Montreal: Final Day (Day 3)

Montreal:  Day 3

Between our own walking, the bus tour, and the horse ride from yesterday...we felt like we really had seen a lot of the major sights of Montreal and it was time to do something a little different.  So, we chose to go to the Montreal Biodome!  The Biodome housed the 1976 Olympics velodrome.  

I am in love with sloths and this place touted an entire exhibit featuring "Nature's Slowpokes"!  The line to get in was a mile long. (I'm kind of not exaggerating.)  While the kids and I held a place in the line, the others went to see if they could find out more about the venue...and possibly another shorter line. 

 

I was determined to stay because if there was a chance of getting to see a sloth up close...I wanted to do it!  (Years ago when I started this blog of 45 things to do before I turned 45, I considered putting "hold a sloth" as an item.  I'm not sure why I didn't; I guess that I just thought that it was too out there and not "worthy" of taking up a spot on my list.) 

Kissy face with a sloth poster.

We finally did get in.  It turned out that there was a much shorter line at the planetarium entrance.  We bought a package set of two movies at the planetarium, entrance into the gardens, insectarium, and the Biodome.

 

Needless to say, I made a not so slow-poke bee-line to the sloth habitat!  Natural light from the dome's glass roof and soothing creamy colors set a very sloth like tone.  We lounged around on the couches and waited for the "sloth show".  But, alas...there was no sloth show.  Apparently, the sloths are not trained and the visitors are not allowed to interact with them either.  They simply lay around, come out if they feel like it, and just basically act like sloths.  Although I was glad that they didn't pester them, I wanted to hold one and kiss its little shiny nose.

 

The Biodome had other sloths in the "Tropical Rainforest".  I was on a mission to find the FOUR sloths who lived in that ecosystem.  And while I was looking for the sloths, there were other little lovelies to see. 

Tamarind

Alligator

Scarlet Ibis

Otter

Bobcat

Eventually, I asked one of the workers where the sloths were.  Her reply, "They are nocturnal and hide in the tops of the trees against the roof."  My heart was a little bit broken.  I truly had envisioned myself as magnet for the sloths.  I just knew that they would come running to me...seeking comfort in my presence. 

Moving on, we went through the other exhibits and marveled at those creatures.

Starfish

My little hatchling.

Once we (my folks, Nicholas, and I) had completed all of the ecosystem displays, we met back up with Summer and Shawn who were hanging around the sloths.  Not thinking anything of it, I asked if they had seen the sloths.  AND THEY HAD!!!  A worker had put out some food for the them AND THEY CAME OUT!  THE MAMMA AND THE BABY!!!  WHAT?!?  And neither Summer nor Shawn came to get me or text me.  Seriously?!  Uh. 

 

From that moment on, I was determined to sit on the couch and wait as long as it would take for my own personal sloth show. 

 

My folks, Shawn, and Nicholas went to the insectarium and gardens while Summer and I stayed with the sloths.  It was after 2:00 and the movie tickets were for the 6:00 showing...and I wasn't moving until those sloths came out, the place closed, or it was time for the movie.  The Biodome had wifi.  So, Summer and I just tapped away on our phones and luxuriated in the presence of the sloths.

 

Near 5:00, they poked their heads out and adjusted their grips. Ta da!  That's all folks!  

 

Mamma

 

Baby

My mom snapped a nice shot of a yellow jacket while they were touring the gardens and the insectarium.

Two!

By the time we were done with all of the attractions and the planetarium, we learned a lot!  And had darn near walked ourselves to death.

Another meal and drinks along the rue... with entertainment by some unique street performers.  These two dogs and rabbit appeared to be on break but we tipped them anyway.

Days 1 & 2 in Montreal

In order to get from Plattsburgh to Montreal there were several options for us.  We could have driven the rental car ourselves at a cost of over $500!  We could have taken a bus or a train.  However, both were rumored to be long (as in 5 or more hours for what would be a 1.5 hour car ride), ran at odd times, and were not always on time.  In the end, we found a cab driver who had a huge van with three rows of bench seats and plenty of room for luggage.  The driver was a chatterbox who NEVER stopped talking!  His conversation was informative and pleasant and my mom and Shawn kept up with the flow while the rest of us just listened (and/or tuned it out).

Not surprisingly, I chose to tune it out and read aloud (to myself)!  The AC in the van didn't work and no one could hear me above the wind anyway.  Actually, it worked out really well for me since I'm reading a hard book that has many words I don't know.  Usually I have to stop and look up a word or two for every page I read.  Since we turned off roaming and turned on the airplane mode, I was unable to access my trusty dictionary app.  So, reading it out loud seemed to make it at least SOUND like something a little less nonsensical. 

(The book is the doctoral thesis of: Richard Malcolm Weaver, Jr (March 3, 1910 – April 1, 1963) was an American scholar who taught English at the University of Chicago. He is primarily known as an intellectual historian, political philosopher and a mid-20th century conservative and as an authority on modern rhetoric. Weaver was briefly a socialist during his youth, a lapsed leftist intellectual (conservative by the time he was in graduate school), a teacher of composition, a Platonist philosopher, cultural critic, and a theorist of human nature and society. Described by biographer Fred Young as a "radical and original thinker,"^[1] Richard Weaver's books Ideas Have Consequences and The Ethics of Rhetoric remain influential among conservative theorists and scholars of the American South. Weaver was also associated with the "New Conservatives," a group of scholars who in the 1940s and 1950s promoted traditionalist conservatism...from Wikipedia.)
 

We arrived at the border and cleared through easily.  There was still a half hour to go to before we were to arrive in Montreal...and the conversation never lagged (while I kept on reading).  Our driver warned us that the streets in this section of Canada were in need of repair.  (He was pleasantly surprised to see construction crews!)  He soldiered through the construction on the interstate and deftly zipped down the old streets of Montreal to deliver us to our 'otel...Vieux Montreal by Springhill Suites/Marriot.

Our kids love the suite type rooms!  Each kid had their own space.  This is Summer's "apartment", although she doesn't seem to be interested in having a guest.  Summer stayed with Shawn and me; Nicholas was with my folks.  The desk clerk said that our rooms were "communicating" and I love that new term!  (It means they are adjoining.)

We freshened up a bit, donned an extra layer for the hint of a chilly breeze, and were off to see the surrounding sights.

First stop:  Chez Suzette...a little corner restaurant.

We were seated upstairs with a view of Rue Saint Paul, a pedestrian street with restaurants, shops, other 'otels, and street performers.  Note the woman in all white in this photo.

Here she is all set up.  None of us knew who she was supposed to be.  My mom guessed Joan of Arc.  I tried looking her up but I was unable to find a statue on Google Images that matched any combination of the following characteristics:  white, woman, statue, sword, crown, Montreal, street perfomer.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed watching her from the restaurant window and from the street level as well.

After walking on Rue Saint Paul for a bit, we chose to visit the port area...maybe see if we could find our cruise ship terminal.  Along the Prom du Vieux-Port the kids appeared contemplative while strolling through the Pac Man street art.

Grandma still needed to be "walked" due to her vertigo.

After our walk through town, watching some other street performers, and then a quick trip back to the hotel for a change of clothes (and a power nap for my dad), it was time for Shawn and I to have some drinks.  My folks watched the kids and agreed to take them to dinner.  =)  Bonsoir!

 

After a few drinks at a rooftop bar we decided to find some dinner for ourselves.  But then...an invasion!

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Day 2

As a general rule, the Hop-On/Hop-Off type bus tour is always great!  We usually take one of these tours when we are in a big city that offers one.  The tour guide spoke a million words per mile while she narrated the drive in French and English.  (Amazing as she was, it was difficult to follow along with her.)  We drove by all of the major sites...

 

Once through the whole loop we decided to "hop-off" to go back to Chinatown.  Naturally, the street vendors were out in full force selling trinkets, plastic junk, cell phone cases, ewelry...

After looking through dozens of fans, I chose this one.  I have a fan at school for days when the AC is out, steamy arrival/dismissal duty, and/or an overly warm classroom in winter.  And I fell in love with this one!  ($3.00)

 

Having a carriage ride is one of my mom's favorite things to do and since our bus tour was challenging to comprehend...we chose to do a horse and buggy tour to fill in the gaps.  Nicholas was thrilled to sit up top with the driver!

 

 

 

After a day full of touring, Shawn and I enjoyed ANOTHER dinner by ourselves!