little Mexican place, so cool to be speaking French and English, plus hearing Spanish being spoken by the waiters! Long walk down Blvd St Laurent into town, but worth it, as for the summer, it has been turned into a pedestrian street. The mural festival was on, where different artists from around the world came and basically painted murals on the end of buildings, which livened them up and created something so different! Such a cool vibe.


Later we headed out to the Francopholie festival and watched a couple of acts, then headed to the Latin Quarter for a couple of drinks. Ended up in a place called Sainte Sulpice which had the largest beer garden we'd ever seen! Headed back home after a tiring day....