Sunday, May 7, 2017

Eastern Canada Trip 2016 Day 5 Saturday June 18: Montreal, Westmount, Hampstead, Côte Saint-Luc, Montréal-Ouest, Longueuil

UPDATED: February 11, 2021

This is the 5th of a series of posts dealing with my 2016 trip to Toronto, Montreal, and vicinity. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports (typos, bits I don’t feel like making public). Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of two years later or to add further clarification.  These are indicated by “NOW”.

At the 1/3 mark now. The shoes were definitely the issue. My feet are still sore from walking today and from before, but not in as bad a shape as the end of the day yesterday. All transportation STM/Société de transport de Montréal.

Around 5:30 I got up and headed west, passing through the enclave town of Westmount. Lots of squirrel activity there probably due in part to Westmount Park/Parc Westmount. I returned to Montreal on the other side, wandered north, back east to Westmount, then south then west again to Station Vendôme in Montreal. I took an Orange Line train to Station Lucien-L'Allier and walked to the hostel for breakfast. I took another Orange Line train from the same station to Station Place-d’Armes where I wandered the Old Montreal/Vieux-Montréal including Champ de Mars. Returning to Station Place-d’Armes I took another Orange Line train to Station Plamondon, then walked west to across the street from Hampstead Park/Parc Hampstead in Hampstead. There I took a 161 bus to near Yitzhak Rabin Park/Parc Yitzhak Rabin in Côte Saint-Luc. I then walked south to the pretty Anglophone musicality of Montreal West/ Montréal-Ouest (stop signs say Stop not Arrêt). I bought water at Pharmaprix. Librairie Bonder Bookstore wasn't open and didn't look interesting so I walked to the nearby Montréal-Ouest train station and took the 105 bus back to Station Vendôme.

[NOW: The hostel I stayed at was Auberge Bishop, now closed.]

There I took an Orange Line train to Station Mont-Royal and revisited Librairie L'Échange. Waiting for Le Boîte Noire to open, I wandered south and got some DVDs at Renaud-Bray. I bought my last DVDs at the closing Boîte Noire and headed south to Débédé bookstore and Librairie Planète BD, a francophone comic shop. Even the Marvel stuff was translated, including awkwardly a story with the French stereotype Batroc ze Leaper. I took an Orange Line train from Station Sherbrooke back to Station Place-d’Armes, where I had pretty bad but edible poutine from Montplaisir. I visited the same waterfront area as yesterday (where I forgot to mention a bird tried to land on my head). Protestors were nearby. I took an Orange Line train to Station Berri-UQAM, than a Yellow Line train to Station Longueuil/Universite-de-Sherbrooke in Longueuil, where I briefly stepped outside and got a pop from McDonald’s in the building where you access the metro station. I took a Yellow Line train to Parc Jean-Drapeau. I went to the outside of the Montreal Biosphère again and crossed over from Saint Helen's Island/Île Sainte-Hélène to Notre Dame Island/Île Notre-Dame and back, different bridges. I took another Yellow Line train back to Station Berri-UQAM and then a Green Line train to Station Place-des-Arts.

[NOW: Librairie Planète BD moved a little ways north. The park I revisited was Bonsecours Basin Park/Parc du Bassin Bonsecours. I took Passerelle du Cosmos to Notre-Dame and Pont des Îles back to Saint Helen’s.]

I rested at Places des Festivals where it was obvious that I had just missed the water jets, this being justt after 2. I took a Green Line train to Station Guy-Concordia and revisited 1000000 Comix, Librairie Astro (got some French versions of US comics), and Capitaine Québec les Livres Comiques.
 
[NOW: 1000000 Comix and Librairie Astrohave closed.]

I reversed the previous Green Line trip and rested a bit more at Place des Festivals. I finally confirmed my suspicions that the water jets were off until tomorrow due to performances, so my attempt to switch off and rest failed. I wandered to Place Émilie-Gamelin and checked my list for places I hadn't been to before to figure out what to do next. I considered returning to Old Montreal a third time but the  cobbled streets were murder on my blistered feet. I took an Orange Line train from Station Berri-UQAM to Station Jean-Talon and walked to Vidéotron le Superclub, getting more DVDs/blu-rays.  I  wandered east some more, partly in a failed attempt to find dinner, checked out a small park that multiple roads go to, and took a Blue Line train from Station Saint-Michel to Station Jean-Talon, then reversed the previous Orange Line trip.

[NOW: The park near Station Saint-Michel is Parc François-Perreault. That Vidéotron has closed.]

I wandered rue Ste-Catherine, having dinner at A&W and then packed with considerable difficulty, hope no issues on the bus tomorrow. If there are, they won't change me extra; they'll not let me on. I think I can just barely make it work. Will probably do a short eve walk before turning in. Sorry again about the typos. Tomorrow I hope to have access to a bigger keyboard. Meeting a friend at 5 so not sure when I'll do the report.

[NOW: No bus issues the next day. I hopefully corrected all the typos. The friend meet got delayed until later in the trip.]

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