Decked out for Halloween 🎃

Last Saturday, Terry and I were in Montreal, visiting a friend in TMR (the Town of Mount Royal).

After lunch, we visited a nearby park.

... where they had a large pumpkin display...

... and interesting garden art.

Also discovered that there used to be a popular locally-grown fruit called the Montreal Muskmelon. 

I wonder if it's still available today - or maybe it has a different name now.

It's always fun to learn something new... Glad the weather permitted us to be outdoors and walk around.

Until next time! Au Revoir!

Briefly in Montreal...

Last weekend, after the TWIST  Fiber Festival, Terry and I decided to head to Montreal for a day - instead of driving straight back home.

The festival was in a town about halfway between Ottawa and Montreal.

In Montreal, there was lots of construction on downtown city streets, so our traffic app suggested we exit the highway in the neighborhood close to where Terry's Grandmother Hutchins once lived, rather than  exit downtown...

It's always nostalgic for Terry and me to visit Montreal - the city where we both lived for a number of years before meeting and getting married there.

A year after getting married, we moved to Ontario for Terry to pursue post-grad studies - and never returned to live.

But we love the city and have such good memories of our years there...

St. Catherine Street, from Peel Street east a few blocks, the road was totally torn up as they replaced major sewer pipes. (Not the best time to visit!) Even walking on the sidewalk was a challenge.

But I guess road and infastructure repairs have to be done sometime!

Things were somewhat better in our old neighborhood, around Atwater Street.

The former Children's Hospital has been torn down and condos are going to be built instead.

Terry wandered over to check it out...

Then we headed over to the old  hockey forum...

It's always nice to be back!

Even if the skyline has changed since we lived there... and is constantly changing...

It still feels like home!

(In fact, the building with the brown door and window trim is where we used to live!)

Visiting Montreal's Port

Old Montreal's port area is always an interesting place to visit.

On our last trip to Montreal, the weather was hot, so we waited until evening to head over.

 The area was full of tourists.



 

Stopping from time to time to admire some of the lovely old architecture, we made our way to the river.

A number of boats were moored in the harbor.

We stood admiring them, wondering what it would be like to work - and live - on a large yacht...

Hope many people are needed to staff these luxurious ships? we wondered...

It was dark before we finally tore ourselves away...

The evening air was still warm as we drove past the illuminated arches of Notre Dame Basilica - our final view of this lovely old part of the city.

Remnants of Montreal's Old Fort

Years ago, Terry and I lived in Montreal's downtown core...

Whenever we return, we enjoy walking around our old neighborhood.

We were walking down Sherbrooke Street, past the art gallery, towards Atwater Street - and the Alexis Nihon shopping centre (where we used to shop), when I noticed something I had never paid attention to before...

The old seminary on Sherbrooke Street West is surrounded by a high wall. Inside the wall are several round towers that look like old fortifications...

Had these buildings - with their tiny windows - once been watchtowers?

A nearby street is called Fort Street (Rue du Fort)...  

Could they have been part of a fortress?

We found our answer next to the towers, on several historic  plaques...

Back in the 1600's, these towers had been part of a fortress called Mountain Fort. They are now among the oldest buildings in Montreal.

"Just For Laughs"

After visiting the pottery display in Val David (mentioned in a recent post), Terry and I drove to Montreal for a day.

The "Just For Laughs" festival was just ending...

As we wandered around the outdoor "quartier des spectacles" - where free comedy skits were being performed...




 ...







 

... we were entertained by various mime artists...

Some "characters" walked among the crowds...





 

... mingling with people.

Where else would you find a several city blocks dedicated to free performances all summer long... like Montreal's Quartier des Spectacles? Terry commented...

A fan of buskers and street performers, he didn't want to leave!

Montreal Expressway Construction

Driving into Montreal recently, Terry and I were awestruck by the expressway construction happening all around us...

Years ago, we took these highways daily to drive to work.

Now many of them are being taken down and replaced.

We used these roads daily to visit friends in another part of town...

... or to go to the airport.

It was shocking to see some of them end above our heads!

At the same time, it was amazing to watch Montreal's traffic continue to flow, in the midst of all this highway demolition... and reconstruction.

How do they do it?!!

Downtown Montreal Statues

On my last trip to Montreal, I enjoyed taking pictures of many downtown statues.

What does this portrayal of a wolf reveal about the city? I wonder...

That wild animals once lived here, too, and we should remember them...?

A few blocks away, the Boer War Memorial, the only equestrian statue in Montreal (according to Wikipedia) sits in a formal park opposite the magnificent Sun Life Building in the heart of downtown. Both are reminders that Montreal was a vibrant financial center, with interests abroad, even in the early 1900's.

I don't remember where I came across this statue - also reminiscent of are in an earlier era.

A stark contrast to this modern statue!

I always stop to look at this interesting horse statue on Sherbrooke Street. It's so thin but still has an air of strength.

Was the statue designed with a particular animal or event in mind?

A hundred years ago, the city streets would have been full of horses!

At McGill University campus, the statue of its founder, James McGill, looks at home in the park, under the trees. He is appropriately attired this autumn day, holding his hat, his coat tails flying!

Not far away is a different style of art. Not sure who - or what - this jovial dancer depicts...!

Further down Sherbrooke Street is a statue of one of Canada's more interesting painters and writers, Emily Carr, (a British Columbia native). Brilliant and eccentric in life, she is shown with her horse and her pet monkey...

In another part of downtown, I am intrigued by this statue of a crowd. The people in front seem engaged and interested; but the ones in the back are fighting...

What is the statue saying about city life...?

The power of art: It makes us stop and think!