Day 27: Montreal

Day 27:  Montreal

Another long day of travel with experiencing freezing conditions every time we left the coach.  The countryside was unremarkable but company on the coach always enjoyable.  Ben filled the time well with stories and between them, some blogging and some stitching of my quilt, the time went by.

On arrival in Montreal, it was lightly snowing, which was a real treat for many on the tour. A local specialist took us on a tour of the city, which we found less interesting than beautiful Quebec City.  However, having had the Olympics way back in 1976, they are very proud of the Olympic stadium.

The highlight of the city for me was to see the most beautiful cathedral I have ever seen: Notre Dame Basilica.  Built in the early 1820s, it was designed by an Irish protestant man who converted to Catholicism during its building.  However, he died before it was completed.

The interior, partially inspired by Sainte Chapelle in Paris, was not completed until 1880. The theme of the interior is sacrifice, and the figures in and around the altar are all examples of figures of sacrifice.  One such example is Abraham, preparing to sacrifice Isaac.

Unlike so many other wonderful cathedrals, all the statues and fittings are of timber rather than stone or marble.  This aids acoustics, making it an excellent concert venue.  Pavarotti is one of many artists who have performed here.

An intricately carved pulpit of several storeys is on the side and half way down the basilica, rather than at the front.  Our guide told us that it is now unused because of the very small congregation.  She told us that in fact, there is now no regular congregation, but it is available for weddings (Celine Dion) and funerals (Mr Peirre Trudeau) and tourist dollars pay for its upkeep.  

It was the colouring that simply took my breath away.  It is unbelievably beautiful.  Wonderful tints and shades of blue-purple wash the background to the altar and the organ loft that contains 7,000 pipes.  Trims are in gold, which of course is very baroque in style, but in this setting, the gold simply complements the blue, making it not at all heavy, as baroque usually is.

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An unusual feature for Catholic churches are the balconies down each side.  The windows in these balcony areas are the usual biblical stories.  But the ones on the lower level tell the story of the history of Montreal.  They feature local historical figures who have done great deeds. 

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The man carrying the cross in this window is not a strange interpretation of Jesus, but the 1642 founder of Montreal, Maisonneuve.  In the early days of the colony, there was a period of much rain and flooding.  He promised God that if the rain was to stop, he would carry a cross to the top of the high hill that they call a mountain.  (Montreal means Royal Mountain.)  Today a cross stands atop the ‘mountain’ and this is because the rain did stop and Maisonneuve did carry the cross all the way to the summit.

Maisonneuve had been sent by the French government to convert the Iroquois Indians to Christianity.  A fort had been built to protect the colonists from the Indians, who were obviously hostile to the idea. 

Much English and Scottish money poured into the area and indeed all over Quebec province. Montreal grew to be very prosperous.  We were driven around the West Mount area where some amazingly expensive homes are located.  In this exclusive neighbourhood, nothing but homes and private schools exist.  There are no shops, no petrol stations – nothing but homes of the wealthy.  Cars are the only vehicles permitted in the more exclusive streets – no buses, trucks or motorcycles.

During WW11, the British treasury was brought to Montreal for safe-keeping.

A very interesting feature of Montreal is that many of the buildings are connected by underground walkways because of the immense amount of snow that they have.  There is even 33 kilometres of underground shopping, including directly underneath one of the major cathedrals.

We were told that until the 1960s, there were separate health and education systems for the French, funded by the Catholic church and for the non-French, funded by the government.  It was not until then that the state took it all over and now there is one system only.

The final point of interest to relate about Montreal is that it is the birthplace of Cirque de Soleil.

The gothic style ceiling is also blue, covered in gold stars and criss-crossed with gorgeous timber.

Adding to the stunning colours are the stained-glass windows, starting with two wonderful ones in the ceiling.

For the evening meal, a meal of ‘local cuisine’ was scheduled.  This involved more than an hour on the coach, driving well beyond Montreal.  We arrived just on dark to a heavily forested area and a horse and cart, waiting to take us a bit further into the forest.  It was a short ride, but rather enchanting with light snow falling.  All that was missing were some jingle bells!

There we were treated to the activities of a sugar shack – a log hut in which maple syrup is processed after having been tapped from the trees. The owner of this property is a true ‘character’ – we think he has indulged a bit too much in his own maple syrup!  The night was bitterly cold.  After he ushered us into his sugar shack, he rambled on for about ten minutes, telling us his life story of how he went from a ‘bum’ to the realisation of this property, which he took ten years to build by hand, one log and stone at a time. 

 From there it was out to try our hand at tomahawk throwing.  I am pleased to report that Roger and I did equally well, each making one out of two throws successful. 

Finally we were ushered into a cabin with a lovely log fire burning.  We were served a delicious dinner, which obviously ended with pancakes and maple syrup. Just as the previous evening, there was musical accompaniment, this time a guitarist.  Roger got into the fun and laughter on the spoons and then I got into the dancing.  I was so very touched that although I got one of the other women from the coach up to dance with me, Roger cut in and we finished the evening with two dances together.  This was a milestone!!!  It has only taken 45 years for Roger to voluntarily dance with me.  Not only that, but he actually cut in on someone!!  Miracles truly can happen!