Totally whacked as usual because I’ve been on my feet for over 12 hours – and I mean “on my feet” too because I’ve walked all over Montreal today.
But the day started as it meant to go on – I had to leave the hotel three tiumes before I got anywhere – firstly I forgot my book and secondly I forgot the memory card for the computer. I missed the bus too but the driver of the bus 100 showed me where another metro station ” De La Savane” is, and so now that gives me more options. But the world is getting frightfully small. He’s from Morocco and spent 27 years living in, of all places, Brussels where he drove for the STIB on the 71 route – the one that we take for Marianne’s. And he gave me all kinds of tips about applying for a job on the Montreal public transport.
First stop was right across town (I’m glad I got this 3-day public transport ticket) to the arrêt “Viau” for the Olympic Stadium (it’s bizarre that the metro stations are named after nearby streets and not at all by the local attractions).
A magnificent pile (but that’s enough about me) but it’s blighted with rust and is slowly creeping into a bit of decay which is a shame. It was controversial enough when it was built and its end might be controversial if they don’t get a move on. But I’ve seen loads of concreting in Montreal that is crumbling away quite rapidly. Must be the minerals in the water.
From here in the scorching sweltering heat (and occasional thunderstorms at midday) I went down to the water. Absolutely beautiful, especially on a day like this. I had to keep stopping every half hour or so to stick my cap under some cold water to cool me down.
Loads of ships to see down here in the docks of course, but you can’t put all of your photos on the blog, can you, Eric? You’ll all have to wait for the definitive web pages. But I can tell you this – looking at the river front down by the old town and old port you cans ee just how much money there was here. The edifices are magnificent.
IN the evening I went out to the south shore of the St Lawrence just to say that I was there and on the way back stopped off at the metro station on the island where the Formula One racetrack is. As it got dark the lights of the city came onon eby one until we had a magnificent spectacle such as this.
From here off to the Cote des Neiges where I treated myself to a falafel abd chips and then back on two metros and a bus. And I stepped off at the wrong bus stop which meant that I had a 30-minute walk back to the hotel.
So much for my early night;
And did I tell you about my dream? I and someone else were reading a car magazine and the readers’ letters. One was about a type of Belgian microcar that was sold in India and used to bring home the shopping. Another letter was about a struggling Yahoo launching a caravan in the USA. Someone wrote to say that this was not as extraordinary as the editor suggested because no European caravan manufacturer ever sold in North America (and I know, by the way, for a fact that this isn’t true having seen several Sprites over here) and so they have never registered any designs, so all that Yahoo has done is to simply pinch a European design and market it
THen we went out into the large park, with long grass and the like and it was teeming with people. A deer appeared and everyone was saying “look, a deer” you could clearly hear all of their voices and it mingled with another herd of deer that was being stalked by a wild boar and a lion (it was really a tiger). Then the wild boar attacked … the lion, knocked it down and in front of the crowds took a huge bite out of its flank. Everyone gasped, I turned my face away, but the lion picked itself up and staggered off.
Yes, I’ve settled in all right, haven’t I?
