Saturday, September 8, 2018

Au Canada!

Thursday we left for our Canadian road trip. The RAV4 is packed up with everything we need including road trip essentials like Twizzlers and Australian licorice.  The first day consisted of only driving, up through Michigan and crossing into Canada over the St Clair River near Sarnia.

We stopped for a late lunch at a McDonalds near Lansing. The early part of our drive was rainy although not the heavy kind of rain that makes driving difficult. By the time we got to Lansing it had stopped, and the sun came out a little while later.  We crossed into Canada around 7:30 pm and there was only a few minutes wait at the toll bridge and at the passport check. I missed a turn to get on to the 401 in Canada and we had a brief driving tour of Sarnia. We got to our first night's stop in Kitchener, Ontario after dark.

Friday after breakfast in the hotel restaurant we continued our drive to Montreal with a rest stop at McD's and a lunch stop at one of Ontario's 'ONroute' service centers.  Crossing the border between Ontario and Quebec initially felt no different than crossing from Illinois into Indiana, with a nice roadside "Bienvenue au Québec!" sign. But it doesn't take long before you notice the distinct difference between the provinces. Road and directional signs no longer contained bi-lingual information but were strictly French. Even the route markings and route numbers changed. We fortunately had good directions to follow to our hotel.

Shortly after check-in we headed out in hope of being able to attend the 9 pm Aura performance at the Notre-Dame Basilica. Unfortunately it was sold out, so we purchased our tickets for Saturday night. Instead we walked around old Montreal, admiring the buildings, outdoor cafes,  and noticing the many ways light and digital animation projections are employed to enhance visitors' experience of the city. We read that the Jacques Cartier Bridge had been fitted with decorative lighting in 2017 and walked out to the Sailor's Memorial Clock Tower where we could get a good view. We noticed the clock tower also has been illuminated with a digital animation commemorating Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" and stayed to watch the display.  On our way back we passed the Grande Roue de Montreal and decided to take the ride for a panoramic view of the city. Despite our concerns over the Francophone culture in Montreal, we had no difficulty using English in all of our encounters.

We had a brief scare when shortly after leaving the hotel Janet noticed her handbag was unzipped which is something she would never do. Although nothing was missing, we suspected there may have been a pickpocket attempt, and became extra concerned when she could not find her hotel room key. However we later found the room key on the table in our undisturbed hotel room.

It was late and we hadn't eaten dinner yet. On our way out to find a restaurant the desk clerk told us the lobby had direct access to the oldest restaurant in Montreal and recommended we try it. We did, and shared a starter of Burrata with Heirloom tomatoes, a delicious main of côte de bœuf with aligot, and a couple of glasses of wine. Janet chose her favorite, Veuve Cliquot.  We saved room for chocolate & salted caramel pie and a rum baba dessert too.

Street Musicians

Notre-Dame Basilica
 Animated walkway

Montreal panorama from the clock tower
 More animations

Clock tower animation
Clocktower animation

Jacques Cartier Bridge

Jacques Cartier Bridge


La Grande Roue de Montreal

Roue Riders

View from the top



Bridge from the wheel