Montreal

Wanting to put our Canadian Tourist visas to good use, Lex and I drove to Montreal over the weekend. It's no easy task because driving to Montreal is atleast a 7 hour journey. This does not count the delays you can expect at the border where the officials would have to check your vehicle and your passport. Lex had to drive Shiloh all the way to Canada and back to New York since I don't know how to drive stick shift cars. It's not my fault that he bought a manual car when he was still single =P. Shiloh, by the way, is the name we gave to our car. It's corny I know, but we named her after Brangelina's daughter because she is sooo cute! And no... we don't have any illusions that we resemble Brad and Angelina in any way. Well, atleast not me. Hehe =).

One of our pit stops -- Shiloh in the background

We arrived in Montreal with our butts and lower backs aching, but definitely eager to start our sightseeing. We checked in at the Residence Inn Downtown Montreal using Lex's points so we were able to stay for free. We got upgraded too and was given the one bedroom suite! It had a seperate bedroom, living area and kitchenette. Too bad we don't plan on spending too much time in our room.

We rode the subway and headed to Old Montreal. Montreal's subway system is very simple and a lot cleaner. I guess everything would seem simple and cleaner compared to NY's infamous subways. At the heart of the town is the Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica. From the outside, it looked a lot like its namesake in Paris. Believe it or not, there's a fee to get in the church. They have a Lights and Sound show in the evening that costs $10 each and we decided to come back later for that.

While waiting for the light show, we walked around Old Montreal. It was such a pleasure. It appealed to all our senses. The cobblestone streets, the quiant shops and cafes, the French speaking and courteous locals, the smell of horses, the cool breeze, etc. Here was what we found in our walk:

Hotel de Ville - Montreal City Hall

Place Jacques Cartier

Place Jacques Cartier

When darkness fell, it was time for the Notre Dame light show. We were a bit surprised with it. They put up white sheets all over the inside of the church for the show's projection. The church looked like a cinema. The clip they showed told about the history of Montreal and the basilica. It was very interesting but it was when they removed the sheets that we fully appreciated the church's beauty. Picture perfect!

Blue and Gold

Magnificent altar

By the time the show ended, we were beat. We wanted to have an early night as we were tired from driving for almost 8 hours. Besides, we still have an early 3 hour bus ride to take the next day to Quebec. We heard so many great things about Quebec that we were willing to endure more time in the road. Quebec will be another post =).

More Montreal pics here.