In my efforts to fulfill a goal of seeing more of the world, I decided to stay within North America and see our neighbor to the North, Canada.  Upon invite from a lovely lady, Montreal was my destination with much excitement.

My initial expectations of the city were mostly that of a more European kind of city within North America; namely a more French environment.  I did look forward to the idea of being in different settings, maybe some similar to my experiences in Greece.  What I found was much to my expectations as well as much, much, more.

Upon arrival, my cab ride from the airport had more of the usual sights one would see traveling into any city.  Expressway, traffic, downtown streets, construction, tall modern buildings of glass and steel, etc.  I spent the weekend staying at the Delta Montreal Hotel.  I only mention this because of the clean room and great service I had for such a low price.  The hotel was also located in the heart of downtown Montreal, thus giving me easy access to everything.

THURSDAY

The night I arrived, I met up with my lovely host who took me out to dinner and then showed me Crescent Street.  Basically it's a strip of bar/café venues, very much similar to Chicago's Division and Rush Street district.  Only big difference is what I call the "terrace culture".  All these venues had outdoor seating.  Many of them were built more or less on the second floor of the buildings they were in, with stairs to go up and inside, but a large balcony (terrace) outside with seating.  The venues themselves range in décor from the more Irish Pub wood to more modern artsy-contemporary interiors.  I also liked how all these venues not only served alcohol, but coffee and food as well.  They could have DJs, people, and have it totally feel like a bar, but the additions of coffee, dessert, and food made it feel like a street of Illusion Cafes.  Very nice.

While my hostess was at work on Friday, I took it upon myself to do some exploration.  I would tell anyone heading out to Montreal that if you have the endurance and desire, try walking downtown as opposed to hopping cabs or the bus.  You will see so much more of the city that you'll miss in transit.  I'd find myself turning a corner and seeing a beautiful Gothic church or many other examples of classic Montreal/French architecture.  Walk with a camera and enjoy everything you run across.

FRIDAY

I started off from the hotel and made my way down Rue Sherbrooke to the Fine Arts Museum.  Their collection had grown to such a proportion that they needed two buildings now to house them all.  It was a great experience though, especially since their pieces were much different than what I would see in the Art Institute.  I did find it funny though how the French in the 17th and 18th centuries somehow saw the days of Jesus Christ and Greek Mythology as taking place in France, as I especially found amusement in a painting where Jesus was being nailed to the cross with French peasants and aristocrats around him.  Sign of the times, but that was their religious restrictions back then.  I also enjoyed their collection of Contemporary Art, including a few nice pieces from Jean-Michel Basquiat.  I hope to see more the next time I come to Montreal, especially to see their Contemporary Art Museum.

Suffering from a bit of sensory overload, I left the Museum to make my way to one of the highlights of my trip - La Basilique Notre Dame.  Again I was happy I chose to walk over taking transportation.  In my journey I ran across several Montreal landmarks, famous churches, and saw a lot of the day-to-day life of many who live in Montreal.

La Basilique Notre Dame was probably one of the biggest highlights of my trip for me.  I've always been astounded by art and architecture, but this place literally took my breath away.  I've never seen anything as beautiful as what I saw inside, and my photos in Imagery don't even do the place justice.  Sometimes I do envy other Christian faiths because they are allowed to use statues (Greek Orthodox doesn't allow it).  The main area of the church was grand…gigantic, with intricate decoration all over.  The two side walls contained several areas of worship, ordained with different imagery of Biblical stories and saints.  Only other time I've seen this sort of thing was in New York City inside a large church near Rockefeller Center.

The altar drew me in, shining like the heavens themselves.  I couldn't take my eyes off it.  I was awestruck and breathtaken.  It sounds silly in words, but if you're ever out in Montreal I'm sure you would have the same reaction.  Going into the back, I also discovered La Chapelle du Sacre-Coeur (Chapel of the Sacred Heart).  In a sharp contrast to the main area of the church, the Chapel shimmered in color tones of gold and tan, with a beautiful sculptured backdrop behind the altar.  Again I was in awe.

Leaving La Basilique Notre Dame, my walking journey inadvertently took me right into Montreal's Chinatown.  Overall it didn't impress me all too much (since I've seen Chicago's and New York's Chinatown), but it did show me the wide ethnic diversity of Montreal.

Speaking of that, as I walked through the streets, I also took observation of the people and their daily behaviors…and how they differentiate from here in Chicago.  One big thing I noticed was how more sociable the people of Montreal are to one another.  Walking through downtown, I saw people walking in pairs or groups, engaging in conversation.  I rarely saw anyone with a pair of headphones on.  In Chicago, I've noticed nowadays how in my travels to and from work, many people just walk in their isolated world, iPod headphones on.

I also noticed that there literally isn't any racism in Montreal.  I see blacks and whites talking, commiserating, and friendly to one another, with color as inconsequential.  It was rather cool.  I was sitting in a restaurant having lunch, and saw a black man, dressed in more urban/hip-hop fashions, enjoying lunch and conversation with several white girls and one white guy…and this wasn't the only time.  I guess that while I've seen enough segregation here in America, it was wonderful to see that all colors and races can coexist.

After heading back to my hotel room for a shower and a nap, I met up with my friends (love them all) and we headed out to a nice dinner and then drinks at a few of Montreal's hot spots.  Montreal nightlife I noticed was not as much about bottle service as it is here.  While many venues double as restaurants during the day, nighttime more or less becomes fashionable spots of mainstream music and more of a bar/lounge culture, only most places also have terraces like I spoke of earlier with Crescent Street.  I'm not sure if they have big nightclubs in Montreal, but I didn't get to see them.  Also on a funny note, I noticed how much weaker the drinks were.  Maybe it was the venues I was at, or just me from the high-powered drinks Chicago bartenders serve me.  At one point I felt that I could have drank my friends under the table…which says a LOT since we're talking about me here!

SATURDAY

I started off the morning sleeping late (love days off for that) and getting a few postcards together for my friends back in the US.  The plan for Saturday was to see the Old Montreal district.  My lovely hostess met up with me at my hotel and we went from there.  Since Old Montreal was a bit further than what one could normally walk, we took a cab.  I pretty much saw it that the "beginning" of the area was at the old courthouse.  Beautiful European architecture.

We reached our destination at Place Jacques-Cartier.  It's a large square of activity and tourism for Montreal.  Each side of the street was lined with cafes, restaurants, and shops.  Reminded me a lot of Aristoules Square in Thessaloniki.  While I didn't get a chance to see it at night, I was told that Place Jacques-Cartier at night is a bustling hotspot of street performances, artists, and nightlife.  Kind of like a weekly street fest.  I will definitely have to see that next time I go back.

I loved Old Montreal.  Whenever anyone tells you how Montreal is more like a European city in Canada, they were speaking of the Old Montreal district.  The architecture and even the streets would make anyone think they were in France, or other parts of Europe.  Cozy cobblestone streets showcasing shops selling everything from tourist crap to wines and imported foods, as well as many art galleries.  I could have spent days there and could think of several of my friends who would go crazy there.

We had a long nice relaxing lunch at a restaurant called Le Jardin Nelson.  On the outside it looks like a quaint building with a terrace overlooking Place Jacques-Cartier, but inside it has a rather nice courtyard that they converted into a patio with plenty of seating and a stage for live music.  They had a 3 piece jazz band there with a talented vocalist that had Sinatra down cold.  The food was rather nice as well.  My father introduced me to the idea of crepes back when he opened his restaurant, but Le Jardin Nelson had a wide variety of crepes, both on the sweet and savory side.  I had a crepe filled with chicken, cheese, and broccoli that was quite good.

My hostess and I could have spent all day in Le Jardin Nelson.  Just chilling in the patio with iced green tea and not a care in the world.  I still miss that place now, but she had more to show me of OId Montreal.  We reluctantly left the restaurant and made our way through more of Old Montreal, only to run across a fair being held on one of the streets.  What was cool about this fair was that it was totally themed in 18th century France.  People in costume, haystacks and small booths making one thing of a bazaar or marketplace, and even entertainers playing old world instruments like the Lute, Hurdy Durdy, and French bagpipes.  There were also a contingent of men dressed as French soldiers, performing a march and then later firing their muskets into the air, which startled us even blocks away.

From the festival, we walked our way over to the old port of Montreal.  While the view was nice and even we were entertained by a breakdancing street performer, I wasn't highly impressed.  My hostess told me though that many nights people will bring their boats into the pier and party on them with small shops on the docks selling them food, alcohol, and anything else they might want.

With fatigue starting to set in on both of us from hours of walking, we decided to head back to our respective shelters for rest, a shower, and then later that night to meet up with colleagues for a birthday party.  Dinner was at a Greek restaurant and then drinks at a hole in the wall bar called Muski's.  While my friends were worried I might be bored, I wasn't.  It was nice to have friends to hang out with in Montreal, as well as see some of the life of the city outside of the typical tourist areas and downtown…although again I could have probably drank them all under the table with the weak alcohol they served!

SUNDAY

I woke up Sunday with limited time on my hands.  I had to check out at noon and be at the airport around 4 or 4:30 for my 6:30 flight (Homeland Security you know).  After packing and checking out, as trivial as this sounds, I found out that most hotels will hang on to your baggage until you need it later for your flight.  With time on my hands, I made plans to meet up with my friend at Parc du Mont-Royal (Mount Royal Park) to see what is known as "Tam-Tams".

I've heard about Tam-Tams months ago from my hostess when we started chatting online.  For the last twenty-five years people of the more bohemian variety have gathered in the park with tam-tam drums to just play…for hours.  During the summer, every Sunday from 1 til 7-ish they play.  It could start off with 5-6 guys on tam-tams with a couple of additions of other percussion instruments or even some woodwind instruments, but by 3:30, there were probably over thirty people playing drums in this small section of the park and many more hanging around, dancing, enjoying it all.  Tam-Tams isn't even sanctioned by the city, people just kept coming out to this week after week for the last twenty-five years.  Makes me wish there was something like this in Chicago, because I so badly wanted to get a drum and join in.

And that was it.  I had to get my bag and say a somewhat sad goodbye to my hostess, as well as thanking her for a wonderful weekend in Montreal.  I will say that like Greece, I think about what I saw a lot, and miss it.  I look forward to when my friends come to visit me as well as the next time I get to go back.

J'aime Montréal!

To see the images of my trip, head over to my photo gallery by clicking here.