Dinner at CS place early in the morning

We did Couchsurfing at this sketchy girl's place. The whole experience is hard to forget. The picture that describes it all the best would be this. No comments needed!

Mount Royal

I think they say when you have been to Montreal, but haven't been up at Mount Royal then you have seen nothing. It is basically a huge hill in the city of Montreal, immediately west of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the city to which it gave its name. The hill is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentians and the Appalachians. The hill consists of three peaks: Colline de la Croix, Colline d'Outremont and Westmount Summit. It takes some time to get up there, but it is worth, especially four avid tourists like we were.

So long Montreal!

The Olympic Stadium

The Olympic Stadium (French: Stade Olympique de Montréal) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics. The stadium is nicknamed "The Big O", a reference to both its name and to the doughnut-shape of the permanent component of the stadium's roof; "The Big Owe" name has also been used to reference the astronomical cost of the stadium and the 1976 Olympics as a whole.

The stadium is the largest by seating capacity in Canada. After the Olympics, it became the home of Montreal's professional baseball and Canadian football teams. Since 2004, when the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington, D.C., the stadium has no main tenant, and with a history of financial and structural problems, is largely seen as a white elephant. It currently serves as a 65,255 seat multipurpose facility for special events (e.g. concerts, trade shows), and continues to serve as a venue for playoff and Grey Cup games hosted by the Montreal Alouettes. The Montreal Impact also use the stadium on occasion when a larger capacity venue is needed or when the weather restricts outdoor play in the spring months.

The tower incorporated into the base of the stadium, called the Montreal Tower, is the tallest inclined tower in the world at 175 metres (574 ft). The architect was Roger Taillibert.

Read more about the stadium HERE.

Le Phare du Cosmos and a Porte de l'amitié ou La Puerta de la amistad

There is not much to say about this industrial robot-looking design "Le Phare du Cosmos" (1967), which author is Yves Trudeau. It was created for Expo 67 and is located in St. Helen's Island in Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montréal, Quebec. It is massive, bold and safe. I would call it a landmark...by the way, not far from it was another, similar red monument....

which has a very complicated name and goes like that: Porte de l'amitié ou La Puerta de la amistad

This sculpture is made by Sebastián in 1993. It was a gift from Mexico for the 350th anniversary of Montreal's founding. Sebastián, one of Mexico's most prolific sculptors, created this “friendship gate” to represent exchange, passage, and opening. Sculpture erected on the Parterre of Île Sainte-Hélène.

Habitat 67

One of the high-lights of the visit to Montreal was to finally see famous Habitat 67, which is renowned model community and housing complex in Montreal. It was designed by Israeli–Canadian architect Moshe Safdie. It was originally conceived as his master's thesis in architecture at McGill University and then built as a pavilion for Expo 67, the World's Fair held from April to October 1967. It is located at 2600 Avenue Pierre-Dupuy on the Marc-Drouin Quay next to the Saint Lawrence River. Habitat 67 is widely considered an architectural landmark and one of the most recognizable and significant buildings in both Montreal and Canada.Due to mass visit of tourists the property has been covered with many signs stating that this is a private area, no walking in and no taking photos. Security people are really there and working. If there is a conflict in your behavior they let you know about your faults through speakers. Pretty spooky!

More about Habitat 67 HERE.

Montreal Biosphère

One of the things to see in Montreal is definitely Montreal Biosphere. Is is a museum dedicated to the environment. It is located at Parc Jean-Drapeau, on Saint Helen's Island in the former pavilion of the United States for the 1967 World Fair Expo 67. The dome had the outer covering as well, but that burned on May 20th, 1976, during structural repairs. Now they just use the frame around the museum to present the former landmark.

More about the Biosphere HERE.

Montreal downtown

First thing of course we are walking around in the old and some new town. Architecture is interesting, offering, well...new and old. The city has many little cozy bars and artsy little stores - something fro everybody.

We experienced some troubles with our host from Couchsurfing, as their dog ate all things from my bag, even things which are not edible, she tore apart and made a big mess. I was the one to blame of course, as it was my bag. Gee, I didn't know anything of a dog and was noted like that. I have had dogs and they haven't pulled such act...hmmm.