Posting this blog very late, its about our trip to Montreal in Aug 2007.
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The last long weekend is over and before we know it its almost time to return !!
This long weekend we had been to Montreal and it was a really memorable trip…On 4th aug, Saturday morning we took a train(VIA rail) to montreal.. The train was at 7:30am. We got up at 5am as we had to catch 6:15am bus!! So with lots of last min hassles we managed to be at station 15min before time..Being family with kids we got priority boarding, this is the only previlage of traveling with kids :)) and trust me it ends there..The train was very comfortable and the views very pretty, we saw huge number fields, some small lakes and canals, basically a beautiful country side. Swar was pretty ok and to our comfort slept for the last 1 hr :) We reached montreal 15min before time, ie at 9:15am!!
We hurried to reach metro station and were horrified to learn that there were no lifts!! Only escalators and of course stairs!! With a hefty 8 months old baby, a stroller, a bag and a sack, we were not excited abt this at all!! Thanks to an elderly Japanese lady, we cud figure out where to go and which metro to catch to reach the biodome and also that the directions we had noted from internet for our journey from biodome to hotel were incorrect :((
Fun had just started…
After sweating it out carrying swar and all the luggage up and down numerous stairs, we finally reached the Biodome!!Here is brief info on biodome from wikipedia, I just don't have time to type all the information abt it so thot this will give you a nice idea :))
The Montreal Biodome (Biodôme de Montreal) is a facility located in Montreal that allows visitors to walk through replicas of four ecosystems found in the Americas. The building was originally constructed for the 1976 Olympic Games as a velodrome. It hosted both cycling and judo events.
The facility allows visitors to walk through replicas of four ecosystems found in the Americas:
• The Tropical Forest is a replica of the South American rainforest.
• The Laurentian Forest is a replica of the North American wilderness.
• The Saint Lawrence Marine Eco-system is an estuary habitat modeled on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
• A polar area that is divided into Arctic and Antarctic.
All the exhibits are housed inside the velodrome (cycling stadium) that was used for the cycling and judo events of the 1976 Summer Olympics, with each of the four environments taking up a portion of the stadium. A variety of animals live in each simulated habitat, ranging from the macaws in the Tropical Forest, to the lynx in the Laurentian Forest, to the penguins in the Antarctic and the different kinds of fish that inhabit the waters of the Saint Lawrence River.
This is one of the city's most popular tourist attractions, along with the Montreal Botanical Garden, Montreal Planetarium and the Montreal Insectarium.
The next thing was botanical garden
Montreal Botanical Garden is a large botanical garden in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is second in size only to Kew Gardens, London. The garden was founded in 1931, in the height of the Great Depression, by mayor Camillien Houde, after years of campaigning by Brother Marie-Victorin. It serves to educate the public in general and students of horticulture in particular, it serves to conserve endangered plant species, and it is used for botanical research.
The Chinese Garden is a part of the botanical garden, constructed along the traditional lines for a Chinese garden. It has many winding paths, an artificial mountain, and a building in the Chinese style housing a collection of penjing that have generously been donated. The garden is populated with Chinese plants. It is the largest Chinese garden in the world outside China.
We did not have time to explore the other parts of the garden :(
Anyways with lots of 'diverse' guidelines we reached our hotel and once we were there, we cud see the biodome rit ahead at the end of the street mont royal!! We laughed our hearts out at the absurd direction guidelines we had got, anyways reaching there was still a gr88 relief..
The room was gr88, clean and comfy. We took bath, fed swar and set out for dinner at around 9pm, which is pretty late here… We found ourselves at a greek restaurant and decided to give it try. The food was gr88 but hospitality was missing, it just felt like being somewhere in old pune where the hotel owner is really pissed off at seeing any customer :)) But fortunately the food was too good which made us forget the rude waitress and we had a hearty meal. After coming back to hotel at around 11pm, we decided to go out for coffee and took a small walk around. The nightlife was amazing.We were so tired that we slept the moment we hit the bed.
The next day Nikhil and I both woke up at 6:30am and we just cud not believe it!! We had slept very late and extremly tired so we thot something is wrong... The sun was shining so brightly that we thot maybe it afternoon or even 6:30pm. :)After chking and confirming time on laptop, mobile and my wristwatch we cud not believe our luck and started getting ready for another adventurous day.
We stepped into a small local café rit across the street for breakfast and what gr88 treat it turned out to be!! We enjoyed some fresh toasts, gr88 coffee and delicious fruits. After a very heavy breakfast we set out to month royal..
Mount Royal is a mountain on the Island of Montreal, immediately north of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the city to which it gave its name. The mountain is part of the Monteregian mountain chain situated between the Laurentians and the Appalachians. It consists of three peaks: Colline de la Croix (or Mont Royal proper) at 233 metres (764 feet), Colline d'Outremont (or Mont Murray, in the borough of Outremont ) at 211 metres (692 feet), and Colline de Westmount at 201 metres (659 feet) elevation above mean sea level. At this height, it might be otherwise considered a very tall hill, but it has always been called a mountain.
The mountain is the site of Mount Royal Park (officially Parc du Mont-Royal), one of Montreal's largest greenspaces. The park, most of which is wooded, was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed New York's Central Park. The park contains two belvederes, the more prominent of which is the Kondiaronk Belvedere, a semicircular plaza with a chalet, overlooking downtown Montreal. Other features of the park are Beaver Lake, a small man-made lake; a short ski slope; a sculpture garden; Smith House, an interpretive centre; and a well-known monument to Sir George-Étienne Cartier. The park hosts athletic, tourist, and cultural activities.
That was it after peaceful 2 hrs at the hill we headed back to our hotel got to the station and reached home around 9:30pm…
Overall it was fantastic trip, gr88 experience and a trip full of memories that we will cherish for years to come :))