Touchdown Quebec City

Wednesday 29th April 2009

After 4 months of fun, it had not exactly come to an end yet. From here begins another month of travelling to east canada and east USA.

My bags finally packed. A last shot of myself in gage apartments. Flight to Quebec via Toronto in wee wee hours of the morning.

Next to window seat in the airplane. Nice view of Rockies perhaps.

Taking a stroll down streets of Old Quebec City. Met up with those who came earlier for a pizza dinner.

A statue that was kind of disturbing. Kind off incongruent with the rest of the city which had a rustic European thing going on.

Citadel, Plains of Abraham, Museé National des Beaux-Arts

Thursday 30th April 2009

Breakfast with the whole gang from UBC who were there at our B&B too. They were going towards Montreal. For us, the discovery of Quebec had just begun. First, we checked out the view of Old Quebec City from a higher relief near St Louis Gate, part of the fortification walls of the city. Following the walls towards the St Lawrence River, we arrived at the Citadelle which is part of 300 years of Military History. We speculated how the French used the walls for Defence. The shape of the citadel is a unique star shape. Unfortunately, the changing of Guard done by the Vandoos (aka Royal 22 Régiment) together with the regimental goat is only held in Summer. In fact, the French Canadian unit is in service in Afghanistan. Being a unit which French-speaking is a reflection of the Francophone community in Quebec.

The initial citadel was designed by French military Engineer and work began in 1700s. Under British Lieutenant Elias Durnford, the Star-shaped citadelle was built in 1820s to 1832 because of the fear of citizen uprising during a time of political unrest. 'Je Me Souviens', meaning we will remember, is the motto of the Vandoos and also appears on the license plate of vehicles in Quebec.' Aside from the major, the Governor General of Canada has an official residence here. Recent visit of President Obama to Canada, and the tour guide let us know that he spent more time speaking with her than Stephen Harper. Visited the two museums which were filled with the military uniforms, medals, arms and historical documents from French and British regimes and the Canadian period. The last picture shows an old signal system used in the past. Many of the buildings in the Citadel are Historical monuments of Canada. Other buildings include the Powder Magazine, Redoubt and of course soldier barracks. Many buildings were engraved with Battles that the Vandoos had fought in.

Plains of Abraham where children reenact the Battle of the Plains. I assume they were led by their teachers and everyone was very enthusiastic with their marching, war cries and drills. Took a walk alongside the Citadel wall facing the Saint Lawrence River. Quebec is known as the Gibraltar of America because it controls the St Lawrence River which was very important as it gave access to places inland all the way to Lake Michigan. As we wandered the Plains we found plaques representing the spot Montcalm was defeated and one or two Martello towers.

The Musée national des beaux-arts consists of many 2 pavilions and many exhibits. Visited only those free ones. I remember listening to a translated speech where a rebel leader gave a fiery speech to encourage his Francophone countrymen to go against the British. Others such as the exhibition about the Inuits who lived in the icy North of Canada. Also many art pieces by Alfred Pellan and others in styles tradition, to abstract, to modernism.

Outside Lé Gránd Théâtre du Québec. Looks like three men having a talk.

St Jean Baptiste but it was closed.

A Shop along Rue St Jean which had very Victorian style architecture. Walking down this road where we had ice cream and chocolates at the chocolate Museum. Sunset creeped on us and we headed back to rest.

Montmorency Falls, and Musee de la Civilisation

Friday 1st May 2009

Breakfast was a more diverse party from the day before. In addition to the French Couple there was also this American family who joined their son who is also on exchange to some University in Canada, probably in Quebec. The mother was also from Sarawak and was clearly well travelled and had plenty of stories to dazzle us.

Thank you Andrew for being such a pleasant host and sending us to the top of Montmorency Falls. It happens to be the highest falls in Quebec at 84m, ie 30m higher than Niagara Falls. The clouds were threatening to rain and maybe because of that the river roared more ferociously. Despite the short and hurried timeframe that we were given, elements of that visit are still fresh in my head.

Hotel du Parliament. So is it a hotel or parliament building? From wikipedia: it is a parliament in the second empire architectural style which was popular during Victorian Era. The statues adorning the building is like a who's who to Quebec. I'll try to describe in chronological order of appearance. The centre most bottom are the aborigines aka 'Six Nations' people. I don't know why but Jacques Cartier's name is there in gold but has no statue depicted. He was the French explorer who discovered Canada and claimed it as New France in 1500s. On the left are the First Governor and Bishop of New France- Samuel de Champlain (appointed from 1608), François de Laval (appointed from 1658). Just under him is Comte de Frontenac the Governor General of New France from 1672-1682. Find rivals Montcalm and Wolfe above the Aborigines. Set during the Seven Years' War beginning 1756, Montcalm was defeated in 1759 and more on this in the Citadelle post. On his right, Montcalm's second in command, Chevalier de Levis after being driven out of Quebec would attempt to recover Quebec. Unfortunately, his only victory being the Battle of Sainte-Foy in 1760. Below him is British officer Charles de Salaberry who served in the War of 1812 and defended Montreal against the Americans. The other people probably not as prominent. Around the Parliament were many more statues of more modern leaders.

Musee de la Civilisation, and again no photos allowed but I did sneak this shot with my camera phone. Best exhibit was the Fascinating Egyptian Mummies. All the customs and lore which I have now forgotten was really exciting when accompanied by real relics, most notable the Mummified Ankhar in the exhibit. A weird take on explaining the Universe is the exhibit 'Extraterrestrials: what if?' which instead of presenting the history of outerspace, displays the representation of extraterrestrial beings in popular culture and the strange creatures on Earth which have shaped to a certain extent our perception of what these being might look like. The above photo is part of the Territories exhibit which depicts a geographical perspective on history of Canada. I was quite tired and I even took a nap in one of the exhibits pertaining to 'Time'.

Outside the Chateau, there was this trio of singers who absolutely added to the ambience of the evening. One of Champlain's statues in Quebec.

Inside the Chateau where we hung around to explore any hidden mysteries. After that, a short walk around the promenade facing the Saint Lawrence River before ending the day with a DVD movie at the B&B.

Musée and then off to Montreal

Saturday 2nd May 2009

After our last breakfast we headed out to the remaining museums which we was part of the packaged deal together with the Museé de la Civilisation. Musée de l'amérique Française is at the heart of old quebec, and because of its unassuming entrance, we would probably not have thought to visit this museum. Pictured below is the front entrance and because the door was locked, we entered the gate on the left to begin our visit at the Museum Main Exhibition Pavilion- a four storey high complex filled with stories of the heroes and the life of French Canada.

The stories mostly centering around the first Bishop of New France- François de Laval. He was appointed in 1659 by King Louis XIV of France to handle church matters in New France. He also founded the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 which then established Université Laval in 1852, becoming the first French Language University. Adjacent to the Museum, the Seminairé remains part of this legacy and houses Architectural School, Le Vieux Séminairé. There is also a Museum Chapel with interior in modern architecture. The tomb of Laval was here before being moved to Québec Cathedral in 1993. By now, I was not easily impressed by these chapels and churches and was only looking forward to visiting the Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal pictured down below.

In front of the Notre Dame Basilica, is thisCentre d'interpretation de Place Royale. It has particular reasons for the economic growth of Quebec City's Place Royale which is sandwhiched between Cape Diamond and the St Lawrence River. Safe for the dress-up exhibit at the basement and the Facing Champlain movie, I was not interested in the artifacts from the past such as tea sets, cosmetics, etc.

Andrew the B&B owner was so nice and he drove us to the bus interchange where we continue our adventures in Montreal. It was almost night time but we took a walk through the highly linked underground shopping centre. Most of the shops were closed already and it was only past 6pm. We continued overhead towards Old Montreal. First stop the Notre Dame Basilica. We couldn't go in because the concert had started and I was abit disappointed because of the missed opportunity to hear an orchestra play in the gothic revival architecture of the basilica.

We continued walking around Old Montreal and I liked the park by the side of the waterfront. I could guess that the Winter Festival must have been held here and it would be so impressive. I wanted to stay and take more pictures of the Old Montreal light up particularly because I had just discovered the capability of my Fujifilm camera's night mode. (see my post titled Nightshots)

Cirque du Soleil tentage and the music could be heard from outside. No, I did not catch it. I should have because (and I just found this out from a wikipedia page) it is after all a Canadian Entertainment Company based in Montreal. Its history dates back to its predecessor Lés Échassiers in 1980.

First two photos of the two museums are stock photos found from the Internet. Unfortunately, I think usage of cameras were frowned upon in the Museum itself.

Biodome,

Sunday 3rd May 2009

On the way to St Joseph Oratory on the slope of Mount Royal, bought our favourite apples and strawberries. The picture doesn't show it but it was a beautiful day-blue skies and nice Sun. The Saint Joseph Oratory began from humbler beginnings. The history is exhibited in a Hall of the Renovation Project behind the Cryptic Church.

Being a Sunday, there were many worshippers. The carpark was stocked with many cool cars. We went all the way to the Basilica at the top and was just in time to hear the Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal Choir sing. It was nice, but there was more to see. I remember seeing the heart of Brother André. The Archbishop of Montreal at that time decided to revive this medieval French-Italian practice to honour him.

Statue of Saint Joseph in the Votive Chapel. Behind is the tomb of Brother André. Through him, Saint Joseph performed many cures to those afflicted in various ways. The lame who were cured left their crutches, canes and braces there. The accumulation of these assisted walking devices eventually led to the decision to build the votive chapel, because there wasn't enough space to display it in the Crypt Chapel.

It was a collection of nature museums. However, I decided that there wouldn't be time to see everything. Started with an animal show at the Biodôme de Montreál featuring a Falcon and an Owl. The falcon flew across the crowd and pooped. The habitats are housed inside the cycling stadium that was used in 1976 Summer Olympics. My favourite was the underwater estuary with the diving ducks.

I took a walk around the Jardin de Botanique and although most of the flowers were not in bloom, the big open spaces made the garden a joy to walk around. Above is Chinese Garden.

Statue of Brother Marie-Victorin who is the founder of the Jardin. In background is the Olympic Stadium tower. The tower itself is 175metres high and the tallest inclined tower in the world. At the base of the tower is the swimming pool, where we witnessed abit of the diving contest at the pool. Around the stadium many cyclists, roller bladers and skateboarders whizzed around.

House of Jazz. Interior decor was gothic looking but in an Adam's family sort of way. Big wooden arches on the wall so that the mirrors are irregularly shaped. Music performed was Latin Jazz.

McGill and Basilica

Monday 4th May 2009

Following the road from our hotel, we arrived at McGill University. Summer has brought students out on the fields to play sports or just lie on the slopes of the field.

Above is Redpath Museum. Common exhibits such as skeletons of dinosaurs, origins of the universe, ancient egyptian civilisation. There was also artifacts such as Samurai armours, Japanese Buddha statue, Shrunken heads of the Jivaro people and Colombian body art.

Outside the Engineering building. Just beside it, we went into the Architecture building and also stepped into a sort-of Family Studies lecture that was about to start.

The Irish Protestant turned Catholic James O'Donnel was the Basilica's architect. Basilique Notre Dame de Montreal with interior design inspired by Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. Benjamin-Victor Rousselot, the priest from 1866 till 1882 contracted architect Victor Bourgeau for the interior design. Completed eventually about 1880. The Eucharist is the centrepiece. The four sculptures depicts the sacrifice as told in the Old Testament. Six Multicoloured statues represent St. Peter, St Paul and the four Evangelist. At the top, Mary crowned by her son is depicted.

The Stained-glass windows, designed by Jean-Baptiste Lagacé and executed in Francis Chigot's workshop in Limoges, France, depicts scenes from Montreal's social and religious history. The Notre-Dame parish's history dates back to origins of Montreal when it was founded in 1642 by Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve. And until 1659, the faithgul gathered in a wooden chapel. Ministered at first by Jesuits and then the Sulpicians in 1657. On Notre Dame Street in 1672 and 1683, a stone church was built but by 1800 the parishoners had grown to a huge mass that exceeded the capacity of the stone church.

Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur Chapel is located behind the Sanctuary and altar of the Basilica. Built between 1888 and 1891 according to Mesnard and Perreault's plans. But in December 1978, the chapel was almost entirely destroyed by fire except for part which was restored. The monumental bronze altarpiece above depicts humanity's progress along life's difficult paths (the 3 arches).

Other things about the church is that they have a lights show on some days of the week which I missed because of a Youth Orchestra Concert. See future post about 2nd May 2009 when we just arrived. Otherwise, there is an admission fee. I was not pleased about it.

Opposite the Basilica is the Bank of Montreal where I closed my account and drew out the remainder of my 1000+CAD. I was so scared of being mugged or leaving my bag around.

We walked around Old Montreal, revisiting places such as the Marche, the Hótel de Ville de Montréal before heading downtown- Boulevard Saint-Lauren and Rue Saint Catherine. Above is the area outside Musée dÁrt Contemporain and Théâtre Maisonneuve named after the founder on the left is . A quartet playing indian beats or more SEA-esque styled instruments. I had wanted to go watch a classical recital at Mc Gill's Schulich School of Music at night or even an acoustic set at the student cafe.

Tulips in the Capital

Tuesday 5th May 2009

During our day of visit, we were fortunate to be in the midst of the Canadian Tulip Festival. I think we were very excited because tulips are the prettiest flowers I know of. And the thought of a million tulips was reason to be super happy. Things almost did not turn that way because the taxi took so long to come. Finally it arrived and the long drive with clear sight of the serence Rideau Canal.

The story goes that in WW2, the Dutch royal family took refuge in Canada. Princess Juliana gave birth to Princess Margriet right here in Ottawa. The Canada government temporarily declared the ward as extraterritorial so that she would derive only Dutch citizenship. Annually since 1945, the Netherland presents 10 000 tulips to Canada.

The parliament building and the cluster of buildings bordering the Centennial Flame has a strong Gothic Revival architecture. The doorwoman mentioned Stephen Harper was in that day. The tour guide was so bubbly as she explained the importance of the House of Commons and also the Senate. Both were in session that afternoon so we had the chance to listen to the debates about Canadian expenses in academic research. Senate was much less busy by the time we came around with only few members remaining. Maybe if we were earlier, we could have seen the PM. We went in and out of the Library of Parliament. I tried to count Canadian flags from the top of the 92 metre high Peace Tower. And beneathe it was the Memorial Chamber with the Book of Remembrance that lists those who died in war. I like the building interior because it is a reflection of history of the Canadian Confederation from its origin with 4 provinces Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

I accompanied the future lawyer to the Supreme Court of Canada. On the left and right are the statues Veritas(left) and Justitia (right). The Supreme Court Judges don Santa suits. No kidding, the bright scarlet robes are fluffy and has white mink trimmings.

We walked down the road towards Byward Market and bypassed this colossus statue of the National War Memorial at Confederation Square. At the top arch are peace and freedom and below the arch are Canadian servicemen from various branches. Not looking too happy and with good reason because of WW1. There is also a Tomb of the Unknown soldier but only its corner is visible in the picture.

Byward Market where we bought our yummy snacks. Oh there was this white sweety crumbly snack that I tried and liked but I can't remember the name. Also, strawbrees and blackbrees.

Parliament Hill and the Ottawa River. It was really beautiful and we ate right there on the floor at Majors Hill Park. After walking around, we found another site on higher ground with proper benches in full view of the hill. Ottawa looks clean but we were told not to wander the park area below Parliament Hill at nightfall.

Other points of interest pictured from left to right are the National Gallery of Canada Spider in front of the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, Peacekeeping monument, Provincial and territorial flags infront of the Chateau Laurier and also the Rideau Canal. By now, I'm not so confident of identifying all the flags.

CN Tower and Lake Ontario

Wednesday 6th May 2009

Arrival at Toronto was late. And some bad decisions made for a tiring mess up in accomodation. The subway here is very interesting cuz is in a loop format. Alighted at Union station which was at the tip fo the loop. Toronto is such a huge cosmopolitan city and I had mixed feelings about it at first impression. Hectic bustling city life and endless fun.

After purchasing tickets to Canada National Towers, there was some time to kill. Despite the cold stormy weather, our sightseeing trip was made sweeter with an offer from the Kayak company to join them for a trip around Lake Ontario. Adventurous people that we were, we agreed. Fortunately, the other paddlers were veterans in the sport and it was not a problem to slack off in the middle of the ocean. I was sitting almost at the end, and the coxswain was very friendly. He's native to a European country but has resided in Toronto for many years doing this job.

Rogers Centre home of the Toronto Blue Jays. Our visit was untimely and they were playing any games during the three days we were here. The CN tower looms over the stadium and is an icon holding the title as the tallest freestanding structure in the world. It is funny because, I have heard it was a must-see in Toronto without ever anyone mentioning this superlative.

Glass Floor was pretty fun to play because initially, there was this fear that the glass would break and that would be a 342m (113 storeys) plunge down. Of course, I verified that the glass was strong by jumping up and down on it.

Next, we went to the outdoor observation deck. It was very cold and the view was spectacular. Stayed till the sun slowly set revealing the city lights which made me fall in love with Toronto. Our tickets restricted us to this levels but there was an option to ascend to the skypod at 447m (147 storeys). American Dan Goodwin in 1986 scaled the tower with hand and feet. Wiki says he climbed 100 storeys.

Ended of the night with some good ol' swing jazz music by Bradley and the Bouncers. Such a good jazz group they definitely put me in a good mood and the rest of the patrons of the restaurant occupied the dancefloor as soon as the first beats were dropped. The ambience was magic and I was jealous that I resigned to just watch from my seat. The band played many songs and we stayed for two sets. Some of the more prominent pieces I can remember were Fly me to the Moon, A Michael Buble song, many Louis Armstrong songs, Sitting by the Dock of the Bay and the frontman with a raspy voice was so nice to ask us out of towners to suggest a song. I requested All of Me. Unforgettable experience.

Niagara Falls

Thursday 7th May 2009

The hostel owner fixed up a tour bus for us. The bus ploughed through the Toronto streets and went picking up other tourists eager to see the Falls.

As the bus approached, signs were around- Skylon Tower, the roads turning misty, the big hotels and amusement parks. The bus initially dropped at the top of Horseshoe Falls. This is like Canada's pride because the American Falls which is on the other side of Goat Island wasn't what made the Niagara Falls awesome. Walk down the pavement, the view was enthralling. The sound of the crashing waters, the mist conjured up into the air and kissing my cheek. The sight of the gulls at the falls. Pictured above is the American falls.

The emerald green of the waters and the excited people lining up for the maid of the mist. We eagerly awaited in the blue ponchos for the boat to fill up. We got prime seats at the bow of the boat.

This is pretty close to the Horseshoe and by this time, my camera was hidden. Above two photos and the next one are courtesy of Vincent. As you can see, its like taking a bath. It was visually challenging to appreciate the Horseshoe falls with all the mist everywhere.

Then before we know it the boat turned and moved further and further away.

Rainbows are a common sight at the falls. A trip well worth it. After which the tour bus also brought us to a town which looks very Britishesque due to military conquests in history but my memory is failing and I shall clarify my facts before posting on it again.