Wake up to a warning by Anwer that if Noori & I, keep whispering & giggling all night long, the boys in one room & girls in another will not happen!!! Seems we are worse than the kids, who slept like such angel’s!!!! sighhhhhhhh ……..
It’s a 3 hour city tour, where we get a first hand insight into the contrast between old and new architecture. Cobbled streets in Old Montreal, horse-drawn caleches ( humare Bambai ke Victoria ke bhai bandhu hain yeh), the museums, the Cathedrals, the Golden square of Downtown Montreal, the Mount Royal park, the universities, the Casino’s, the amusement parks, Bio Dome, Olympic park, as is customary in every city…. China town & a whole lot more!!!
We then make our own way through the city. Check out the absolutely fascinating art galleries, with the most unusual eye catching paintings, interesting local artifact shops. Walk through the underground shopping mall,that forms the Saint Catherine Street, which also boast of some major shops on the main street.
Drive around Mount Royal Park, where every Sunday, the park gears up for performances by local musicians & a bazaar(typical local flavour), with the gleaming cruciform tower(Palace ville marie), watching all this action & a wrong turn took us to a crescent, which had the most amazing looking homes, with a beauty of a car standing on most driveways….
From there to the best Fish n Chips & French onion soup that I have eaten in a very long time at the Place Jaques Cartier square. Later drive through Sainte-Catherine Street West,a highly notable nightlife area between Mackay St. and Peel St. where nightclubs, bars, restaurants, movie theatres, shopping, and a lot more interesting places are located.
Trivia … Christ Church Cathedral at Saint Catherine Street…suffered from important engineering flaws & the soft ground could not support the heavy central stone tower and steeple, which began to subside. New foundations were poured while the complete Cathedral was suspended in mid air & the underground shopping mall was also constructed. The Cathedral stands tall because of the mall!!!
Anecedote… while showing us one of the cathedral which has been converted into residential apartments now, the tour guide asked us , if we cud guess how many Nun’s were still living there …. The answer was a total PJ … NONE!!!! J
Highlight… Osman insisting that the man who was dressed like a preacher, standing in one position with his outstretched hands , ready to give a Hug, with a placard next to him saying … Free Hugs.. was not a real man!!! Till I showed him otherwise & a bet of 5 dollars … which we decided to give the man after he gave Osman a Hug … but it was Rayan who went without a blink of an eye for the free hug followed by Osman!!!! Free Hugs are to be passed on … anyone for a Hug???
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