Another glorious day. I had breakfast at the hostel, and
then called United to find out about my suitcase. The automated service advised
me that the suitcase had left the airport and was on its way to the address in
record. So I sat with my computer, writing a paper review, until finally at
10:30 I gave up, annoyed to wasting my time in Montreal. So I rented a bike for $20 for the
day, and off I went.
I came down the hill to the St. Lawrence River, right to the
old port of Montreal. Like in San Francisco, the wharves have been
converted into more gentrified uses. The one that caught my attention was the Science Museum,
which was advertising a special exhibition of the cave paintings of Lascaux, in
the Dordogne region of France.
So I parked the bike, paid the entrance fee, and was transported into one of
the most interesting museums I have seen. The first part dealt with the
discovery of Lascaux in the late 1940’s, and
with the development until the 1960’s, when it was discovered that the influx
of tourists was damaging the paintings. First the visits were restricted, but
the people kept coming in droves (and were quite unhappy when they were turned
away), so the French government created a copy of the cave (with narrow
passages and all), and had an army of artists reproduce the marvelous
paintings. Fast forward 50 years, and now they have the technology to create
computer models, and quite precise replicas of the walls of the cave, and that
is precisely on display at the Science
Museum. Before they let
you into the “cave”, however, you get to see all sorts of cool displays and
films about the techniques used by the Cromagnon artists who painted marvelous
herds of reindeer, bulls in battle, horses running through the country, and a
large black Aurochs cow. It is only after you are steeped in admiration for the
techniques and details that you walk into a hall where the individual walls
have been recreated, and where the paintings jump out of the rock at you, that
you realize the magnificence of the art created 19,000 years ago. It was a
fabulous experience.
After that I followed the river for a while, but I had it in
my mind that I wanted to find a Target store, where I thought I could buy a
cheap pre-paid cell phone, and that took me back into downtown. I did find a
Target, but they didn’t have anything and sent me further into downtown to a
cell phone store. At the end I found that yes, I could buy a phone for the
month I was here, but the price tag was too high, and I don’t have anyone to
call anyway, so I finally gave up.
I went back to the river and started going on the opposite
direction, intent on crossing the bridge Jacques Cartier over the St. Lawrence
River to get to the Ile Sainte.-Hellene
and Ile Notre-Dame, two small islands
in the middle of the river, who are one of the big recreational spaces of Montreal. Getting over
the river was tough, because the bridge rises and rises to a high point before coming back down to the
islands. Great views, though. Once in the island I went to visit the Stewart Museum, which occupies the old munitions
depot of the British when they took over the French possessions in the 18th
century. The museum had a great exhibition about the history of discovery and
conquest of French Canada, from the first nations all the way to the formation
of the two Canadas
(French and English), and the final consolidation of the country in the mid 19th
century. I was lucky enough to have a guided tour of one, and kept up with my
Quebecois guide for the first half. But then other people joined us, and he
started speaking so fast, and using Quebecois accent and words, that my poor
brain went blank. Very nice young man, but boy could he speak fast!
I spent the rest of the afternoon touring the islands, and I
plan to go back tomorrow because they are having an International Festival,
with booths from all over the world. I forgot to mention that Ile
Sainte-Hellene was enlarged for the World Expo of 1967, so there are all sorts
of interesting buildings, left over from the Expo. A very interesting one is a
geodesic dome that hosts the Museum of the Environment. It was too late to
visit it, but I may give it a go tomorrow.
Back at the hostel I fell in conversation with a fellow from
New Orleans, who had just arrived and was
planning on spending two weeks in
Montreal.
We exchanged stories and he mentioned that he was planning on buying a bike for
the two weeks. Well, I told him, I happen to have a friend who is in the
business of selling or renting bikes, and he is coming to deliver me a bike in
half hour. So he came down with me, and together we waited for Stephane (Stephane
Lapointe-VELO-BIKE
bikes@pistescyclables.ca www.stephanelapointe.com) He arrived in good time at 8:30 pm, as we had
previously arranged, in his van, which is actually a fully equipped bike shop.
He took his time showing me the two bikes he had brought for me, and it just so
happened that the one I didn’t choose was just right for
Jordan, so we
both got to do business. I cannot emphasize enough that Stephane is a bicycle
wiz, and very knowledgeable about routes and the best way to enjoy a bicycling
vacation in
Quebec.
If you ever come this way, he is your man.
At the end I bought from him a great aluminum-frame bike,
fully accessorized with fenders, rack, basket, trip computer, lights, and spare
inner tube for $350, which was a total bargain. Now that I have my
expeditionary vehicle the adventure is ready to start!
P.S. United delivered my suitcase without a hitch, but now
that I look at all the stuff I brought I am beginning to wonder how am I going
to carry all that stuff in a single bike!
