This morning we made more of an effort to get up early and were actually all awake by 8:30am 🙂 We made our way through the shower and got ourselves ready and then headed north.
We made a quick pitstop at an ATM for incidental cash and then walked along Rue Sainte-Catherine to Peel and then up to Universel DĂ©jeuners et Grillades for breakfast. We had a very satisfying meal here – bagles and eggs benedict and a crĂŞpe with apple, bacon and cheese. We sat on the terrace on a warm, overcast morning enjoying ourselves when the first rain started and the awning was pulled over us.
The rain came and went for most of the rest of the day but was rarely very heavy and we did our best not to let it interfere with our adventure. From Universel we walked along Sherbrooke and past McGill to the university bookstore where we picked up  a few things. Mimi has decided that university hoodies are the best thing and so picked up a McGill one to go with her Oxford and UVic swag. Sharon and I also picked up a couple of things and then we were on our way again.
From here we back-tracked a little and entered the downtown campus of McGill through the main gates. We strolled up the hill and looped to the west to find the Welcome Centre. Folks there were, of course, very nice to the parents with their 17 year old daughter, but UVic has a nicer welcome centre. We picked up a campus map and were handed some of the usual propaganda and then moved back outside.
We were walking back up the hill along Rue McTavish when the rain started again and so we ducked inside the Shatner building, which houses the university student society. We discovered a cafeteria here and student lounge areas, and saw that there is apparently a ballroom on an upper floor.
Outside again we rounded the north end of the campus near the reservoir and then got quite wet for about three minutes before coming back down the east side and back into the heart of the campus grounds. McGill is a very pretty campus and being so close to downtown would have a lot of advantages. Somehow I expected the campus to be bigger – perhaps because I perceive UofT’s campus to be bigger – even though I know there is a second campus (Macdonald) also located on the island.
In consideration of the time available for dress shopping, the girls decided it was time to strike out and see what the city had to offer. I wished them well and bid them good-bye at McGill station and then set off on my own adventure. I quickly found the underground plazas of Complexe Les Ailes and Promenades Cathédrale along my way, but then returned to the surface and headed south.
My aim this afternoon was to return to Vieux Montreal and check out the Château Ramezay and the HĂ´tel de ville de MontrĂ©al, both of which are recommended historical sites. Château Ramezay was originally built by the Governor of Montreal under the French king in 1705 and was said to be the finest house in Canada at the time. Over the years it changed hands many times, including American occupation for awhile, many British governors, UniversitĂ© de MontrĂ©al’s medical faculty, and finally a museum in 1894.
The museum is a wonderfully restored building that houses thousands of artifacts that outline the history of the city and its colonial narrative. This museum seems more aware of its context within a land that had been the home of the Indigenous people for much longer. There is even a nod to the notion that Europeans didn’t discover anything that wasn’t already culturally and politically rich, and which had long been “settled” before they arrived.
Much of the story-telling at Château Ramezay is done with little speakers which you hold to your ear, each purporting to be a figure from history giving a perspective on the time. There are also exhibits on archeological digs in the area and restorations of kitchens and serving areas. Overall the museum is very impressive and gave a lot of consideration to how to convey it’s historical place to a community in a thoughtful and engaging way.
It was raining again, but fortunately I only wanted to cross the road to see if I could catch a tour of the HĂ´tel de ville de MontrĂ©al. Unfortunately, according to a security guard, I had managed to pick the one day of the whole month when council was in session which meant there would be no tours. “Come back any other day!” I was cheerily invited.
From here I was not far from the MarchĂ© Bonsecours and the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecour where we’d been yesterday. I was quite happy to discover a little brewpub along the front of the MarchĂ© Bonsecours called Pub BreWskey where I was able to sit on another outdoor patio and enjoy a pint of Kilogramme IPA with some sweet potato fries. The IPA was very good so I bought a beer glass as a souvenir.
The Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecour is right next to the MarchĂ© Bonsecours and is another magnificent Montreal church. Inside it showcases similar high vaulted ceiling, organ and beautiful stained glass but is unique in that several boats hang down from the ceiling throughout. This is also known as the Sailors’ Church because its location close to the river made it convenient for sailors to visit and give thanks for their safety at sea. In recognition of this the bishop also placed a statue of the Virgin as Star of the Sea atop the church on the river side in 1849. Apparently you can also visit the crypt below the sanctuary or climb the spire for some great views, which I did not realize at the time.
I was plotting my course back to Rue Sainte-Catherine when Sharon and Mimi called and told me they were finished. They’d had fun looking at and trying on quite a variety of dresses but had not yet made a decision. We arranged to meet back at the Eaton’s Centre.
Along the way I walked through Montreal’s Chinatown which is a more open and less frenetic Chinatown than the one I know in Victoria. Still busy and filled with novel shops and enticing smells, the streets are leafier and less densely packed with vendors and produce. I had a pleasant stroll through the area.
By the time I arrived at the Eaton’s Centre Sharon and Mimi had already arrived and were considering dinner options. With a little help from Google we ended up at Il Focolaio next to Phillips Square. This densely packed restaurant boasts 75 kinds of oven-fired thin crust pizza. We enjoyed three sightly larger than personal sized pizzas and they were delicious!
While having dinner I heard a bit about dressing shopping as well. They’d started along Rue St. Hubert and visited several stores. Unfortunately most of the dresses of note didn’t fit quite right. One beauty in particular was a burgundy dress with a lacy bit on the bodice and inset in the skirt, but the material wasn’t appropriately stretchy and so didn’t fit comfortably. Other dresses Mimi liked were similar to ones at home, and some of those were a very good fit. Still some time this week to look and to consider.
Lunch for the girls was at the Nickels diner, which was laid out with a fun 50s motif. They had cheese sticks and chicken noodle soup!
As we were finishing our pizza dinner the rain started coming down again, so we dashed back over to the Eaton’s Centre where we spent the remainder of our evening just walking past the store fronts and poking in to a few places. Along the way we acquired a substantial bag of assorted Lindt chocolates and Mimi popped into Dynamite to look at a few less formal dresses.
Eventually we made our way back to the Metro where we rode the subway a couple of stops and then walked back down through a calm and cooling off evening to our hotel. We spent the remainder as we had the previous evenings, reading and surfing and collecting our photos.
