In the wee hours of a warm summer Saturday, we set out to see the cultural capital of Canada, Montréal. Indeed, she was beautiful and sophisticated—with her numerous gothic churches, colonial buildings, and French charm.
A mention of her name and my dad was quick to recognise her as the city that held the Olympics of 1976! We visited the then-Olympics stadium, which is now converted into an indoor nature exhibit, the Biodôme. It houses replicas of four different ecosystems—the tropical forest, the maple forest, the marine ecosystem, and the sub-polar region. It really did not meet our expectations in terms of area spawned, but the simulations were quite convincing.
Each ecosystem model matched its original temperatures, humidity, and overall feel. Animals native to each ecosystem looked content and healthy in their own environments. Our six-year-old animal lover loved it. It was a good opportunity for him to experience the different places and animals around the world.
To compensate for the dissatisfaction of the Biodôme, we headed into the adjacent Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium. We were in time for the ‘Celestial Chronicles and Continuum’ show. Continuum was kind of a poetic experience with an immersive simulation of the Big Bang and a collision of galaxies among many other events. It was mind-blowing! The show was projected on the 360-degree dome, and we literally lay beneath it looking up, just like watching the sky lying down on the ground. We were not allowed to film anything. Nor were we interested to, for the show was too good for us to think of anything else. Witnessing the magnitude of the stars, planets, and galaxies made us realise how much of a tiniest stardust we are. It gave us a grounded feeling. Needless to say, our son loved it!
Hunger pangs drove in, and we gorged on delicious poutines from the famous La Banquise. We took the classic and smoked meat flavours. The place was very crowded, as expected, and we weren’t patient enough to wait for indoor dining. The lineup for takeout moved faster but did take its own sweet time. It was worth it because the poutines were lip-smacking. Coming from Toronto, the only poutines we knew were the ones we got at Costco!
What is a visit to Montréal without walking through the streets of Old Montréal, some street food, a ride on the Giant Wheel, La Grande Roue de Montréal, and a drive through the Jacques Cartier bridge (I do have a thing for truss bridges). Unfortunately, we got late and missed the underground city.
By the evening, the kiddo was completely exhausted. So we went back to our car and drove around the neighbourhood.
There are several churches in Montréal, but a friend suggested we watch the Aura show at the Notre Dame Basilica, and we can’t be thankful enough! The church itself is an incredible place with a serene ambience, and the show was the cherry on top. It was a heavenly experience to watch and listen to the orchestra and coordinating lights accentuating the church architecture. It felt really humbling and reassuring.
We left Montréal city at 11pm with exhausted bodies and totally humbled souls. There sure are so many more spots that we didn’t get to, but I guess we covered all that we could in our small time of one day. Until next time, au revoir!
The writer, a software developer, is based in Toronto, Canada.
