Thursday, March 15, 2007

::day 5 (19 feb 07) - montreal::

snow & slush in downtown montreal - despite the sun, the weather was still pretty cold! the day started late coz we all couldnt awake - but we were just in time for brunch:)

a trip to montreal is never complete without a visit to schwartz, a restaurant that serves the best smoked meat sandwich!!

can u even question why?:) absolutely heavenly!! even though i would normally take the trouble to remove all the fats from the meat, this time was an exception..

a typical subway station in montreal - it looks quite run down though..

outside the 'just for laughs' studio - i really love watching this show, which is the canadian version of 'candid camera'!

even in the heavily-french-influenced montreal, there's also a chinatown!

skyline of downtown montreal

going to the old port of montreal - this famous old walled town is the birthplace of montreal!

the montreal city hall - where the french president de gaulle uttered his famous "vive le quebec libre" (i think it stands for "long live quebec" - but do correct me if im wrong?) in 1967 - from the balcony!

statue of a famous military hero in quebec

remnants of quebec's winterlude - slides made out of ice blocks!

sometimes u don't really feel that ur in canada - when ur in montreal! france perhaps?

splendid victorian styled buildings and the narrow winding streets of old montreal - dating back to the origins of the french colony

walking along promenade du vieux port, overlooking st lawrence river. but we didnt venture too far out coz it was toooooo cold - we couldnt wait to retreat to the indoors each time we went out :/

outside marche bonsecours - which previously housed the city hall from 1840s to1870s. after being restored, it now houses high-end designer boutiques

the beautiful architecture of the notre dame de bon secours chapel - which houses the remains of saint marguerite-bourgeoys.

we really wanted to go the the famous montreal musuem of archaeology and history (we had earlier met 2 strangers, who kept telling us that it was a must-go attraction) - but too bad it was closed that day:(

the centaur - which is housed in canada's 1st stock exchange building, is montreal's 1st english-language theatre!

notre dame basilica - i wonder why so many churches adopt this same name? i think this is the 3rd notre dame basilica that i have come across! but this is by far the church with the most magnificent architecture i have ever seen!

a closer look at the amazing altar area - with all the intricate carvings and sculptures!! some trivia - celine dion said her marriage vows here in 1994!

even the back of the church is so elaborately detailed! it's really a breathtaking sight..

there were lots of nice paintings - that related the events leading to the crucification of Jesus.


the sacred heart chapel - which is located behind the notre dame basilica

our next stop was the bank of montreal (bmo) musuem, which showcased old bank notes, mechanical money boxes and historical objects and documents since the 19 century. bmo is canada's 1st bank!

the rue st jacques - is probably the heart of the commercial district in montreal. there were so many banks along that street! since we all had bank accounts with cibc, we couldnt resist taking a photo in front of their branch in montreal;)

at mcgill university!

there's mcgill's law school!

the very beautiful campus of mcgill university - with all its ancient-looking but majestic buildings all around

we went to the musuem in mcgill university - here's one of the more interesting exhibit - a real mummy!

they even exhibited the tiny shoes for chinese women who bound their feet in the past! looks so painful! what inhumane torture - i wonder how they managed to endure through it? thank God it is no longer in fashion now..

not surprisingly, we made a trip to mcgill's law fac building!
mich and i - outside the mcgill's law library

the amazingly charming student/staff lounge at mcgill - wow. if only e nus law lounge was as nice as this!

some random street in montreal

dinner and beer at qua!

the food was fantastic! :)

there was even a mini-beer-brewery in the restaurant itself!

hmm..was their beer up to standard? i would say yes!! i am not a fan of beers, but i enjoyed the special brew that night:)

all happy and satisfied after a good meal - much thanks to wern jhien for his good recommendation;)

after dinner, we picked up leticia and martzia - before heading down to habitat 67, which is a very expensive concept residence, originally developed as the main pavillion for the international work expo that was held in montreal in 1967 (hence its name). the unique design for habitat 67 consists of boxes arranged to create 16 differently configured living spaces for a total of 158 residences within the complex!

beautiful night scenery of montreal