Thursday, June 4, 2015

Eastern Canada Trip 2014 Day 9 Wednesday June 18 Montreal, Laval

UPDATED: February 11, 2021

This is the 9th of a series of posts dealing with my fourth trip to Eastern Canada. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports. Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of a year later or to add further clarification.  These are indicated by “NOW”. After I booked the trip I unexpectedly had to move and was staying at a friend’s place at the time of the trip, so I was already pretty tired before the trip back.

Buss=es/metros all STM. Went for another walk last night including Couche Tard. I woke up feeling pretty pretty stiff and sore though luckily that gradually passed as the day progressed. I walked along Ste-Catherine to Station Place-des-Arts, then took the Green Line of the metro there back to the hostel for breakfast.  After breakfast I wandered Ste-Catherine again, only this time I actually went in Place Montréal Trust, Montreal Eaton Centre, and Complexe Les Ailes, which I kept passing. I relaxed for a little bit at Place Jeanne-Mance, Place des festivals, then wandered to the the Old Montreal, grabbing a drink at the Couche Tard at Station Place d’Armes en route. I also visited the Place d'Armes itself.  I wandered to a bit of the outside of Montreal Science Centre at the port area of Old Montreal, then visited Place Jacques Cartier and the smaller Place Vauquelin before wandering the large field of Champ de Mars.

[NOW: STM is short for Société de transport de Montréal. Hostel is Auberge Bishop, now closed.]

I walked to Station Champ-de-Mars and took an Orange Line train back to Station Cartier in Laval where I bought some DVDs at a SuperClub Vidéotron; I think I actually fooled the guy at the counter into thinking I was francophone, as he pointed out a DVD that said "Anglais seulement". I crossed Pont Viau back to Montreal and soon got a westbound 69 bus which terminated near Pont Lachapelle. There I crossed back to Laval (by crossing back to Montreal and then back to Laval I saved money as I could use my 3-day pass).  I bought DVDs at another SuperClub Vidéotron and had lunch at Bellerive. I crossed the same bridge (pont) back to Montreal and took a 180 bus to Station Sauvé. I took an Orange Line train to Station Mont-Royal and walked along Rue Mont Royal, visiting Dollarama, Le Colisee Du Livre, and a video store, then doubled back and got some more DVDs at a SuperClub Vidéotron.

[NOW: The second and third SuperClub Vidéotrons above, Bellerive Pizzeria, and Le Colisee Du Livre have closed. The unnamed video store is Le Cinoche.]

I took a 93 bus back to Station Mont-Royal station, an Orange line from there to Berri-UQAM, and a Green Line train from there to Station Place-des-Arts. In the RÉSO (Underground City) I visited an Archambault before relaxing at the Place des festivals at Place Jeanne-Mance.  It started to pour briefly so I took a Green Line train from Station Place-des-Arts to Station Peel, walked to a store that turned out to be gone, then walked to Ste-Catherine, by which point the rain had died down. I got a frosty drink at a Jean Coutu and walked back to Place Jeanne Mance/Place des Festivals.

It was hot again and a young woman in a white shirt entered the water jets, making her shirt quite see-through (she was wearing a bra). She briefly took off her shirt to wring it out. I relaxed there a bit longer and then took a Green Line train from there to Berri-UQAM and a Yellow Line train to Jean Drapeau. The water jets there still weren't working and that area was taped off.  I took a Yellow Line train back to Berri-UQAM and an Orange Line train back to Station Champ-de-Mars.  I walked through the Old Montreal to the waterfront, rested there a bit, and then returned to the Station via Place Jacques Cartier, Place Vauquelin, and Champ de Mars itself. I took an Orange Line train back to Berri-UQAM and a Green Line train back to Place des Arts. No water jets this time, and back to baggage check.

I walked along Ste Catherine to A&W, and then took a Green Line train from Berri-UQAM to Guy Concordia and from there walked to the hostel. I barely managed to pack everything in, my larger bag being in Toronto with Aidan.

I went for one final Ste-Catherine walk, including Jean Coutu and Pharmaprix (Shoppers Drug Mart where I got lemon-line flavoured bottle, partly to have a bottle to fill with tap water for the Megabus trip.

[NOW: And then of course I returned to Auberge Bishop.]

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