A tale of 3 cities in Canada- Montreal (Part 3: Notre Dame Basilica )

This was the first time anyone of us had spent Christmas overseas, except for the part where it did not snow, 2006's Christmas was truly an unforgettable one for the three of us. After a hearty breakfast at Mcdonald's (we had breakfast at Mcdonald's every morning during our stay in Montreal! I will probably never eat another Mcmuffin once I head back to Singapore!), we took a leisurely stroll to Montreal's Notre Dame Basilica. Although none of us are Christian, but the splendidly crafted architecture and lavish interior decors of Notre Dame Basilica truly promises plenty of pictures for the reminiscent of Montreal.




The interior of Notre Dame Basilica, with beautiful panels of stained glass and a majestically crafted altar in the middle of the church. When we were in the compounds of the church, the mass had already ended, and almost as soon as it ended, tourists flocked through its door and started clicking away with their cameras. Except for the occasional, "Say cheese!", the sanctuary of Notre Dame Basilica was both peaceful and serene.




There were plenty of candles lit within Notre Dame Basilica, adding to the numinous aura to this place of worship.


The Casavant-Freres pipe organ, can anyone say the Phantom of the Opera?


Can anyone guess the function of this place? Hint: It is a place where vows are exchanged.





Habitat 67, it is a unique architecture in such a way that none of its room has windows facing the other room.

Before we leave Montreal for New York (hurray!), we had our lunch at a Chinese Restaurant. Without any hesitation, I ordered the Roast Pork rice on the menu. Although the roasted pork did not taste as heavenly as Singapore's, it was nonetheless a welcome change to fastfood. Furthermore, generous heaps of rice were given to every portion of rice dish, with an equally huge amount of meat. The price did not come cheap though, at about 4 Canadian dollars for that plate of rice it was still money well spent when compared to another Big Mac meal or fish and chips combo. Feeling extremely bloated and satisfied, we boarded the bus bound for London, and began our much anticipated (yet dreaded) 24 hours journey to New York!

A tale of 3 cities in Canada- Montreal (Part 2: Robbed of a white Christmas!)

At first I was skeptical, but after watching the movie "An Inconvenient Truth" (it's more like a documentary if you ask me) and robbed of a white Christmas during our stay in Monreal, I am utterly convinced that somehow, we have screwed up Earth's ecological system big time. In the dormitary of our hostel in Montreal, things could not get any worse. Much to our dismay, we discovered that we had to share a room with a complete stranger! Ever since we arrived in Canada, the three of us were able to move into rooms in which we were the only occupants, the unexpected fourth guest in our dormitary had therefore ruined our mood to celebrate Christmas. Visibly disheartened by the turn of events, we were nevertheless treated to a free dinner buffet entirely sponsored by the hostel. The sumptuous spread of the usual Christmas fare lifted our spirit somewhat, and after a hearty meal, we took a long stroll along Montreal's famous Rue St Catherine and St Laurent.


We stayed in this hostel called Auberge De Jennesse (translated: Inn of Jenesse) it may look unremarkable at first, but once we entered the hostel, we were bowled over by the friendly staffs and the cosy decor.




Montreal has a decent number of Chinese living in the city, as evident in Chinatown. Earlier that afternoon, our plans to have Dim Sum at a chinese restaurant was foiled by the long line formed outside the famed eatery (and of all people, Caucasians were queuing in the line!). Gastronomic disappointment aside, I'm impressed by the chinese in Montreal, who are able to speak cantonese, English and French.


Rue St Catherine, with high-end boutiques sprouting on both sides of the street (Louis Vuitton, Guess, Hugo Boss just to name a few). Jiahao and Allan had the time of their life in Root's boutique by going on a shopping spree. They grabbed a jacket each at 40 percent and 60 percent discount respectively, and to my horror, Jiahao bought the very same jacket I had bought a couple of weeks earlier back in London! Similar design aside, the jacket was so much cheaper!


Sarah, this picture is dedicated especially for you! Hope I can take a peek at your LV stash in Coppenhagen if I ever get to travel to Europe!


Just for laughs! After watching their shows on the onboard TV of SBS buses, I decided that I prefer their standup comedies more. Their 'Gotcha!' segments really fell flat most of the time.





Despite the lavish amount Singapore spend on its Christmas lightings at Orchard every year, I find it to be pale in comparison with the ones I have seen in Canada. At Montreal, the lightings did not disappoint at all further illuminating the city (already brightly lit at night by neon sign boards) that night.


We passed by the Montreal's version of 'Geylang' (Singapore's red light district) along this street. The neon lit sign boards and LCD screens outside these shops were displaying models dressed suggestively touting peek shows to passerbys. Had it not been for the dwindling cash in my wallet, I would have taken a 'peek' (no pun intended) inside.


Montreal city's Vieux Port (old port), a place where the heritage of Montreal is in full splendour. Restaurants oozing with romantic ambience are found all over this nostalgic stretch of walkway.


Not far from the Vieux Port, Montreal city hall.

From the pictures uploaded in this post, you would have guessed that the three of us did quite a bit of walking. Indeed we did, and we had a minor emergency when we were at the Vieux Port. Me and Jiahao were looking for a washroom in the vicinity after having a tad too much to drink. To our utmost exasperation, none could be found (not even at petrol kiosk!!! Don't they need to pee or something?!). With each passing minute, the wave of desperation that hit us (at least for me and Jiahao) became more vicious as our bladder fought the uncomfortable and dreadful feeling of coming dangerously close to exploding. Again, thanks to the ever perceptive Allan, we finally found a washroom at Marriot's hotel... (a conservative estimate told me that we had held our pee for close to an hour). It was almost at this time, the clock strucked 12 and Christmas had arrived in Montreal! As I exited from the hotel, I could swear that I could hear the hymns of angels celebrating the end of our ordeal! What a way to herald 2006's yuletide... Exchanging greetings gifts and greetings between the 3 of us, this Christmas will be an unforgettable one even with the absence of snow (sigh...), because of the companionship we share together that night.