Montreal day one

Made it to Montreal only two hours late (plane had mechanical problems at previous origin point).

Our hotel has goldfish! In a giant pond with little bridges you can walk on!

C. and I looked at lots of architecture then spent a really long time at the Basilica of Notre Dame wandering around and admiring it while listening to a rehearsal of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. It’s full of dark, carved and painted wood, richly colored stained glass, and lit candles in rainbow colors. I took lots and lots of pictures; I found the WWI memorial tablet. We also spent a while in the chapel, which after a 1978 fire was redone as a mix of the remaining woodwork and modern sculpture. It was all light woods, and full of light.

After an afternoon snack of tea and tarte au citron for me, coffee and a tiramisu-like thing for C., we tramped back to our hotel and soaked for a while in the whirlpool. We’re about to go get dinner, after C. finishes reading all the recommendations. We’d also like to at least have a drink at the Hotel Place D’Armes, because it has a rooftop bar. It’s next to the oldest skyscraper in Montreal, which is made of brownstone and looks a little like The Bourse in Philadelphia, except it has a cool clock. Next to that is a building whose name I’ve temporarily forgotten, but it’s Art Deco and looks scarily like the Empire State Building except much, much shorter.

About Victoria Janssen

Victoria Janssen [she, her] currently writes cozy space opera for Kalikoi. The novella series A Place of Refuge begins with Finding Refuge: Telepathic warrior Talia Avi, genius engineer Miki Boudreaux, and augmented soldier Faigin Balfour fought the fascist Federated Colonies for ten years, following the charismatic dissenter Jon Churchill. Then Jon disappeared, Talia was thought dead, and Miki and Faigin struggled to take Jon’s place and stay alive. When the FC is unexpectedly upended, Talia is reunited with her friends and they are given sanctuary on the enigmatic planet Refuge. The trio of former guerillas strive to recover from lifetimes of trauma, build new lives on a planet with endless horizons, and forge tender new connections with each other.
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2 Responses to Montreal day one

  1. Leah Braemel says:

    Oh, I know what hotel you're staying it – it's cool, isn't it?

    Notre Dame is lovely but don't miss Marie de la Reigne (Mary Queen of the World) either, it's a replica of St. Peter's (done to scale – also beautiful.) It's right near your hotel.

    The building that looks like the Empire State building is the Aldred building – it was built the same year as the Empire State building: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldred_Building

    Want good places to eat? Find Crescent Street – wonderful restaurants there, especially this time of year.

  2. Victoria Janssen says:

    Thanks! I think several Crescent Street places were on the list we have. Aldred, yes! I was so tired yesterday from getting up early that I could barely remember my own name, even though I'd just read the name of the building while I was on the plane.

    Marie de la Reigne sounds awesome. I hope we have time to see it.

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