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| Nancy with front row seats |
The city of Montreal has much to offer the traveler. A few of the highlights from our recent trip to this island city in the middle of the St. Lawrence River includes:
Old Town Montreal:
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| Notre Dame Cathedral |
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| Nelson's Column |
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| Walking the narrow streets of Old Montreal |
Food:
So many great restaurants including Reuben's Deli and Steakhouse. Included on menus everywhere is, perhaps, the Canadian national dish, poutine. Places serving smoked meats were plentiful as well. Some, like Reuben's, combined poutine and smoked meat.
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| Poutine with chopped smoked meat |
Museums:
Montreal offers a number of museums. We visited several but my favorite, by far, was the Montreal Archaeology and History Museum on the waterfront in Old Montreal. This museum was built over the site of the original fort. The foundation from buildings past is incorporated into and accessible from the museum.
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| Fort Ville-Marie, 1642 |
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| Fort Ville-Marie, 1642 |
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| The old sewer in neon purple |
A handsome collection of sailing ships from years gone by garrisons the perimeter of the second floor.
A special treat to see a small display of sixteenth century Japanese armor. These examples will be useful next time Feudal Japanese figures hit the painting desk.
Montreal from the river:
Montreal from above:
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| Mont Real as seen from Olympic Tower |
Ile Notre-Dame:
On Ile Notre-Dame stands the Casino appearing to be straight from the Jetson's. Encircling the casino is the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve which is the course for the F1 Grand Prix du Canada. When not in use as a racetrack, the circuit can be used for cycling, rollerblading, and autos. I would enjoy returning to Montreal to see the F1 race and take the bike out onto the track. With stringent F1 regulations on surface conditions, this track was well maintained and quite smooth.
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| The Casino |
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| The Casino |
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| Circuit Gilles Villeneuve |
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| Circuit Gilles Villeneuve |
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| Circuit Gilles Villeneuve |
Michael Buble Concert
The primary reason for a visit to Montreal? Not history, not food, a Michael Buble concert. For Nancy, this was the highlight of the trip. With front row seats to the secondary stage, we had an up close view of Michael when he performed at this end of the Bell Centre Arena. To see exactly how up close and personal, please watch this short clip I captured as designated videographer. Be sure to watch until the end of this 50 second clip.
Yes, Nancy is the blond to whom Buble made a hand grab. She was so excited!
What a great video!!
ReplyDeleteA star is born.
DeleteThere are some nice exhibits in that museum, so thanks for sharing. I bet Michael holding her hand made Nancy's day to say the least!
ReplyDeleteSteve, it is an enjoyable museum that includes a pirates/privateers exhibit with a pirate ship built into the display. One can walk around the deck of the ship. Kids would love this.
DeleteFor Nancy, the concert was the highlight of the trip, for sure.
Cool photos Jonathan!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ray!
DeleteYour travelogues are nice interludes that remind me that I need to get out more often :)
ReplyDeleteHappy to provide a useful interlude and a little inspiration to travel!
DeleteBack to the painting desk now for me.
My wife and I had a very nice stay in Montreal in July, first time we'd been there (together) in 20 years and really enjoyed it. I was in meetings most of the days but really enjoyed the food in the old city. we also rented car and drove out to the battlefield of Chateauguay - well worth a visit. As a bonus, it was a holiday weekend and they rented everything on the lot - we got a Mustang convertable!
ReplyDeleteWe really enjoyed our visit too. Lovely city. We did not get a chance to get out from the city but I will make a note of Chateauguay for next time.
DeleteVery cool images, Jonathan. That meat dish looks very hearty. Nice samurai armor too!
ReplyDeleteI thought you might enjoy the samurai armor display.
DeleteMontreal looks like a really cool place - would certainly love to visit one day. Thanks for sharing this travelogue.
ReplyDeleteNancy must have been thrilled to have been so close to her pop idol.
Montreal is a great place for a get-away! Indeed, Nancy was thrilled to be so close to Buble. Really a dream come true!
DeleteMontreal is a great town, good to visit, and also a good spot to live.
ReplyDeleteI imagine Montreal would be a good place to live.
DeleteBeautiful! Thank You for a report ;)
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome!
DeleteWe have Canada on the list for the end of next year, so this is a nice taste of what to expect. Funnily enough I discovered there is a street named after my great uncle in Ajax, which I don't think he ever knew about, so we will have to make a trip there as well.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the brief travelogue on Montreal.
DeleteHave fun on your visit to Canada and report back on your familial connections to Ajax.
Great looking city Jonathan......🙂
ReplyDeleteI agree!
DeleteLooks very nice, but I would have to say no to the Poutine (had to look it up), cheese curds yeugh.
ReplyDeleteThanks, George. For me, it is not the cheese curds but the gravy over the French fries to which I have second thoughts.
DeleteNice looking pics, lovely stumpy ship models! Great sounding concert and there's nothing wrong with chips and gravy!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Well, Iain, you would have enjoyed the trip! For me, the chips in gravy makes the chips too soggy and they lose their crispiness.
DeleteWow a touch from the man himself. Montreal looks an interesting place.
ReplyDeleteRight on both counts!
DeleteDear Mr. Freitag, do you still have the book "L'Esercito Austriaco nel 1859"? If so, could you answer a few questions about the austrian volunteers units of the 1859 war?
ReplyDeleteYes, I still have the book and would be happy to answer questions.
DeleteThabk you very much! I'm trying to find information about what volunteer units the austrian army of 1859 had and what were their uniforms. Could you share a little on this bit? You can email me st ismaelmentrin@gmail.com if you think it's better.
DeleteAgain, thank you very much! I've been trying to find information on the subject with no luck
Lucky man, hope I'll be there one day! Meanwhile thanks for these beautiful pics!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the photos! Perhaps you can visit one day?
DeleteI was a pre-teen the last time I visited Montreal; worth keeping in mind for an overdue return trip!
ReplyDeleteAfter about 50 years, you are due for a return trip!
DeleteJust stumbled across this post. When you were taking the picture of Montreal from the river, the house that I grew up in was a little over a mile behind you, a little upstream.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a favourable visit to my old hometown. Feels like a century since I was last there......oh, it was last century!
Glad you stumbled upon this old post! Nancy and I really enjoyed our stay in Montreal and hope to return again soon. We are eyeing the F1 race in June as a possibility.
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