Looking back on this increasingly distant trip, I can see I could've planned it better. Usually I don't get too detailed in making plans for trips, rather I'll just research what I want to see, make a list, and try to knock out as much as I can in no particular order. But I don't recall doing even that for my three days in Montréal; I just drove in after the Spartan and thought "OK, I'm here, now what?" This is probably why there isn't much else to read about here besides Olympic Stadium-area attractions and downtown bar hopping. What I did see was definitely worth it, though, and I think the last day was the most worthwhile.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Last full day in Montréal and I dedicated this one to the Olympic Stadium. Once again I took the subway to Pie IX. The stadium is huge. It was built for the 1976 Summer Olympics and has had a variety of tenants since then, including the Montréal Expos baseball team (who left in 2005) and the Montréal Impact soccer team (who moved to the soccer-specific Saputo Stadium next door). At the moment it doesn't seem to be regularly hosting any team of any sport, and is only used for special events and championship games.
The first thing to do here was to go up into that leaning tower. There was a funicular that carried visitors up the slanted spine to the top. And at the top, there sure is a great view. Here's downtown Montréal:
And here's near the stadium:
That's the Biodôme taking up most of the bottom half. To the left of that is the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium--those two silver cylinders are its two theaters--where I caught a good show after visiting the Stadium.
I'm not usually one to blow money on souvenirs, but I had to here. Up in the tower's observation deck there was a shop where I bought a shirt commemorating the Olympics; it says "Montréal 1976" on the front, with the logo of that year's games. (It looks like the silhouette of a beaver, or something) I also bought a tough aluminum water bottle with an alternate logo on it. At the tower base, in the stadium, I also bought a shirt with the logo of the erstwhile baseball team, the Montréal Expos, which skipped town in 2005 to become the Washington Nationals.
The stadium was celebrating its 40th anniversary, as one could see:
These variations on the stadium logo commemorate various events that happened there. From left to right: Pope John Paul II's visit in 1984, Sugar Ray Leonard's boxing match in 1980, the 1976 Olympics, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra's performances, a Madonna concert, MLS's Montréal Impact soccer team which used to play there before moving into Saputo Stadium next door, a Guns 'n Roses concert in 1992, MLB's Montréal Expos who used to play there before moving to DC, and three U2 concerts.
Wait...a Guns 'n Roses concert in 1992? Isn't that the infamous disaster where they co-headlined with Metallica, who cut their set short after Hetfield got badly burned by the pyro, and then GnR pissed off the crowd even more by leaving early themselves when Axl said his throat hurt, and the whole thing ended in a riot?
I also happened to pass by the Olympic pool, which is part of the Stadium complex and open as a public pool.
Next, it was on to the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium. It was so much more than a planetarium, though! There were so many interesting interactive exhibits there that one could experiment with. Such as one in which one must put various events in our planet's four-and-a-half-billion-year history in the right order.
Yes, it was available in English too, which is how I used it. I just happened to take this pic right after I walked up to it.
Like any planetarium, they had fascinating shows one could watch, projected on the inside of the dome. I went with Programme B. The first part was called "Dark Universe," about dark matter and dark energy, in which the English version was narrated by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. This was immediately followed by the second half in the other theater, "Aurorae," about the Northern Lights.
After the Planetarium, I was done in this part of the city and after a subway ride arrived at my last destination: Atwater Market. Ever been to the Market Center in Seattle? Atwater is like that, but a little smaller. A whole lot of restaurants, cafés, delis, bakeries, and such. Nice place to have dinner, which I did.
It was at that point that I suddenly realized that I was missing something! The souvenirs I bought at the tower and stadium--the two shirts and a steel water bottle--were both gone. Thankfully I got them all back; I retraced my steps from Atwater Market and eventually got to a coffee shop in a subway station where I had mindlessly left the shopping bag I was carrying. (Whew)
So that was pretty much the end of the trip. The next day also had its little adventure, though. My first two flights, Montréal-Philly and Philly-DC Reagan were on Delta instead of American, which is why it ended up at Reagan National instead of Baltimore (BWI). Getting from one to the other was a breeze, though. DC's subway, the Metro, has a stop at Reagan, so first I took the subway to Washington Union Station in the center of the city. After some time-killing walking around looking at the government buildings, a MARC train--Maryland's commuter rail system--out of Union swiftly brought me to BWI. After that it was back to San Antonio on Southwest, via Dallas Love Field.
Final thoughts: this was a short but worthwhile trip, even if it was not planned well enough. I not only got to see Montréal but much of the countryside outside of it, drove (as opposed to riding in someone else's car) over an international border for the first time, and discovered two ski resorts I had never heard of. Like Toronto, which I'd see a year later, I can see myself going back to Montréal at least one more time because I don't feel like I fully experienced it. I never even made it to Jean Drapeau Park.
Also...someday I want to go snowboarding on Owl's Head.
Other articles in this series:
