Secrets of Montreal unveiled

Montreal is the sophisticated sibling in contrast to plain, proper Ottawa. Here skyscrapers rule the skies and underneath your feet, a sprawling underground city.  

We stayed at the Hotel Omni Mont Royal right on the Golden Square Mile, right where the action was. Corporations and big name retail stores, coffee places, restaurants, churches, gothic style buildings, parks, monuments and Canada's Hudson Bay Department store all crammed in this area. 

At the upper side of Mont royal is the Mcgill University campus attracting a diverse nationality of students. There is that youthful, dynamic and always-learning vibe of university towns which i find interesting. Further seawards is the historic downtown, Latin quarters, port area and Chinatown.

As an introduction to this dynamic city, our first dinner was at the Place Ville Marie Observatory. This hip & happening bistro was teeming with young adults under 35 years. I was wondering how youngsters could afford to eat at such places? Must have rich parents, i concluded quietly. Inside the bistro you have an unrivalled bird's eye view of Montreal city, compared to the somewhat creative but-not-quite-got-it right food served.

In the next few days, I would uncover Montreal bit by bit, savouring its sights, taking selfies, checking out its coffee joints and yes.. my perpetual fascination with Canadian / American coffee, scones, muffins and cookies.

Vasco De Gama

I was recommended Cafe Vasco da Gama on Rue Peel and oh, what a delightful place. After breakfast, I walked on Rue Sherbrooke to visit the Museum des Beaux Arts. As i was a little late, I decided to skip the museum and explored the winding streets around Rue Bishops and finally onto the main street, Rue St Catherine Ouest. The unique thing about Montreal is that the streets are divided into Ouest ( West ) and Est  ( East ). The divider is Boulevard St Laurent, which runs north -south and starts at the St Laurent River. There is a marker at the beginning of the River, marking the landing of early immigrants.

Walking around at minus 5 degrees temperatures, I headed for the Hudson Bay Company which is equivalent to Inno in Belgium or Le Corte Ingles in Spain.  I discovered that Aldo shoes is actually Canadian. I decided to just do window shopping as i've been told the prices are better in USA and i would be spending Christmas in Michigan. 

Notre Dame Basilica

Attracted by the imposing Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, St George's Anglican church and the Christ Church Cathedral, I took note that diversity is indeed tolerated in Canada. The following day, I went across to the historic downtown of Montreal, where Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal stood. This is a must-not-miss area. With its narrow, winding streets of Rue St Pierre, Rue St Suplice, sprawling huge period buildings, makes me imagine being on the set of Gotham city Batman movie. Within the historic area, there is the Marche de Bonsecours selling souvenirs like pelts, leather, stones and copy carvings of First Peoples. 

Flaky  Fish Pie

On top of my list was to eat at Olive et Gourmando as recommended by Tripadvisors... but so did every other devotee of Tripadvisor. There was a long queue of people waiting to get a table. Not amused by the like-minded fans, I wandered off a few blocks and found Vallier Bistro .  No recognisable green sticker on its windows but lots of locals eating.  I got a table  instantly and ordered some warm fish pie and sparkling water. Not bad at CAD25. 

The start off point on Boulevard St. Laurent, is at the port, where fresh -off- the boats immigrants landed and made a bee-line to where Chinatown now stands.  I was happy to see Chinatown with its restaurants and bakeries. There was a flashback of being in the streets of China or Hongkong, as all you see are Asians with a sprinkling of blond mops.  

Bistro Vallier

I swiftly entered into a bakery to load up on chinese egg tarts, coconut tarts, lotus filled pastries, deep fried salty buns and pork buns.  Then mindlessly crunching on deep fried dough cruellers, i followed some old Chinese folks as they entered a building and disappeared into an exit.

Underground City

I was in the bedrock of the Place des Arts and the Musee d'art Contemporain, all via the underground network. Cool.. i'm in the underground city.  ( cute video to explain ) This was an amazing network with retail shops, cafes, restaurants, repair shops, florists etc.. And it was really warm underground, at least 28 degrees. You start to shed your jackets very quickly. This is where Montreal folks go when the temperatures are sub zero! There was a food court and some elderly Chinese were hanging out there. I can't help but think that Singapore's underground city mall is fashioned after Montreal !

After all that, it was time to leave Montreal. I was satisfied with the visit and would come back again, but not so soon!