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Montreal, Quebec, Canada
You told me I could order the moon babe just as long as I shoot what I want
There are three legitimate ways to get to Montreal for me. One is to take a flight, another is to drive and a third is the Amtrak Adirondack train. Since flying and driving could be less pleasant in February because of weather, we chose to take the train, which was scenic, hours late to start and even later to get there, and not a super great experience. On the way back we discovered a fourth way- when waiting for the train at Montreal, we were told it derailed the night before and we would instead be bused to Albany to catch a train from there, something which ended up actually saving hours on the return trip. I am a train guy, I love trains, but someone somewhere needs to make them actually useable or even I’m going to end up taking something else instead.
All that said, let;s now enjoy some time in Montreal, starting on a side street in the pleasant and accurately named Old City, looking as one would expect it to in the middle of February.
Old Montreal's incredibly blue Notre Dame as seen from its much less blue exterior.
Buckminster Fuller's way cool American Pavilion for the 1967 World Expo in Montreal still stands and still makes an unforgettably haunting creaking sound in the cold February wind. Inside the groundbreaking dome hides an unimpressive and self important exhibit calling itself the Biosphere, not nearly as visited as the nearby former Canadian Pavilion, which has since turned itself into an overpublicized casino. The whole site has an eerie feeling to it in the dead of winter 34 years past its prime, glimpses of an optimistic and overly futuristic future hide amongst the oblivious hordes of gambling tourists.
Not to be confused with the Biosphere, the Biodome is as impressive as a well designed multi climate indoor mini zoo should be. The Biodome occupies a former sports arena at the 1976 Olympic Park, adjacent to the stadium where the ever unpopular Montreal Expos play. Featured in this picture is Olympic Stadium, home to the highest inclined tower in the world, which really isn't that high, but it does hold cables for the stadium's retractable roof.
One of the things that kind of surprised me about Montreal was that a lot of the roads and sidewalks were snow covered and untreated, almost as if the entire city is just waiting for springtime and for it all to melt away on its own.
The reason (or, more accurately, the raison d’etre) for this trip was a visit to the Molson Centre to watch my second favorite hockey team (the Montreal Canadiens) play a game in their surprisingly painful season. But the seats came with free food, so all was once again right with the world.
