Quebec - Montreal

Today is a new day of fun and exploration in Montreal.
We have booked 3 nights here in Montreal, so we are not in a huge rush to get going in the mornings.

After a walk in the park with Roxy we headed over to the bus stop to catch the #61 into Old Montreal. The bus driver was very nice and helped us get off at the stop that is closest to the Cathedral. No busses or trains go directly into the Old Town, but many get fairly close.

We got off on McGill/Rue S. Paul Street and headed north towards the cathedral. Once we started walking we were immediately surrounded by old architecture, cobbled roadways and quaint little alleyways. Each building is unique and there is a new discovery at every turn.

We stumbled across a local coffee shop/boulangarie with the wonderful aromas of coffee and freshly baked goods wafting out the door. Definitely our first stop of the day. The shop was called Olive and Gourmando. The place was bursting with action; people sitting enjoying their coffee at tables, as well as, a steady stream of take out orders lining up. Rick had a blueberry pastry and I had a cheese croissant. Both were incredibly fresh and mostly calorie free (if you eat it quickly the calories just disappear).

With coffees in hand we continued on in our journey to explore old Montreal. From there we headed down for a wander along the Grand Quai of Montreal. There is a small marina, ship docks and a pedestrian/bike walkway. It is always nice to stroll along the waters edge on a beautiful day. As you wander further along the waterway there is a small amusement park called "Voiles en Voiles" at the Basin Bonsecours. It has a large ferris wheel, paddle boats and a couple of other rides. It is a nice place for families to come and relax with a picnic or enjoy the park space.

From there we headed up to the Marche de Bonsecours. The site/building where the current Bonsecours Market is was at one time built at the centre of the social and cultural activities of the colony, both under the French regime, and later on, after the Conquest.

Numerous prominent personalities have made the Bonsecours their home; beginning with Charles Le Moyne de Longueuil. In her private hotel, Madame Bégon, a renowned woman of letters, held court; her counsel was widely sought by all the VIP's that would come through her front door day in and day out. François Bigot, the last Intendent of New France lived there from 1749 until his return to France, in 1760.

John Johnson, an ardent loyalist, Superintendent General and Inspector General of the Six-Nations Indians, as well as the Indians in the Province of Quebec, amongst other positions, bought the residence in 1796 and resold it to John Molson, in 1815.

The site also played host to the Théâtre Royal where Charles Dickens and his band of amateur actors staged a production. This theatre carried on its activities for about twenty years before being demolished. Its ruins remain buried beneath the foundation of today's Bonsecours Market.

The Bonsecours Market also housed Montreal City Hall for more than twenty-five years. In 1852, the Municipal Council sat for the first time in a building that belonged to the municipality. It only left in 1878 to move into a brand new City Hall on the site of the present-day City

Hall, located on Notre-Dame Street. Inaugurated in 1847, Marché Bonsecours is acknowledged as one of Canada's ten finest heritage buildings and has become an essential stop on any visit to Old Montréal.

After a stroll through the market we headed down the Rue de Notre Dame and wandered the streets until we came to the Notre Dame Basilical of Montreal. Built in the Gothic Revival style, the church is highly decorated. The ceiling vaults are coloured deep blue and decorated with golden stars, and the rest of the sanctuary is decorated in blues, azures, reds, purples, silver, and gold. It is filled with hundreds of intricate wooden carvings and several religious statues. Unusual for a church, the stained glass windows along the walls of the sanctuary do not depict biblical scenes, but rather scenes from the religious history of Montreal. It also has a Casavant Frères pipe organ, dated 1891, which comprises four keyboards, 92 stops using electropneumatic action and an adjustable combination system, 7000 individual pipes and a pedal board.

Notre-Dame Church was raised to the status of basilica by Pope John Paul II during a visit to the city on April 21, 1982. The Notre-Dame Roman Catholic Church was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1989. On October 3, 2000, Justin Trudeau gave his

eulogy just steps from the High Altar during the state funeral of Pierre Trudeau, his father and Canada's 15th prime minister. It was also the setting of Celine Dion's December 17, 1994, wedding to René Angélil and hosted the memorial service for Angelil on January 22, 2016.

As you wander around Old Montreal you discover the City Hall. The five-story Montreal City Hall (French: Hôtel de Ville de Montréal) is the seat of local government in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was designed by architects Henri-Maurice Perrault and Alexander Cowper Hutchison, and built between 1872 and 1878 in the Second Empire style.

Just down the block is The Bank of Montreal; the oldest bank in Canada, founded in 1817. Although it still remains the bank's legal headquarters, its operational head office was moved to First Canadian Place in Toronto in 1977 due to political instability in Quebec.

The centrepiece of the complex is the Bank of Montreal Main Branch, a Pantheon-like building built by John Wells in 1847. The building was inspired by the design of the former headquarters of the Commercial Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh. The building is in neoclassical style.

After a long morning and early afternoon of exploring we were up for our next food sampling. We headed over to the Montreal Poutine for another Diners, Drive In's and Dives location. We had the regular poutine and a smoked meat sandwich. Very tasty!

After lunch we decided to head up to the Marche Jean Talon for another spin around. The weather is beautiful and the market was in full swing. The produce is simply amazing and so affordable. Tomatoes, root vegetables, and a variety of peppers were definitely in season. I sure wish I could do some canning here given the price of the produce. You can buy a large basket of tomatoes for only $10.00 that would likely make 7-10 1L jars of canned tomatoes. You can definitely tell that you are in little Italy with all the produce that is used for fresh sauces.

Well another great day of exploring all that Montreal has to offer. We have one more day to explore the areas that we had not made it to in the last 2 days. So far it has been a spectacular city!