Montreal: Wednesday at Parc Olympique

Wednesday, October 12th
We set off to take the Metro to the site of the 1976 Summer Olympics, getting off at the more northern of the two stations (bright turquoise M-squares on map) near Parc Olympique de Montreal called Viau, right after Pie-IX, neither of which we had any idea of how to pronounce. We attempted peeu•ex for the first one only to hear the train announcement say pee•neuf. That IX was actually a Roman numeral for nine. Silly us. The street of the same Boulevard Pie-IX was named in honor of Pope Pius IX.

Immediately upon exiting the station at Viau, we saw the tower, "La Tour" with a small observation car halfway up its journey to the top. Riding that to get a grand overview was our first planned activity. In the foreground in the Bio Dome.

We were entering the tower building at its base, walking along the track lines, when a friendly passer-by offered to take our picture. I was poised to start a race, but the others were not playing along.

We entered the lobby and bought our tickets for the tram ride and the other attractions we planned to visit within the park. In this view we are inside the building in the loading area at the base looking up, awaiting the arrival of the car on its trip down from the top.

Here we have already boarded our car, This is our view looking outward and downward from within while traveling up, the bottom opening where we entered, receding in the distance.

We have cleared the interior of the building here and are nearing the top of the observation tower. This view looks north. The yellow framing is a crane which I assume is there only temporarily. It did not occur to me to ask until just now, but how do they prevent rain and snow from entering the building through that open slot where the tram car travels?

This view is looking north-northwest before we got off.

An overview map showcases Montreal as truly an island.

From the observation tower are views in the other three compass directions. I am 80% sure this view is toward the west, with the water of the Prairies River in the far distance. The site of the Parc Olympique is much closer, just a few blocks, to the broader St. Lawrence River.

The gift shop at the top of the tower had souvenirs sporting the Canadian symbol of the beaver embellished with the logo of the 1976 games.

The lobby area at the top of the tower also displayed this striking photo of the complex with the Olympics rings, flags of the nations, and the torch when it was aflame in 1776.

After the return trip down from the tower, the guys chilled for a few minutes in the café-like setting in the lobby. We opted not to visit any more memorabilia within the tower structure.

It was fun however to soak in some of the legacy landmarks form the 1976 Olympics. There was a circular area where flags of the nations had once flown.

We had a closeup view and could actually touch the bronze plaque commemorating Romania's Nadia Comaneci's unprecedented perfect 10 in gymnastics.

I Googled and found some interesting trivia in Wikipedia and other sources about the 1976 Olympics in Montreal:

• At age 14, gymnast Nadia Comăneci of Romania became the first person to score a perfect 10 at the Olympics, recording seven 10.00 scores and winning three gold medals, including the All-Around. The scoreboard could hold only 3 digits and the score was shown as 1.00.

• The U.S. men's swimming team won all but one gold medal

• After a rainstorm doused the Olympic Flame a few days after the games had opened, an official relit the flame using his cigarette lighter. Organizers quickly doused it again and relit it using a backup of the original flame.

• The Olympics were an economic calamity for Montreal, resulting in costs of over $2 billion (1976) and leaving the city in debt for three decades. The debt was finally paid off in December 2006, thanks to a tax placed on the purchase of tobacco.

We looked at a map of the park and chose to visit the Biodome next. The Biodome had been in the foreground when we'd first exited at our Viau Metro stop.

Frankly, the Biodome architecture reminded me Kresge Theatre from our MIT days. But Kresge has a three point suspension and I believe the Biodome is different. The Biodome was formerly a velodrome, the stadium that was used for cycling events in the 1976 Summer Olympics. Four sections of the velodrome were repurposed to house four ecosystems.

The ecosystems are two forests in one half, an estuary area, and an arctic quadrant representing both north and south poles. A tropical forest replicates a South American Rain forest and you can feel the heavy humidity as you enter. There are birds and monkeys camouflaged among the greenery and even two crocodiles that barely moved. Here I am with a frog statue. I love his colors. We almost kinda match.

The Laurentian forest is like the North American wilderness. We saw owls among other creatures and plants. There was a estuary habitat modeled after the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. There was a polar area divided into the Arctic and Antarctic. This was a wall poster along our way to eat at the cafeteria. I am not sure which ecosystem this creature should be in – estuary because of the water, or rain forest waterways, or possibly even arctic waters. John thought the ray looked quite friendly though and wanted a picture of the two of them bonding.  

In the central area where the four quadrants of ecosystem met was a resting area with red velvet seating and walls paining red and covered with an entire series of animal crossing signs. I was amazed at the variety, and I made a collage of pictures of them from several walls and hallways. Half of us met there to rest a bit and decide our next course of action.

John & Sue and Joe then headed off to the Insectarium. Alternatively Frank, Margaret, and I opted for the Planétarium Rio Tinto Alcan instead.

My memories of planetarium shows in the past are of a projected image of the night skies and a narrator or taped voice-over pointing out where the constellations were and which images in the night sky were planets. A huge, highly-evolved projector was typically used for these shows. In the lower level of the Montreal planetarium was one of these projectors, retired from service.

Margaret and I are standing next to one of these optical projectors to give a sense of scale. Astronomy has come a long way from those type of simplistic stars/planet displays. Though the displays may have been simplistic, the equipment to project those images was hardly so. It was HUGE. 

The most memorable and awe-inspiring experiences in the Montreal planetarium were two shows we saw in each of two theaters there. One show, in the theatre de Chaos (love the name) was a 3-D projection that portrayed the process of mining the asteroids for minerals. The seating in this small, round theatre was creative. It consisted of centrally located bean bag chairs, so viewers could lounge and slouch into the free form shape and look up. Alternatively, around the perimeter, were low Adirondak chairs with high slanted backs to allow the viewer a firmer seat, one in which to rest his head back while looking up. We chose the chairs doubting our ability to climb gracefully from within the amorphous blob of those bean bags upon the show's conclusion. I was the first to bend my knees and sit in one of the chairs. Ker-plunk and Ouch! That hard wooden seat was about 12" lower than my butt had anticipated. Margaret had watched me seat myself plus I warned her, "It's lower than you think...". She too dropped into position in a not entirely planned nor pleasant manner. Apparently, forewarned is not forearmed. Frank had seen us both sit and had heard the accompanying sound effects. His equally ungracefully descent was punctuated by a loud "Ooomph" and an exasperated hastily-modified expletive.

The 25 minute show projected on the dome was one of the mining of asteroids for minerals and how to modify the trajectory of any asteroids that might be headed on a collision course for earth. It was fascinating how the mining could be technically feasible. We hesitated to believe that such an endeavor could ever become economically feasible, but who knows what challenges the future may hold. Mining asteroids could prove to be a viable task.

We had 35 minutes to spare between shows. We used part of the time to discuss our process and sequence for assisting each other out of bean bag chairs in the next theatre. We thought we should at least give bean bags a try in lieu of the hard, way down, Adirondack seats. With a well thought out process and sequence of assistance, we could minimize the number of us floundering about down on our hands and knees after rolling out of the beanbag onto the floor. We also used the break in time to stop off at the restrooms. Here my penchant for signs led me to think these were worthy of a photo. These stylized figures call up images of rocket ships and boosters to me.

The second show was in the Milky Way Theatre. We walked into the dimly lit interior and were delighted to find tall, padded theatre type seating - no bean bags or Adirondack chairs! Aah, comfort...

The show in the Milky Way Theatre was a consolidation of data take from Mars probes and satellite photos and digital simulations. The viewer became immersed in a typical day on Mars and how surviving a sandstorm would feel. The geological evolution of the surface of Mars was also shown in a time lapse format. This show was 40 minutes long and every moment was absorbing, diving the viewer deep into ravines and canyons, driving through dunes and winds. It was not a prerecorded voice-over. The narrator talked his way though the show, not reading a script. He spoke in English with a lovely French accent that gave the show a real personal touch. The music for the multi-media presentation was composed by Dumas, a Canadian songwriter who is also a fan of astronomy.

After a full day at Parc Olympique de Montreal with tours of La Tour, the Biodome ,and the Planétarium Rio Tinto Alcan, Frank and I headed back on the Metro to go to home base for the evening. John & Sue and Joe & Margaret got off the Metro midway to catch a French cuisine style dinner back in Old Montreal. Frank, a bit under the weather with a bad cough, opted to head to home base with me to rest. After emerging from the Snowden Station, the large red brick building to the right, we made an expedient stop on the corner opposite for a dinner that was convenient, quick, and effort effective. We dined on a superbly prepared meal of "nuggets de poulet" and "frites".

🐔🍟

Along our leisurely stroll from the Metro stop we took time to appreciate the gorgeous weather and I added to my sign collection. The fire hydrants are marked with a high up sign in addition to the plug itself. I wonder if that has anything to due with visibility when there is an accumulation of snow curbside in this northern climate.

The four-way stop signs have an additional bit of information beneath the red octagon itself. Similar signs throughout the city indicated when they were three-way stop intersections.

Once at home base Frank and I relaxed, put up our feet and read our books. When the rest of the crew arrived later, we browsed through the lateral thinking situations cards in a game called MindTrap We read them aloud and try to come up with the solutions without keeping any score. Oddly enough, I could not remember the title of the game for entering into this blog post. On a long shot, since I could remember the name of one of  the characters, I googled "card game with Sid Shady" and up popped MindTrap. I learned that this card game was originally released in 1991 (whew, a quarter of a century old) and was invented in Canada, of all places. How apropos! It was fun to play in a co-operative, non-competitive manner. I am providing two sample puzzles to end this post. The first one is easy. The second one was hard.

1)  A worm is at the bottom of a forty meter hole. It can crawl upwards at a rate of four meters in a day, but at night, it slips back three meters. At this rate, how long will it take the worm to crawl out of the hole?

2)  What word from group B belongs to group A and why? 

A) FRONT, SKI, MELON, FALL
B) ROAD, TIRE, TOWER, CLIFF                                                       

ANSWERS:

1) 37 days for the worm.

2) All the words in group A can be preceded by the word WATER. TOWER from Group B. 

Montreal: Tuesday in Old Downtown Area

Tuesday, October 11th
The house we were renting as our home base was a 15 minute walk from the Snowden Station subway stop on the Metro. We bought a week's pass since the rest of the sites we planned to see were accessible via the Metro. We would start by visiting the Old Montreal area, the first site to being the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montreal.

Directly across the street opposite the entrance to Snowden Station was a deli-type store. I was amused by the multi-purpose, all-encompassing, truly cosmopolitan customer base –  its sign promising Ola Sushi ICE CREAM SANDWICH VIETNAMIEN.

Our first purchase with our Canadian currency was our Metro passes and then we boarded the train.

We would get off at Place d'Armes, nine stops later south and east on the orange line.

I documented our arrival with a photo.

OK. We are here. Which way are we facing? Which exit do we use? Why go outdoors and look when there are cell phones to consult?

From the Metro stop  Place-d'Armes(1), the Notre Dame Basilica (2) was only a few blocks walk down toward the waterfront. Lunch and a few art galleries were nearby at (3) and the archeology museum was at (4).

There is the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montreal in the background behind Frank.

The craftsmanship and woodworking within the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montreal was impressive. The spiral staircase in the following photo circles up to a pulpit from where the priest would give his homily. Before there were microphones, this position best enabled him to project his voice to the greatest number of members of the congregation. We completed a guided tour, en anglais si vous plaît, since we had our choice. Then we walked deeper into the Old Montreal district to pick a suitable eating place for lunch

We devoured a huge and hearty lunch at Pub St-Paul. Located in the heart of old Montreal, Pub St-Paul occupies one of the city's oldest historic buildings. After lunch Frank and I would lag behind a bit and window shop a few art galleries and then catch up with John & Sue and Joe & Margaret at the archeology museum.

I am not so much a fan of modern art that needs to be interpreted and "understood",  but I do like artsy pictures of unique places and architecture. These row houses on a tree-lined street are known for their outdoor curving staircases and quaint picturesque appeal; photos and posters of them from different angles are prevalent around Montreal. This view is fairly classic. I imagine clearing the snow from those steps in winter is a challenge. In retrospect it might have been fun to locate this street and visit them in person. Of course the snow that adds to the charm would not have been there when we were so it would not have been quite the same.

The window in the next shop really caught my eye. Aren't these stylized animal pillows with their sleepy eyes adorable? They are inspired by the creatures in Quebec's forests such as owl, caribou, beaver (castor), and fox. See other Velvet Moustache creations here. Even the Velvet Moustache name is cute and appealing. The artist is Majorie Labrèque and her title is Seamstress.

The shop name was Métiers D'Art du Quebec and métiers translates to English with many appropriate choices.

The next shop we entered had displays of moccasins in every color of the rainbow and fur trimmed garments. I turned around and saw this looking directly at me. I startled but took a photo. I have no idea how it was made, how real it was (or had been). I did stroke him (her?) to see how he felt –  a bit wiry and not super soft. I later found an 1987 LA Times article, titled Montreal a Haven for Fur Buyers, about Montreal being the fur capital of North America and about the industry earning more that $100 million for Canada each year. Fur has played an important role in Canadian history since 1670. The LA article had been published 30 years ago but I wondered if there is a sensitivity to the use of real fur in Canada now? My guess is that there may be somewhat, but not nearly as strong an anti-sentiment as in the United States. I did come across this interesting recent March 2015 article at http://qz.com/356854/theres-actually-a-way-to-feel-good-about-fur/ that discusses fur without guilt. It raised several issues worthy of thought such as wild fur, invasive fur, roadkill fur, and vintage or repurposed fur. Montreal is a city of history and the fur trade is an integral part of it. Nevertheless I'd had enough of this shop. It was time to head on down the "Rue" to something else

Street corners themselves were pleasurably scenic to look upon with their bright red street signs and colorful flower planters.

 Frank and I lingered a bit at the intersection to soak in some of the ambience.

Along our strolls throughout the day we had passed a symbol that look like a pair of cherries several times. We finally asked a random passerby what was its meaning. He smiled, was quite polite, answered us in English with a heavy French accent that they were for the sprinkler system. Curiosity may have the potential to killed the cat but satisfaction gets it back. Aah!

Then we were off the to archeology museum called Pointe-à-Callière. Outside the entrance was a pianist serenading the passers-by on this whimsically decorated upright piano. It seemed to be horse themed with saddles and horseshoes as well as horses and pegasi (yep, plural of pegasus). He was so intent on playing I did not feel I could interrupt him to ask about his piano so I guess I will never know the significance. Curiosity goes unquenched on this one.

The Pointe-à-Callière is a unique museum in that it in constructed on an archeological dig site. In the lowest level you can see some Iroquois artifacts, the foundation of the original building and rotted wooden timbers that once supported it.

There is a huge multimedia theatre at the entrance that in 18 minutes tells the history of the site from Iroquoian times, through fur trading years, through years as the Royal Insurance Company offices (1850-1870), to years as a Canadian customs and tax building until 1921. It lay abandoned until destroyed by fire, in 1947 fire and being partially demolished in 1951. Like a phoenix it rose from the ashes in 1992 to be inaugurated as a museum during Montreal's 350th anniversary year. Here it is then and now, still retaining its triangular footprint and displaying stylized replicas of the clock tower.

On our walk back to the subway I snapped pictures of a few more signs. My granddaughter is really into sharks right now so I think she would have liked this milk ad. The falling ice warning sign is something I will never see in my California hometown.

After our return Metro ride, during our walk through the neighborhood back to our rental home, I saw this license plate on one of the cars parked on our street. My birthday is May 26 so it was some sort of cosmic sign. The slogan on the license plates is Je me souviens that loosely translates as "we remember" and is the official motto of Canada'a province of Quebec. It is not correlated with a specific event but rather a statement of Quebec's pride in its history. It can be found embossed or sculptured on local statues or on cornerstones of buildings. A statesman explains it as "We remember the past and its lessons, the past and its misfortunes, the past and its glories"

Our trip thus far had certainly been an immersion in the history Montreal from the church and Mount Royal on Sunday, the railway on Monday, the basilica and archeology museum on Tuesday. Even this set of apartments we would pass each day on our path to and from the subway had an old world feel to them and supported the theme of the trip.