Ron's View - Montreal, Quebec
We finished several days in the Big Apple enjoying Yankee Stadium, and trying to enjoy Shea Stadium, and headed up I-87 toward the Canadian border. Upstate New York is a rugged and beautiful place, though any place with more of a winter season than Chicago isn't for me. We knew we were in for a culture shock entering Quebec, as neither Scott nor I know much more French than baguette or croissant. Heading "Nord" on Hwy. 15, we quickly entered Montreal. We stayed in a convenient downtown hotel, convenient because after scouring the area it was down the street from the best bar area in town.
Needing to exchange some currency, and this being the pre-cash station days, we headed to one of the many branches of The Bank Of Montreal. It was there I realized that many Quebecers are fluent in English as well as French, but they'd rather see you struggle with the French, rather than resort to speaking English. Now cash rich, we headed to "Poulet Au Frit Kentucky" for lunch. That's the equivalent to a KFC for all you USA folks.
Off to the monstrosity they call Olympic Stadium to watch the Expos play. It's futuristic from the outside, and butt ugly from the inside. Baseball should not be played in such a place. Barely a whisper is heard throughout the game. Exactly 1 second after the final out, the ushers motion with their hands to get up and get out. Actually, it was a good idea to escape that place in a timely manner.
One fun thing did happen there, though. We took a tram ride which toured the whole Olympic complex. While climbing aboard, Scott smacked his head off of a speaker. He left a chunk of scalp and some of his receding hairline attached to it. (Sorry, Scott. I HAD to relate that story!)
We did search out Jarry Park, which was home to the Expos from their inception in 1969 through 1976. It was a sub standard Minor League park retrofitted for the Majors, though I feel it is still a better place to watch a game than being subjected to Olympic Stadium.
Then came time to leave Montreal, headed for Toronto. The bass ackwards highway construction project on Boulevard Charest didn't want us, or anyone, to get anywhere fast. Most towns do road construction in phases; close no more than half of a road at a time. On this road, they forced us to exit at EVERY exit, and then get back on. After enduring several tortuous miles of this malarkey, we finally hit the open road and made a beeline for Ontario!
We finished several days in the Big Apple enjoying Yankee Stadium, and trying to enjoy Shea Stadium, and headed up I-87 toward the Canadian border. Upstate New York is a rugged and beautiful place, though any place with more of a winter season than Chicago isn't for me. We knew we were in for a culture shock entering Quebec, as neither Scott nor I know much more French than baguette or croissant. Heading "Nord" on Hwy. 15, we quickly entered Montreal. We stayed in a convenient downtown hotel, convenient because after scouring the area it was down the street from the best bar area in town.
Needing to exchange some currency, and this being the pre-cash station days, we headed to one of the many branches of The Bank Of Montreal. It was there I realized that many Quebecers are fluent in English as well as French, but they'd rather see you struggle with the French, rather than resort to speaking English. Now cash rich, we headed to "Poulet Au Frit Kentucky" for lunch. That's the equivalent to a KFC for all you USA folks.
Off to the monstrosity they call Olympic Stadium to watch the Expos play. It's futuristic from the outside, and butt ugly from the inside. Baseball should not be played in such a place. Barely a whisper is heard throughout the game. Exactly 1 second after the final out, the ushers motion with their hands to get up and get out. Actually, it was a good idea to escape that place in a timely manner.
One fun thing did happen there, though. We took a tram ride which toured the whole Olympic complex. While climbing aboard, Scott smacked his head off of a speaker. He left a chunk of scalp and some of his receding hairline attached to it. (Sorry, Scott. I HAD to relate that story!)
We did search out Jarry Park, which was home to the Expos from their inception in 1969 through 1976. It was a sub standard Minor League park retrofitted for the Majors, though I feel it is still a better place to watch a game than being subjected to Olympic Stadium.
Then came time to leave Montreal, headed for Toronto. The bass ackwards highway construction project on Boulevard Charest didn't want us, or anyone, to get anywhere fast. Most towns do road construction in phases; close no more than half of a road at a time. On this road, they forced us to exit at EVERY exit, and then get back on. After enduring several tortuous miles of this malarkey, we finally hit the open road and made a beeline for Ontario!
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