Montreal is like no other city I have visited in Canada
so far. While most of what I have seen in and around Canada is about order,
cleanliness and hygiene Montreal provided contradictions. The work underway in
many parts of the city made it dusty and dirty. To top it, local authorities
washed the roads by dumping water, which made the dirty streets dirtier.
Vehicles went by splashing water even on hapless pedestrians. Then there is the
case of begging unlimited. The number of people seeking alms is like I have not
seen in the rest of Canada. Only saving grace is that they are seldom
aggressive. I do not know if it’s the weather, the number of nut cases on the
prowl is also high. People shouting, ranting and violently gesticulating is not
unfamiliar in the city. Despite all this, Montreal has a charm that most others
don’t have. Maybe it’s the Europeanness of the city, maybe its the internationalness.
The cleanliness and hygiene of the hotel left quite a
bit to be desired. The whole night the walls sounded like a cascading
waterfall. When I asked ta the desk I was told that the old buildings have
their plumbing in such manner. It would have been a major nuisance had it not
been for the sound sleep I normally enjoy on my travels. The hotel provides
continental breakfast with its tariff. Going by the large number of people in
the pantry the hotel seemed to be doing brisk business. Continental breakfast
consisted of just croissants and muffins – huge ones, bought wholesale,
undoubtedly – coffee and other cold beverages. I thought they should have at
least provided some cereal and milk too.
Having to rely completely on Google Maps in this
unfamiliar city and paying heavily for parking I decided to take a daily pass
for C$10 and explore farther parts of Montreal. That turned out to be a good
decision in the end. The Berri Ugam metro station is barely five minutes’ walk
from the hotel and is a major intersection for the four networks that
crisscross the city. The efficiently run metro network took me wherever I
wanted for the day. It is very tourist friendly as it issues one or three day
passes as well as a weekend pass that afford unlimited access to its metro
trains and buses.
I took the first metro train to Pie-Ix station for Parc
Olympic. I bought a combo ticket for a tour of the Olympic stadium and the
Tower of Montreal funicular. Jean Christophe, the guide, took a small crowd
around to explain the features of the stadium and other tit-bits. The stadium
was not even physically completed before the Games began in 1976 - the tower to
hold the roof in place was completed 11 years later! The roof and other
structures are already showing signs of weathering. The logo of the Games had
three parts to it - the five rings signifying participants from the five
continents, the letter M for Montreal and a large inner elongated ring to
signify the 400 metre running track, which is no longer there.
The stadium with
seven swimming pools and current seating of over 56000 is let out for dirt
biking, shows and exhibitions, which keep it booked for over 200 days in a
year. The Montreal Olympics was known for the exploits of Nadia Comaneci, the
14 year old gymnastics wonder, who became the first ever to score a 10 in a
gymnastics event at the Games. A special square named after the super athlete
in the Olympic park commemorates that miraculous effort. Also a star of the
Games was Bruce Jenner who outperformed the rest of the field in decathlon and
was known as the greatest athlete in the world at the time He later on went on
to become Caitlyn Jenner. Canada became the first host nation never to win a
gold medal at a Summer Olympics.
The Tower of Montreal is a Guinness Record holder for
being the tallest leaning tower in the world at 165 meters and a 45 degree
inclination. A two storey funicular that can carry 50 passengers took me to the
top of the tower in two minutes. It is reportedly the only funicular in the
world that operates on a curved and inclined structure. From the observatory of
the Tower I got the most panoramic views of various parts of the city. During
clear weather the views extend to more than 80 km! Free viewing scopes are also
placed there for identification of important landmarks.
The Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium is an excellent place
for children and enthusiasts with shows going on in two theatres at intervals
on various facets of astronomy and space. It has many interactive centres and
an excellent section on meteors and samples collected from all over the world.
The Jardin Botanical Garden was a waste of time because the garden was not yet
out of the grip of winter. Charging a steep entrance fee for an almost
non-existent 'garden' was a bit below the belt. The garden reportedly hosts
over 22,000 species of plant life with various themed gardens and greenhouse
exhibits. 
A similar experience awaited me at the Biosphere, which
is touted as a must see for it's exhibitions, sensitisation as eco-citizens and
environmental issues. The centre was closed abruptly and visitors were asked to
leave.
The Saint Joseph's Oratory at Mount Royal was an
astounding experience. One of the most visited Pilgrim sites in the world it's
construction began in 1904 in honor of the Carpenter father of Jesus Christ.
The shrine has a majestic building whose dome at 97 meters is the second
largest after St Peter's in Rome. It has many chapels, a crypt and gardens if
the Way of the Cross. The Basilica can accommodate over 2000 worshippers at a
time with top of the line organs. Besides the spiritual experience, the 6th
floor of the Oratory affords magnificent views of the neighbourhood. I found
pilgrims climbing the steep steps to the Oratory in their knees! Such is the
stuff of faith.
The Centre for History of Montreal shares the
development of the city from the First Nation's time to the present though
audiovisual aids and immersive podcasts. Pointe-à-Callière is where Montreal
was born in 1642. The museum that gives an underground tour is built on the
most archaeologically important site in the city. Both the sites were closed
for the day when I got to them that I could only enjoy them from the outside.
Ravenous hunger overtook me, thanks to the many
restaurants in the old city area with their outdoor seating and mouth-watering
aromas. I enjoyed Cream of Chicken soup with rice and a portion of chicken
wings with BBQ sauce in one of the restaurants.
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