A couple of students from Bouchereau in the student lounge asked me if I'd like to go to Montreal for the weekend. I thought "Why not?" So we booked a cheap hostel for one night and left Saturday morning to check out the city. I went to Montreal with Elly from near Salzburg, Austria and Roxane from Prince George, BC. Montreal is only a 3 hour drive from Quebec. If Quebec is the center of french culture for the province, then Montreal is the commercial metropolis. It's very modern and multi-cultural. It's a city of immigrants. After checking into our hostel off St. Catherine's St, we drove to the top of Mont Royale to view the city. Next to the observatory area, there was a cool building. Locals were sitting around tables on one side talking, playing cards, or warming up after cross country skiing or jogging. Look at the squirrels on the rafters. We also ran into a lady sitting out front with her dogs. They were wearing sweaterds & little doggie boots. People in Quebec also dress up their dogs in these. It's so funny.
We took the subway to a stop near the Old Port. On the way, this crazy old guy started ranting to us about how the Greeks are the smartest people in the world because philosophy, math and science came from the Greeks. He kept poking my arm really hard when he was talking. It was really annoying. I got up out of my seat to move away from him. Roxanne was standing next to me and he started bragging about how many languages he spoke. Then, he started talking to us in Bulgarian. Roxanne's parents are Bulgarian. It was a weird experience for her, because she never speaks to anyone other than her family in Bulgarian. The Old Port is on the St. Lawrence River. It was beautifully lit for the festival. Carnies were dressed up in festive attire and amusing the crowds. People were roasting saussages and marshmallows around fires the city set up, a local tradition.
After dinner at the Old Port, we walked down St. Catherine's Street to Place D'Arts to watch a visual & performing arts show on the big stage. The squares of the city and many buildings buildings were illuminated in color for the feast. We passed through Chinatown on the way.
Place D'Arts is a large square right next to Le Mussee D'Art Contemporain for the Provence of Quebec. It's the Quebec version of MOMA in Manhattan. The square was awesome! There was a building with a scene shining on each window. Click on it to look at it close-up. Who do you see?
The show was one of the best I've ever seen, and free for the public. It was a mix of contemporary dance, multimedia, acrobatics, songs, DJ mixes, and incredible sparklers, fire, and fireworks. There was a guy who was filmed dancing, then an artist recreated the guy on film and then the man danced in front of the film of himself to mirror his movements in the film. There was also a couple dancing. Look at them close-up. Tres Bizzare!
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