This morning we got up and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. In our Ottawa Air BnB we were in a two bedroom apartment, sharing a bathroom and kitchen/lounge with an older couple from Cambridge (the Cambridge in Canada). Although we met them when we arrived and a few other times in passing, we had generally tried to keep out of each others way, but this morning we ended up sitting and having breakfast with them. It was nice to sit and shoot the breeze (mostly about politics, sorry Kirstie!) - there are so many parallels and it was really interesting to hear how it all worked.
After Breakfast we packed up, jumped in the car and headed for Montréal. It was a two hour drive ahead of us and we left over an hour after we had planned to. We drove along some very clear roads, again lined with amazingly coloured trees, stopped for some Petrol (which was a very confusing affair, but got there in the end!) and arrived in Montréal. Unable to check in straight away we headed into the city centre. I was expecting it to be a city with a French influence, but what I hadn't expected was the feeling of driving into actual France. All the signs, buildings, street names, the whole lot was French. We found a parking space and headed toward the meeting point for the walking tour we had booked (free of charge, but tips expected at the end). We hung out in a nearby square with some cafes and little kiosks. It was nice to sit and people watch for a bit.
We then met our guide, Caroline. First language French, learnt English in New Zealand. She was a local and a very good guide. She took us on a walk past most of the key places in old town Montréal, we walked along the river/harbour and back into the old town. We saw the Notre Dame Cathedral, with a fairly sizeable queue outside for the night time illuminations inside. We headed through the financial district and ended up in the 'underground' city, which is basically a network of spaces underneath some of the towers in the city. It includes shops, cafes, art work, a couple of subway stations, parking etc etc. It even included a section of the Berlin wall. The tour whizzed us through many of the main sites some of which we will return to tomorrow. After the tour, having not had lunch, we had a hankering for Chinese food (surprise surprise). Unsure where to go, we shortlisted a couple of options using tripadvisor. One of the places had a queue down the street so we thought we would give it a go. It only sold enormous bowls of noodle soup - absolutely stunningly tasty but a ridiculous quantity. I of course finished it all, but Kirstie managed about a third.
We headed to the car and went to find our air bnb. I am now sat in the massive apartment finishing up this blog entry and looking forward to heading back into the city tomorrow.

A good message...

Looks so French...

Mini Nelson's column

Notre Dame Basilica

Marché Bonsecours

A cobbled street in Montréal outside Marché Bonsecours.

Chunk of the Berlin Wall

Downtown Montréal almost night

Underground City

Underground City

Cheeky bit of street art

It doesn't look all that appetising, but corrrr this was delicious.
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