Rainy morning in Montreal so we deferred our bike riding plans and went for a long and lazy coffee morning instead...
Which lasted until lunchtime! Very relaxing.
We tried that other main chain called "Second Cup" which we had not road tested before. Similar to Starbucks but with much more tired furniture and coffee not as good but OK.
Other customers largely kept quietly to themselves except a young woman at the next table who had a loud conversation about her "finding God" and "how God helped her make tough decisions" and "how her friends could not relate to her new interest in God" etc. This continued almost non stop for about an hour at a loud volume. Her companion was quietly nodding whereas Di was saying to herself "oh God"...
We had not ventured far from home so we returned to the hostel to have Di's homemade tuna and corn chowder for lunch. Yummy and perfect for a rainy day.
It cleared up after lunch so we hit the streets with a vague plan to walk down to the canal (Canal Lachine) due south of where we were staying. We found the canal...
This area was perhaps not the prettiest part of Montreal but it was interesting.
We kept running into construction sites and dug out holes. A whole bunch of new apartments were being built in this old warehouse district called Griffintown. Reminded us of all the boxy units they have built at Alexandria and Waterloo in Sydney. We eventually turned back northwards on Peel Street to try to find a change of scenery.
We did - Windsor Station was part of CPR (Canadian Pacific Railways). Grand old gothic train station that looked almost like it belonged in a Dracula movie.
The station had a very British entrance.
We found our way to the concourse level and...it was empty. Unfortunately this part of the station is no longer used as the railway lines were cut short when the Bell Centre arena was built next door (more on that later).
In 1970 the CPR attempted to demolish Windsor Station but their plans were thwarted by a local group who campaigned to save the structure. So much more could be done with it as today it was largely empty except for offices on the upstairs floors. CPR still seems to be headquartered here.
As we mentioned, the Bell Centre arena is next door and is home to the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team. Historically, Montreal Canadiens are probably the best team in Canada.
Just inside of the platforms is the official store for the the Montreal Canadiens NHL team.
What does a bikini have in common with ice hockey? Di had no idea but Hans could probably dream up a good theory for the guys...
Go Habs (meaning Les Habitants - or French settlers). Di is a Nashville Preds fan so she is just pretending here with her ice hockey puck hat!
As usual official team merchandise is expensive but this set a new benchmark at C$299.95 plus tax for a jersey.
It is now quite steamy outside after this mornings rainfall and increasing sun out so we decided that the 5+km we have walked is enough. We took a break inside a Cafe Starbucks Coffee and did more blogging and research. Here is Hans with his Internet goggles...
At 4pm, we were back at the hostel again. We felt lazy again so a rest in the room was just right. We had dinner in the communal area around 6pm and here is Di cooking up bangers and mash with peas.
Delicious meal. Nothing beats the basics when done well... :-)
The table next to us was a younger group having a few drinks, including 2 Aussies. We could not help half hearing what they were talking about. Made us smile because like all travelers talking to strangers, with a few drinks in them, they tended to "big note" themselves and this time was no different. It seems to be a universal trait because the British girl and American guy were doing it too. We were probably the same at that age...
Lazy night followed with a bit more of planning and emailing for our European leg of the trip. For now though, good night.
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