The fly in the Village at Montreal

Fly has inadvertently stumbled into the heart of the gay quarter in Montreal (Le Village), when booking a charming hotel on the net.  And it is very charming – Victorian building with gracious rooms and magnificent old timber furniture. (there are pics)  The proportions of the room are somewhat disrupted by the placement of the bathroom in one corner.  At least the marble fireplace was left in peace.  The gay proprietors seem to think I am Granny.  Much care for my welfare. (Grey is good.)

A brilliant day in Montreal was spent walking and on the top deck of several red London double decker buses. You buy a ticket and then jump on and off the buses as they do a circuit of the notable sites of the city.  There are guides of course.  Had to abandon one bus when the patter of the guide got beyond fly’s tolerance threshold. But in general they are very good, particularly delivering it all in both French and English.  

Name:  Some early chap went to the top of the nearby ‘mountain’ and declared that it provided a ‘royal view’.  Became Mont Royal.  Still is, in fact. And the name was applied to the settlement.  When the British took over, their French being somewhat incompetent,  Mont Royal eventually became Montreal. Now, no buildings in Montreal may be higher than Mont Royal’s 233’.  The highest is 52 floors. The idea is not to interfere with radio transmission, but an aesthetic advantage cannot be denied.

Population: 3.7million, Canada’s second city, between Toronto and Vancouver.

Largest underground city in the world.  It is possible in the -35 degree temperatures of the winter to live without ever going out-of-doors.  Tunnels etc connect the condos to the U-G. The U-G (‘souterrain’ here, which has a much nicer ring to it)  city provides everything, even psychologists to help you deal with the fact that you don’t ever go out-of-doors. 

Digging out the U-G city and the metro threw up a lot of rock and soil. The enterprising Mayor of the time (1960s), decided to use the material to create an island in the St Laurence and extend another. (Isle St Helene and Isle d’Orleans).  These became the site of the 1967 Expo, and later the 1976 Olympics (for which they are still paying). The two sites provide a couple of the must-see sites here.  Notable is the highest inclining tower in the world.  Leaning protectively over the Olympic Stadium, it was meant to draw up and let down the umbrella-style retractable roof of the stadium.  It never worked, of course, but it is still the highest inclining tower.  (What would be the competition? Pisa?)

Then there is St Joseph’s Oratory, the biggest religious construction in North America. (All guides very keen on pointing out where anything Canadian is bigger, older, better, than any US counterpart). 283 (concrete) steps are meant to be ascended on one’s knees, if one is in search of a miracle cure.  There were people doing it today – pics may show.  Fly unable to ascertain if there was a pillar laden with abandoned crutches, as the 283 steps were a deterrent, even for a fly.

The nearby Cemetery of Notre Dames des Neiges accommodates two million+ inhabitants. Not a weed in sight. They must have a better “friends of” group than all my dead friends in Dutton Park Cemetery.

Too many churches and other religious buildings in Montreal now, as the religious fervour has waned, unlike Quebec.  So they are being converted into Condos.  We were shown one such huge ex-convent, were a former PM of Canada enjoys the Rose window of the former chapel as a focal point of his living room.  (did not say which PM).

Lots of bicycles here. 800 kilometres of bikeways.  And the same system for hiring bikes as Can-do-Campbell introduced. Called bixi-bikes (half bike, half taxi)  But likewise, not heavily used.  Racks the fly observed were all full.  Possibly because they also have to wear helmets here, and they are not provided with the bikes.  Apparently this scheme is a success in Europe, where helmets are not compulsory. 

The Crown Jewels were stored here during the war.

Peaceful place.  I had noticed that traffic was calm, drivers tolerant (not necessarily law abiding, but tolerant).  Guide advised that there are only 30 murders per year here (compare 600 in New York). No savage fines like Toronto.

One of the must-do stops on the bus circuit was the Cathedral de Notre Dame, so the fly dutifully jumped off the bus.  To find that a charge of $5 was levied to enter the Cathedral, $12 to take part in a guided tour.  Fly demurred, and gave the $5 to the next person who approached asking for money.  (This happened at least ten times in the course of the day, which was a surprise.  They were often persistent too.  At red lights, they approach drivers, without even offering to clean the windscreen, and sometimes thrust their heads into the car.)  I recall no previous occasion in many countries, where a fee was required to enter a Catholic Church. Too bad if you actually wanted to pray.

(As I write, the incomparable North American TV (news bulletin)  is telling us all about the bride whose honeymoon was spoiled by bedbugs in the motel.  The trivia that gets huge coverage here is unbelievable.)

Here’s an interesting story:  early days again, and the problem of getting 6 light windows from France to New France for the homes of the wealthier settlers.  The windows were immersed in barrels of molasses, which was being sent over as a source of iron for the people during the winter.  The builders would lick off the molasses before installing the intact glass windows. 

Fly’s work colleagues will be interested to know that a quick visit to McGill University was fitted in at the end of the day.  The School of Music, and the Duchow Music Library in particular.  And there, advertised on a plasma screen, were the information skills classes available for new students (classes started this week) – How to find Stuff in the Library, and How to find Stuff for your Assignments.  Ring any bells?