Montreal Day Four: Hijinks, Hockey and Happily Ever After
This will probably be the last title with alliteration...too difficult to keep up. We will start with the hijinks. Mark didn't have to work until noon today so we thought we would walk to work with him, stopping along the way to linger over coffee. Well, stop along the way we did, but we didn't get that coffee. We ran out of time, because we were having so much fun looking at things. First off was an intriguing store on Blvd. St. Laurent that we explored. Then came a wonderful set of swings so we had to try them out.
The next hijinks weren't ours, but a group of small children playing in a fountain. The best street entertainment we have seen in ages. The three of us really enjoyed watching them. Then came St. James United Church which we just couldn't pass by without checking out. It was lovely. As a result, Mark just made it to work on time.
Despite clear directions from Mark, we set off in the wrong direction for the Bell Center. This had an upside because we visited Place Ville Marie and The Queen Elizabeth Hotel, both of which I remember from my childhood. When we came out of the Queen E. we were very turned around and the GPS was consulted. And again we set off in the wrong direction. It was a good old fashioned paper map that saved the day.
At the Bell Center, we visited the Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame. Keith was the reason for the visit, however, I found it interesting as well. But the best was yet to come. We did a tour of the Bell Center. Was that ever fun. In addition to the obvious places we were able to check out a private box, the catwalk where the press gallery watches the game, the press gallery lounge, the Canadiens alumni lounge, the press conference area and the most sacred place in all of hockey (according to the guide) the locker room. What fun!
After that I was hungry, bordering on bonking, so we headed to Old Montreal for a late lunch. So late in fact, it made dinner unnecessary. This is where the Happily Ever After (we hope) part came in. We saw three weddings in short order. That was great entertainment too. Then we walked up St. Denis where we stopped for beer and live entertainment. We also walked up Mont Royal again, enjoying the car free aspect of it. Then it was off to Fairmont Bagels so we have fresh ones for the morning, and back to the apartment.
There were 21 swings in all and each one represented a different note and instrument. The higher and faster you are swinging the higher and faster the note. It was lots of fun. Evidently all 21 together would play a composition, but I think it would be pretty hard to coordinate.
The catwalk is narrow, and waaaay up there. It was really interesting to see what it is like. I am sitting at the desk where members of the media report on the game. Note that my jacket is buttoned right up. They were working on the ice and it was freezing in there.
Dan S., Keith was asked to give a press conference on the clinics you put on for the Victoria Breakers. The Canadiens are anxiously waiting for you to put on clinics at their training camp. Here is Keith, just about to begin.
A Victoria Breaker sets foot on sacred ground...the Canadiens locker room. Incidentally, it was smaller than I anticipated. All those big, sweaty guys would make it pretty crowded. If you accidentally walk on the logo on the floor you buy dinner for everybody on the team. So tread carefully.
This young woman has an amazing voice. Her website is pastelmusic.ca. We stopped at this particular spot because her voice drew us in and we were not disappointed.
