On our second day in Montreal we connected with our friends Tony and Julie, and took a hike up to the top of Mount Royal. I’ve gotta say, it’s not really a “mountain”, more like a hill, but it’s still 220 steps to the top, so it’s a bit of a slog, particularly on a warm, humid morning.
The views of downtown Montreal from the top are well worth it though. It’s interesting to note that local laws require all buildings in the city to be shorter than Mount Royal, which sits at 233 meters. It’s also interesting to note that the name Montreal comes from “Mount Royal”. This all makes a visit to this spot a must-do!
We then walked towards Old Montreal and visited Place d’Armes, where these two statues captured our attention. “The English Pug and the French Poodle”, also known as “The Two Snobs”, are private artworks installed in 2013. The statues evoke the discord that used to exist between the French and English Canadians (used to exist??). The two statues are at either end of the square, facing away from each other. At the north end of the square, this Frenchwoman with a French Poodle stares with discontent at the Bank of Montreal, a symbol of English Power.
On the south end of the square stands an Englishman with an English Pug, staring with condescension at the Notre-Dame Basilica, a symbol of the religious dominance of the Catholic Church in Quebec. Both of the dogs appear attracted to each other, but are forced apart by their owners.
We had to take Tony and Julie back to the port overview we had visited the day prior. It really is a gorgeous spot located in the Museum of Archeology, and free to visit.
Tony is doing his best impression of the snooty Englishman from Place d’Armes. The only thing missing is the English Pug!
That night we had booked “Aura”, a light show inside the Notre-Dame Basilica. I took a couple of photos before the show started, but we were told not to take any shots during the performance, and for once I actually followed instructions. I know, I’m slipping. Sorry!
The organ was also lit up before the show started. Aside from all sorts of lights on the ceiling, they even had a laser light show…it was like being at a Pink Floyd concert, with loud religious music instead of flying pigs! This is well worth doing if you are in Montreal. The place was packed, so buy your tickets in advance!
The next day it was raining cats and dogs, so we spent some time inside at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. They have a few famous Impressionist paintings, so we were quite happy. First up is “Young Girl with Hat” by Auguste Renoir, from 1890.
While this piece isn’t famous, at least to me, it is painted by the always excellent Claude Monet. This is “The Main Path at Giverny”, painted in 1900. We have GOT to get to Giverny!
This is the popular and well known “The Thinker, by Auguste Rodin, cast between 1902 and 1909. Rodin produced this in a number of versions and various sizes. This one is quite small compared to the one we’ve seen in Paris (although the one at the Rodin museum in Paris is a duplicate, the real one is stored away for safe-keeping).
From one of the landings inside the museum you could see this mural painted on a building. This is singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen, who was born in Westmount, Quebec, and wrote the famous song “Hallelujah”.
This is his original version of the song from Youtube.
A temporary exhibition of the museum had a retrospective on an artist, Mirasol, I had not heard of previously. Mirasol Escobar was a Venezuelan-American sculptor who was quite popular in the 1960’s. Her sculptures are very unique. Below is “The Funeral”, portraying three-year-old John F. Kennedy, Jr. saluting his father during his funeral procession in 1963.
This is Mirasol’s sculpture of Picasso, created in bronze in 1977.
Kim pointed out that the face looks just like a character from a Steven Wilson music video, “The Raven that Refused to Sing”.
Who is Steven Wilson? Go check him out now! Here is the music video in question, my absolute favorite music video he has produced, and definitely one of his best songs.
The day we boarded the ship we were greeted with the view of this rainbow from our stateroom, portending an excellent voyage!
As we were leaving the city, we passed this unique condo property, that looked like something Fred Flintstone would live in. Yabba dabba do!
Up next, we visit Quebec City, which we have heard is stunning!