Friday, July 23, 2010
Quebec: Days 31-34
Montreal is only about a 2 ½ hour drive from our place in Vermont, so we thought it would be a shame if we didn’t go check it out. We dusted off our passports, freshened up on our extremely limited French and headed to the Great White North. I’m sure glad we did. Montreal is known as a city of festivals, particularly in the summer. It’s like they’re making up for lost time after their long winter. There were no fewer than four festivals occurring while we were there, and we checked out a couple of them.
The first festival we experienced was the Street Arts Festival. Streets were blocked off for strange fun of all types including costumed characters performing among and around the masses.
These friendly guys snuck up behind Erika.
Harper checking out a synchronized dance routine performed by Star Trooper looking robots.
One of the coolest parts of this festival was the Luminarium. It's hard to describe in words, but you basically enter a large, colorful, multi-chambered bubble. You were invited to take your shoes off and enter into a “sensory experience.” It was cool for us, but I think for Harper it might have been the highlight of the trip!
The large, inflated walls were full of glowing color. Soothing ambient noise accompanied the “experience.”
They told us to just let Harper crawl around and explore as she wished. Harper was more than happy to oblige.
I wonder what type of world she thought she had just entered!
She was crawling everywhere so fast that she worked up a sweat. It was not easy to keep up with her!
Now she wants a Luminarium for her birthday!
Montreal was completely different than anything else on this trip. It was big and lively and French-speaking with a European feel. The beards and sandals of Vermont had turned into tailored suits and cigarettes. We ambled along cobble-stoned paths in the old town, ate crepes, visited the botanical gardens and generally tried to soak up the city.
Saw these vibrant old homes off a park in Montreal
We stayed near the hip and trendy area called the Plateau. It was full of fun and funky shops and restaurants.
We sampled some fresh from the wood-fire oven bagels. Soft, warm, flavorful and cheap.
Oddly, we found this graffiti in various spots all over the city. Believe it or not, Erika is not the culprit even if she does agree with the message.
Erika showing Harper the koi fish at the Japanese section of the Botanical Gardens.
Harper was very curious about this fountain.
Taking a breather
The second festival that we took part in was the Montréal Complètement Cirque, a circus festival. Quebec is known for revolutionizing the circus with troupes such as the famed Cirque du Soleil. We attended one circus performance that really put the observer right in the middle of the action. Everyone stood as the performers amazed us from above and on all sides. It truly was a highlight!
One minute we would be watching an aerial performance such as this and the next minute the light and music would shift and there was something beginning beside or behind us.
The whole room was their stage, and they moved freely among us going from one act to another.
It was the perfect show to bring Harper to. She was mesmerized and didn’t have to sit still, although the music sometimes got loud enough to require her cool sound muffs.
One day we drove out to Quebec City to check out the original French settlement. After eating more crepes and perusing the work of artists along the street, we took a funicular which lowered us to the older pedestrian-only part of the city. The narrow cobble-stoned streets were crowded, but we managed to enjoy just wandering around and getting lost in this quaint and charming little city.
Well, now we're in Niagara Falls, Ontario. We rerouted our return trip a bit to swing past the famous falls on the way home. Should be home on Monday. Excited to get back to some home-cooking, normal life and see family and friends!
--Brent
The whole room was their stage, and they moved freely among us going from one act to another.
It was the perfect show to bring Harper to. She was mesmerized and didn’t have to sit still, although the music sometimes got loud enough to require her cool sound muffs.
One day we drove out to Quebec City to check out the original French settlement. After eating more crepes and perusing the work of artists along the street, we took a funicular which lowered us to the older pedestrian-only part of the city. The narrow cobble-stoned streets were crowded, but we managed to enjoy just wandering around and getting lost in this quaint and charming little city.
Rue Petit-Champlain
Erika entertaining Harper in a small square. Harper LOVES for someone to swing her around!
"Do it again! Do it again!"
Near the end of the day it began to rain a bit, so we ducked behind an old church with some gelato to escape it.
"Do it again! Do it again!"
Near the end of the day it began to rain a bit, so we ducked behind an old church with some gelato to escape it.
We left home for this trip on the day Harper turned 10 months, and on July 20th our baby turned 11 months. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I return to work. I’ve gotten used to spending so much time with her and Erika that I know it’s going to be a somewhat sad transition back. She hasn’t met a stranger yet and is constantly reaching out and literally touching the random people that might share an elevator or wait in line with us. She brings so much joy to not only us but everyone she comes in contact with.
Here are some shots from her 11 month on-the-road photo shoot.
Of course, she didn’t always cooperate and explored everything around her including these interesting pine needles.
For an accurate account of how this very public Botanical Garden photo shoot went, we had to include this jewel. She’s definitely letting her will be known these days and wasn’t thrilled with being redirected from eating the dirt path.
Well, now we're in Niagara Falls, Ontario. We rerouted our return trip a bit to swing past the famous falls on the way home. Should be home on Monday. Excited to get back to some home-cooking, normal life and see family and friends!
--Brent
Big Smooch from Brent Hughes on Vimeo.
