Rowing in Montreal

The Genesee Rowing Club went to The Canadian Masters Championships in Montreal.  
I tagged along.

Montreal

Mary was not scheduled to participate, but Beth's motorcycle was attacked by a car.  She only remembers seeing that the car was in front of her.  Fortunately, Beth is tougher than that stinking auto, and should recover completely from the broken vertebrae and impressive road rash.

From the bridge connecting one of the islands to the other in Parc Jean-Drapeau, former site of Expo 67 and the 1976 Olympics.   
Note the fisherman.

Buckminster Fuller's geodesic Biosphere still dominates the site.

I thought it would be nice to see Montreal again.  I was 14 when my parents took the family to Expo 67.  The trip was particularly memorable because I had a huge zit on the right side of my nose.  It was the biggest blemish I ever had, and as an adolescent, I was certain it was the largest and ugliest facial anomaly in recorded history.   I recovered, but it is interesting to note that the same location was occupied by a much less temporary growth that the dermatologist recently dispatched. 

Was hoping to see the view from the top of this tower in the park,
but it was closed for a party.  And they didn't invite me.

No  idea what the purpose of these interesting structures could be.
Must be art.

When the family was in Montreal for the World's Fair, my father mentioned that though we had been to Montreal, we really had not seen much of the city.  I decided not to repeat that mistake.

The stands at the Bassin Olympique rowing course were falling into a bit of disrepair.

The Genesee Rowing Club Women's Quad awaiting the start.

One of the races in progress.
The monstrosity in the background is a casino.

This notice was on the boathouse.
I think they were harassing me, but I'm not sure.

Jen and Mary after their first race.

One of the spectators for the races.

If you row, you know what these are.

This is the view of the Olympic Stadium from our hotel room.  

The second day, Mary and the crew went off to race again, but I decided to explore the city.  For their benefit, of course, so they would not waste time on unworthy venues once they were finished with racing.

Place Emilie Gamelin was created to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the city.
The metal fountains were disturbingly like what I saw at ground zero on 12-11-2001.

Stairs to the dentist's office.

The quiet end of Rue Notre Dame.
Took me quite awhile to figure out this church was not Notre Dame.

Vieux Montreal (Old Montreal) from the waterfront.

The amount of water moving on the St. Lawrence River is impressive.
The boat is moving almost completely sideways downriver.

The building hosts a cafe at the old port.
The placid ponds are well above river level.

Shall I open my cafe today?

On Rue Jacques Cartier

Outstanding topiary designs in front of City Hall.

One of the designs close up.

Looking over Champ de Mars, the site of an old fort and gathering place denoted by the piano key stones.
The Montrealers are constantly digging up old forgotten foundations when they try to build new structures.

Notre Dame at Place d"Armes

The interior

The amazing woodwork of the pulpit.
It was all I could do to keep from hurdling the "Do not enter" sign
just to run up the narrow curving stairway.

And the Oscar for best colored lighting design goes to...

They use this organ to call the Batman.

At the street fair where all the vendors were in period garb, selling period wares.

The Nike booth.

The guy on the right is a strange instrument specialist.
I had never seen or heard a hurdy-gurdy before.

Spider webs on the junipers.

Lots of great old buildings in Montreal
Rue de la Commune Ouest

The soldiers at the street festival assembled while the commander shooed away the crowd.

Fusiller!

This poor man failed to get out of the way.

I met a man of letters outside the art museum.

Looking down on the city from part way up Mont Royal

I returned to the site of the rowing just in time to see the GRC Women's 8 head down to the start.

The Genesee Rowing Club Women's 8 on the way to the start.

Cheering the others

Sporting their gold.

Who knew?  Coach Will is a metallurgist.

Montreal is hoppin'.  If Rue St. Catherines isn't enough for you, try Rue Crescent.  No shortage of nightlife in this burg.

At night on Rue St. Catherine.
The line to get in was around the block.

A street lounger

A stairway to nowhere under the pink strings of spheres.

The strings over the street went on for a kilometer.
Their sympathetic vibrations never stopped, no matter the wind conditions.

Place Viger,  once train station and hotel, no longer as important as it once was.
Impressive building, nonetheless.

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With the races complete, we headed back to the States on the main highway south.  Due to the congestion at the border, we got to inspect the improvements on the pavement engineering of Mr. John MacAdam for almost an hour.  Next time we drive to a different crossing.

Finally beyond the imaginary line between countries, we headed to Clinton County, where we met my friend John and his wife Kelly at Clinton Community College.  John is the justifiably proud President of the College.  As First Lady, Kelly is responsible for making sure John does the right thing.

A portion of Clinton Community College, too big for my wide angle lens.

Once a resort for the wealthy, a long series of events including the invention of air conditioning has allowed the building to become an edifice of higher education.

Fabulous view of Lake Champlain from the heights on which the college sits.

Mary was so kind as to drive as I recovered from my conversation with John.  We returned home late, but very happy to have been able to experience the most European of North American cities and to also have had the bonus of seeing long-term-but-not-old friends as well.