One Of The Entrance ways Into Chinatown
So going into Montreal to check out the sites we had to ride the Metro again. That was interesting on our own. At least the day before when we went on the Metro to the fireworks competition, we went with friends that know their way around. This time, we were on our own.
We did good. We found the Metro station, walked and walked and walked to the train. Bought an all day pass so we could, as our friend Michele put it, stick our head up from the ground like a gofer and see where we were. In other words, we could get on and off the Metro as many times as we’d like to explore.
So…Once we got to the station for Old Montreal, we climbed our way up onto the street from the Metro Station and tried and tried to figure out which way to head. You see, the maps that they have for Montreal are very confusing. I am usually really good about where I am and how I need to get from point A to point B. In Montreal, not so much.
So after David and I looked at the map, we went left. And yup…you guessed it. We should have gone right. Oh well. Live and learn. We knew we went the wrong way when we hit Chinatown.
One Of The Streets In Chinatown
An Interesting Building In Chinatown
Think of it like this, if we had gone the right way to see Old Montreal, we would never have seen Chinatown. So there is that.
So once we discovered our misguided direction, we turned around and headed for Old Montreal.
Once we turned a corner walla! Their was the Notre Dame Basilica.
One Of Two Interesting Carved Slate Walls In Chinatown
Notre Dame Basilica In Old Montreal
Cobblestone Side Street Next To Notre Dame Basilica
We went inside and stood in the back with a bunch of other tourists. Being Sunday, mass was going on, so we could not wander around the inside. That’s ok though. Their were no photos and videos allowed and they meant it. Their were guards everywhere. So sorry to say, I do not have any pictures of the inside. Here’s a link I found that has some pictures of the inside.
So off we went to search for other interesting buildings.
Another View Of The Old Montreal Buildings
Another View Of The Old Montreal Buildings
And we found some. We’re not entirely sure what we were looking at as we did not have an Old Montreal guide. But it was still pretty. Some buildings had plaques outside of them. Problem was, they were in French. So we still didn’t know what we were looking at.
Horse And Buggies For Tours
You could take a tour with horse and buggies. We did not.
We came across a central square. Shops and restaurants on either side. Street performers and caricature artists. Being lunch time we found a nice restaurant with outdoor seating.
A Central Square In Old Montreal
Lunchtime On The Square In Old Montreal
The View From Our Lunch Spot
The View From Our Lunch Spot
Once we ate, we wandered some more.
We saw this beautiful building, that we are assuming is old, housing a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream shop. So sad to see this is what our historical buildings come to. No, we did not have any ice cream. We had Gelato!
Sad That In This Beautiful, What Looks Like An Old Building, They Put A Ben And Jerry’s Ice Cream Place
Every City Needs A Fountain. This One Was In An Old Square That Use To Be Used For Public Viewing Of Criminals.
Another Old Building In Old Montreal
The Steeple On The Old Building
Lots and lots of walking. Then their was more walking. And oh…did I mention that you walk everywhere? So make sure you have on good walking shoes because you’ll definitely get your exercise in for the day.
David was getting a little burnt out from all the walking. But their was one more place that we had to check out. We were told we had to check out Montreal’s underground city. Apparently it has over 20 miles of shopping, restaurants etc, all underground. Sounded like we needed to see it for ourselves.
So thinking since it was underground, what better place to start than the Metro station and ask there. Once we kind of got directions, as they were in French and partly mimed to us, we set off to find the entrance way. There was an entrance just up the street according to them.
David Is Getting Burnt Out From All The Walking And Exploring
Well…we seemed to be on goose chase because we could not for the life of us find this entrance way. So we asked a passer-by who assured us we were headed in the right direction.
An Old Cathedral
We ended up here. An old cathedral. Doesn’t look like an entrance to an underground city to me. So once again, we asked another person. Yup…we were in the right place. Just in front of the church is an entrance way. How weird is that? They really don’t make it very prominent. I guess they don’t really want the tourist dollar after all.
Note the church to the left of the picture. Weird placement is all I have to say about that.
We Found The Entrance To The Underground City
Underground Mall
So down we went. Yup…it was a mall, underground. But you really did not feel like you were underground. Which is good. Cause who would want to shop in a dark, underground tunnel? Not me.
With all the walking we did for the day, we just took a quick look around. We were exhausted. So we decided to call it a day and head back to the Metro for our trek back to the motor coach.
And finally…we stopped walking, sat down and waited for the train.
Waiting For The Metro
