Montreal- An Amazing Summer Part 1

So I have now moved from Montreal to Churchill, Manitoba (at least for a few weeks so I thought it was time to give an update on how much I got done of the list of 100 things. It may take a few posts but here is a few to start with.

01. Feel the rhythm and watch medieval sword fights at the Tam Tams every Sunday afternoon at Mont-Royal
We made a flying visit to the Tam Tams one Sunday afternoon after getting some Aussie Meat Pies from TA, which is just up the road. It wasn't super spectacular but its a nice place to relax and have a Picnic on a Sunny Summer's day whilst listening to a Drum Circle that is made up of anyone who brings a drum and wants to join in. There are also lots of people selling stuff around the Angel statue. 

02. Have a picnic and give free hugs with electronic beats and funky DJ`s at Piknik Electronic, Sundays at Jean-Drapeau
Piknik Electronic is quite famous amongst the younger crowd in Montreal and I had heard about it before getting here so when I had the opportunity to visit this Sunday institution on a Saturday for free as part of Weekends du Monde (a festival combining many different cultures over the course of two weekends) I jumped at the chance despite the boiling humid sunny weather and the fact I was alone. Let me start out by saying that Piknik Electronic is not exactly a relaxed Piknik in the park, when I was there it was fairly hot but did not provide a lot of shade especially under the dance floor which happens to be under some weird sculpture. But after finding a semi shaded wall to lean against with the River behind me I settled in to enjoy the music and people watch. The music was pretty good, the dj playing whilst I was there had a didgeridoo and other instruments which he would occaisionally add to the mix, the dance floor crowd was getting in to it and the people watching was pretty interesting so definitely worth a peek especially when its free. After watching for a little bit I decided to go for a wander through the park which is very shaded and relaxing but after a couple of minutes I decided to turn around at this point I am greeted by a lonely man taking the opportunity to try and pick a girl up in the park. After realising I do not speak Francais he switches to English and invites me to go for a walk with him as he is lonely, I quickly say no, thank you and start speed walking in the other direction but not before the guy is like "Why not, I am a gentle person", I'm sure thats what every murderer or rapist says to there victims. So my Piknik Electronic was slightly tainted but still a great people watching experience.

04. Grab yourself a Beaver Tail, 127 de la Commune E
Beaver Tails are a bit of a Quebec tourist trap (have never seen them out of Quebec Province) that you find in a chain of stores usually where tourists congregate. They are basically a doughnut like pastry rolled out into a long strip and then topped with your desired topping from plain cinnimon and sugar to fancier creations. For my first Beaver Tail foray whilst visiting Just for Laughs I decided to go with the Oreo one which basically consists of Vanilla icing piled with cookie pieces. At $7 this is pretty expensive and I only ate half of it cause it was so insanely sweet I could not fathom how anyone could eat the whole thing. They are yummy but maybe stick with the ones without icing unless you love the sugary stuff.

07. Have fun being green by renting a bike free in the summer at Mont-Royal metro (Desjardins info booth right outside the exit) or Bixi-ing around town
We decided to rent a Bixi bike and attempt to ride to Parc de Rapides and along the Lachine Canal to the St Ambriose brewery terrase. After cycling all the way to Parc de Rapides and eating Baguette and Salami's from Atwater Market we decided to head straight to the brewery cause cycling when you haven't done it for a while hurts, still a very fun day though and one day I will make it along the canal.

Parc de Rapides

08. Jazz it up at JazzFest in the summer!
The Montreal Jazz Fest is apparently the biggest one in the world, not surprising when they have about 350 free shows and another 150 paid shows. This year it happened in Late June and it happens around Place de Arts which is also the home of a lot of different festivals over the Summer worth checking out including Francofolies and Just For Laughs which I have written about below. The Jazz Festival is a very busy event that has about 8 free stages set up around Place de Arts and has acts from all over the world. The best act by far was The Cat Empire which were not scheduled to play but were a special surprise act and they were very, very good. Well, worth coming to Montreal around this time but expect a lot of crowds.

The Cat Empire

09. Walk Plateau-Mont-Royal and Village and discover shops, cafes, culture.
The Plateau is probably one of the nicest areas to live and hang out in Montreal. It has lots of nice cafes, restaurants, plenty of unique shops and plenty of green spaces. Its also an area without a lot of culture and a great mix of people from all around the world. Just go for wander around the Plateau and you will always find something new.

11. Explore some art and history, and/or hide from the rain, at Montreal’s museums
Montreal has a great selection of Museums and many of them are free most of the time or at least a little bit of the time. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts or Musee de Beau Arts is free all the time (except for temporary exhibits) and you can easily spend a few hours here wandering around all the exhibits spread across three buildings. The Red Path Museum is also free all the time and focuses on Natural History and has a very old Natural History vibe about it as it has been there for 100 years. If you're lucky enough to be free on a Wednesday night then you can visit the Contemporary Art Museum or the Musee McCord. Together I only spent a couple of hrs visiting both of them. The Contemporary Art Museum has some interesting temporary exhibits whilst the Musee McCord has a very interesting area on the history of different districts of Montreal which I enjoyed cause I could match up the place to where I had lived or been There are also plenty of other Museums worth a visit all over Montreal.

                                                             

Museum of Fine Arts

Contemporary Arts Museum

12. Grab some fresh and organic ingredients at Jean-Talon , biggest and best farmer`s market in town. 

Jean Talon Market is awesome. Has a huge range of fresh produce and stores filled with everything to make your taste buds salivate. A must visit for any foodie especially during Summer.

16. Get some bagel action at Fairmount Bagels or St-Viateur Bagels. No need to argue which is the best, just try both! 

I have now been to both. They are both delicious so I could not argue which is better but Fairmount has a bigger selection whilst St-Viateur has more stores either way make sure you try the ones straight from the oven cause they will be amazing.

21. Visit the Oratoire Saint-Joseph

Saint Joseph's Oratory is a very big church/cathedral near Mount Royal. Its free to go in and have a look and has some really nice wood carvings inside. There is also a nice view from here to the North over Montreal.

22. Quack at the ducks at Parc Lafontaine. In the winter you can ice skate there.Parc Lafontaine is a lovely place to sit and have a picnic especially if you get take away from La Banque which is just around the corner. We also saw Shakespeare in the Park here at an open air theatre and there are many other shows over the summer.

24. Watch the fireworks of Loto-Québec either from the Old Port, the Jacques Cartier Bridge, or from l’Île St-Hélène under the bridge.So over the Summer in Montreal there is a Fireworks Competition which you can view from the Old Port. It is a pretty spectacular fireworks show and something nice to check out on a warm Summer's evening.

As you can tell there is a lot to see and experience in Montreal and I will tell you more in my next post.