First part of this morning was spent driving to an area
virtually unknown to downstate New Yorkers – Thousand Islands. This region
consists of over 1800 islands ranging from tiny outcroppings that you can just
about lie down on to larger islands with roads and towns. Set on the St
Lawrence River, it hosts many cute looking floating houses with their own
private access docks and piers. OF course, those living on the much smaller
islands use this as their mode of transport and have specified parking on other
larger islands close to their home. There are some houses that are on hills on
various islands, and even small communities with churches too. Apparently, once
a year all of the boats pass by the church as a fleet to receive blessings for
the coming year. The river’s source is the Atlantic Ocean and it empties into
Lake Ontario at Cape Vincent. It’s a popular holiday destination for people who
like boating, fishing and scuba diving but still remains a little playground
for the rich and famous with their large stately homes.
Next stop was Ottawa, the capital of Canada. It was about
another 2 hour drive from the 1000 islands and upon reaching there, we had
about 1.5 hours to have a wander. I managed to have a look around the
parliamentary buildings which are situated on the top of a hill with good views
over the river. There are lots of statues to look at and plenty of gothic inspired
buildings. I also had a look at the lock system at the side of the hill that
allows traffic onto the river and the war memorial.
We grabbed lunch en route to Montreal as it was another 3hr
drive ahead of us. A quick chicken sandwich and a punnet of strawberries and it
was back on the road again. Downtown Montreal is a nice place. We actually
packed quite a lot in over the course of the 4 hours before finally reaching
the hotel around 11.20pm.
First stop was the Olympic Stadium from 1976. We took the
funicular up to the top of the 45 degree angled tower that is still the most
angled freestanding structure in the world – the leaning tower of Pisa is only
5 degrees. There were some great views over the city, including the river,
biodome etc. We then headed over to St Joseph’s observatory which is on ‘Mont
Real’ overlooking the city. He was a priest that was beatified by the church as
he was said to have healed thousands of people of their ailments when they came
to the church. His tomb lies in the church but his heart is kept on the top
floor under the dome as a charm/protection over the church and those who come
to visit. It is a beautiful church and the view from the top of the 100 odd
steps is lovely. The dome stands at approx 268m and is the second biggest after
St Peter’s in Rome.
Back to Chinatown for dinner – I opted for the Vietnamese
dish Pho this time. Eating Pho reminded me of my travels in SE Asia as I
practically lived on the stuff back then. Paul told me that he would like to
buy my dinner for all my help with his English and helping out with a little
bit of French translation here and there. It was really nice of him to do that.
Last stop before heading back was City Hall. I walked down
past the statue of Jaques-Cartier (the founding father of Canada) and had a
look at the port. Montreal is a nice place when lit up at night. There were a
couple of street performers, including a juggler. He pulled out Grant to help
him with a little part of his performace!
Everyone is getting a little tired now with such a hectic
schedule and the number of hours spent on the road. We’re up at 6:30 tomorrow
as we’re going to visit Quebec City before heading back to Boston. It’ll
probably be around 10:30pm before we get back and I can check into my hostel again.
So from my hotel room in Montreal, night night.
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