Canada

Montreal, Quebec

We decided to stay in Montreal on this so we could see more of the city since it is a bit larger than Quebec City.

After conversation and suggestion from our roommates, Allen and Joe, we decided to soon visit the Little Italy and French area of town which is east of St. Laurent street. St. Laurent was a busy street full of people and pubs. Just to the east are cool neighborhoods with a bit more of a European feel. Had diner in the Little Italy neighborhood at a place that was quite nice, busy and very cheap – can’t beat that.

Our roommates, Allen and Joe, were an awesome pair…the dad (Allen) and son (Joe) came from across the pond…to be only a bit more exact, England. Allen was an editor for a newspaper in London and Joe was studying at a University. We ended up pairing up the hostel (house) guitar and my classical guitar for some riffs and good ole rock n roll conversation…forget Stairway to Heaven…thankfully they demanded Adam stop playing as soon as he started it. Good song, but how many times can you hear it and still love it, eh?

Montreal is about a 4 star area with the river, small mountains and culture – very cool.

The usual bustle of the hostel kitchen started the day nicely – you know, 6 oven burners and 37 foreign people trying to use them all at once. After bumping my way in, I made up an Egg McMuffin-style sandwich and polished it off with a fresh cup of Folders. Now this is living I thought.

Shortly thereafter, I demounted my bike from the back of the car and headed down to the river-front for a stroll through Old Town Montreal and the levy system that runs along the St. Lawrence River.

Along the river was an old grain elevator system no longer used although it offered a glimpse into Montreal’s past economic strength, much of which was driven by agriculture from the western side of Canada.

Although my rear-end didn’t particularly care for Old Town Montreal due to biking on cobblestone roads, it was a very cool, historic area. A tour of city hall, the Notre Dame Basilica and a bite to eat on the open air terrace of an old restaurant topped the day off pretty well.

I will say the HI-Hostel in Montreal is a good hostel. Some would say otherwise. It has that perpetual fraternity smell…you know, dirty socks, old food…those sorts of aromas. It did have a good atmosphere though, ok kitchen and a fairly clean bunk room, which was a bonus.

We decided to tour the middle of the city and try our hand at speaking French...turns out there are more Anglophones that I anticipated.

Soon the urban tour brought us to McGill University -- sort an Ivy League university for Canada. After a run around the campus and visiting a local, on-campus watering hole owned by the University that is for graduate student use only, Adam is considering an advanced degree at McGill.

Off to Mont Royal for a nice view of the city from about 1,000 feet up. If you ever visit Montreal, be sure to view it from Mont Royal and also visit the park on top of the mountain that was designed by Fredrick Law Olmsted (NYC’s Central Park designer).

I checked out of the Clarence Castle without having went up the CN Tower or visiting the local islands. I did, however, get to see a good portion of the city, visit the parliamentary building, survive a bike crash on King Street, and learn that Canada has the largest fresh water resource of all countries in the world…

Toronto: 3.5 stars. Generally a good city that reminded me a bit of Chicago because of Great Lake shore line…lots of cool businesses, parks and neighborhoods.

Jumped on the "401" and headed off to Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Ottawa is a scenic city with the Ottawa River cutting the official line between the Ontario and Quebec provinces.

Had only about 2 hours to view the capitol building and get in the car before a Seattle style rainstorm came in and slowed traffic and, well, washed my car !!

Finally made it to Montreal just in time to pick up The Adam Smith at the airport... he does not study economics, but rather computers that probably run the econometric models of Adam Smith, the Brit.

After navigating the French road signage and trying to listen to French radio the whole way, we found the HI-Hostel, Montreal and checked in.

Woke up, bought a coffee, walked to the Chinatown neighborhood for fresh fruit and to see the sights.

Had mac and cheese for dinner at the hostel, caught up on the journal.

Said goobye, to all the good folks here...

then went to bed for the night.