|
St. Jerome (Montreal) 9/12-16/07 |
|
|
|
|
Written by Jane
|
|
Sunday, 16 September 2007 |
|
City living (read Suburban living) 
We just arrived in a campsite in a small Montreal suburb. And I find myself experiencing my first case of winter (ok I know it’s not winter yet) doldrums. I guess it’s just the usual sadness at the end of summer.
We woke up this morning outside of Quebec Vieux Ville in a raging windstorm. The folks who ran that campground were busy staring to clean up sites for the winter, trucking away picnic tables and taking down fire rings. Despite the windy conditions, we pulled out to head toward Montreal. On the way down, driving down a long, pretty country road on the east side of the St. Lawrence River, we got our first real hit of fall – with lots of changing leaves and orchards and pumpkin patches in full regalia. We actually had our first “What do you want to be for Halloween?” discussion. I think he’s leaning towards Luke Skywalker.The temperature was fairy warm, 65, but the wind made it feel like 55.
It didn’t help that our last day in Quebec city was a very, very rainy one. We spent some time in a strange library that was installed in an abandoned church -- a little spooky. But they had lots of children’s books that kept Kell entertained (despite the fact that they were all in French) while I used the internet connection.
For our next stop, we had chosen a campsite in Oka, a small town outside Montreal, because it was a “national” park – which usually means more nature, more privacy, more fun for me. When we arrived, we learned two things – “national” parks in Quebec are actually provincial parks, but Quebec has decided (at least as far as its parks are concerned), that it is a nation. The second was that all the sites in the park were completely wooded – lots of privacy, but absolutely no hope for a satellite internet connection. And having been four days without a connection, we decided that we would head for a campsite that had some hope of a connection for our satellite. Unfortunately, the trade-off is that we’re much closer to a major highway and we’re back in one of these seasonal resorts that consists mostly of long term “emplacements”. Miles has promised to begin capturing on photo the extreme kitsch that accompanies many of these long term trailer sites, the latest being an elaborately laid out “front yard” consisting of about 40 square feet of area in front of a pop-up tent camper, complete with walkways, miniature gardens, a porch swing, an outdoor fireplace and some little trolls to complete the effect.
I guess being in a suburban campground just always makes me depressed. I start to wonder why we’re doing this – it’s certainly not for the atmosphere in a place like this. But this campsite will have the same advantage as the last one – being close to a great city with a lot of activities.
In Quebec, Kell and I spent a day at a very cool aquarium, -- and got to see a lot of mammals that are native to Quebec – seals, walruses and two beautiful polar bears. As well as numerous species of fish that the guides told us were all indigenous to the St. Lawrence. Kell delighted in the tunnel that snaked under the large saltwater tank and the underwater walls giving him up close views of the walruses and polar bear swimming.         
Miles joined us for the obligatory tours of the old part of the city, which still bears remarkable resemblance to many small European towns, with cute restaurants, shops, and lots of churches. With the added attraction of an amazing fortified citadel, as well as great groceries carrying delicious French delicacies.    Other than exploring old tunnels and running up and down the fortifications these walking tours were not so entertaining for Kell. But he manages spectacularly well. Maybe too well? Time to look for kid friendly activities again.
Here in Montreal, I was surprised and somewhat disappointed to find whole neighborhoods where folks don’t speak French, so I end up resorting back to my much better English. But definitely still making much use of my long neglected French (see Dad that investment actually did pay off) and actually starting to enjoy it. And I was very glad that the hairdresser who cut Kell’s hair in Montreal spoke English – though I’m not sure it helped the outcome at all!
On our first day out in Montreal, Kell and I spent time doing the major sites … les Jardin Botanique, the Insectarium, the Biodome and the Tour Montreal. The Tour is apparently the largest inclined planed structure that has a cable car that climbs up its top side and nestles into the precariously overhanging observation floors. There, Kell delighted in pressing his nose to the windows and looking into the empty space that falls out below that, while I stood close enough to snap a few photos but far enough to avoid emptying the contents of my stomach.  
The Biodome was VERY cool – a large domed structure housing four distinct climactic environments, the Laurentian Forest complete with very funny otters that ran up and down the water slide with Kell sliding on the kids’ slide next to the tank, and a wooded pond area that housed lynx, turtles, hares, porcupines and ,beavers.  The St. Lawrence sea way tank – a huge tank that housed sturgeon, huge trout, lots of skate and other native fish species, with a path that wound below and then above it to see the rocky cliffs harboring terns, kittiwakes, sandpipers, night herons, black ducks and scoters.  A tropical forest that amazed Kell with it’s roseate spoonbills, tamarind monkeys, caimans, sloths and blue macaws, as well as numerous well hidden but loud bird species, crawling through a thick luscious forest.     And finally a polar region that sadly we couldn’t walk through, just observe through glass, that housed some very sad (but still cool to look at) penguins that spent time sliding down patches of ice into clear pools below. Watching their hysterical clumsiness on land contrast with their grace in the water was worth seeing, though not worth the boredom they must endure in that environment.    Kell, of course, was awed.
After that, we went back to the Insectarium to observe very strange, and terribly beautiful bugs crawl around in their manufactured environments.   That led out to the many paths of the Botanical Gardens. I lingered too long for Kell’s taste in the Bonsai gardens that showcased centuries old Elm and Spruce trees.    
Then Kell led us (and got us lost in) the very scary First Nations (what Canadians call Native Canadians) garden with its dark twisting paths through thick forest leading to medicine circles, corn and squash gardens and other holy-feeling places. When we did make our way out, we made a final twilight stop in the Chinese garden, which featured a display of lanterns that entranced both Kell and I despite their neon coloring and gaudy cluttered arrangements amidst the ponds of the otherwise simple gardens. I could easily see how it was magical from the 5 year old perspective. Or from the perspective of Uncle David, who would have delighted in their brashness. We ate lotus cakes and drank Jasmine tea while waiting for darkness to come and bring out the true enchantment of the lanterns.         Whew, that was a big day!
Since then, we’ve wandered through Montreal’s old City, past the Hotel de Ville where Charles de Gaulle is reported to have stood on the balcony declaring “Vive le Quebec Libre!” and inciting the secessionist movement.    We tried (twice) to check out the Basilica de Notre Dame, to which I’ve had an inexplicable attraction, but failed to get in due to light shows and marriages!  
Then we all spent a lovely day in the Parc Drapeau on Ile St. Helene, where we rode our bikes all through the racetrack that is home to the Montreal Formula One race in July. Kell loved it, imagining that he was in a race with other bikers that whizzed by us on the track. But Miles was really fascinated by getting on a track up close and seeing how narrow the lanes actually are for formula one cars speeding down to hairpin turns at 200 miles an hour. We also rode past a beautiful and huge Calder sculpture on the quai overlooking Montreal across the St. Lawrence, and the Bucky Fuller biosphere from the 1967 Montreal Expo, actually a much more beautiful structure than you might imagine. We finished up by a visit to the Planetarium where Kell clung to one or the other of us in the deep dark that enveloped the theatre while the animator showed us the ins and outs of the night sky, and then a show about neutron stars, magnetars, black holes and what it looks like when galaxies collide. Unfortunately, I forgot to charge the camera batteries for this day so you’ll have to imagine the scenes for yourself.
The trailer bike that Kell has been using has worked out fabulously. He doesn’t have to pedal unless he wants to so there’s not much danger of him tiring on long bike trips like this one. When he does pedal it’s a big help to me but otherwise it’s not that terrible to pull him along. Actually, this particular ride wasn’t that long, about two hours, so we’re hoping to fit in a few longer rides before we have to trade our bikes in for our skis.
OK – I have to admit this is starting to sound like a tour guide – my apologies! Writing tips are warmly welcomed…
Anyway, the skis for bikes trade may not be too far off. We’re hoping to leave here Monday and get to Banff by Friday and we’re pretty sure we’ll be seeing snow by the time we get there. Wish us dry roads and good speed! |
|
Last Updated ( Friday, 28 September 2007 )
|
|
