Canada

The great family vacation concluded today as we returned from a week in Canada. We spent Saturday through Tuesday in Montreal, Wed thru Fri. in Toronton and returned today. As far as cities go, I would rank Toronto 2 and 3 respectively as far as my personal favorites (Chicago being #1).

So here are some highlights from vacation:

• I was able to speak a little French in Montreal although I don't think it was received warmly. Since my other family members don't speak French, I got the feeling the Montreal people felt I was trying to show off (I guess). We must have had tourist and American written all over us, we didn't get many hellos, people didn't hold the door for us, I felt like I was in Europe.
• I didn't realize Montreal has 4 colleges/universities in the city, so there are a lot of young people around. Walking around downtown a little Sat. night, Montreal was buzzing with activity, everyone was out.
• Sunday we took a double decker bus tour of the city which was amazing. Montreal has a great mix of old and new, the old, narrow streets right up against the modern skyscrapers gives the city a great feel. There are numerous breathtaking views of the city, hence I have two disposable cameras' worth of pics of Montreal. If I go back, I'm definitely spending more time on the Mont Royal, the hill that overlooks the city.
• The food was good, the shopping was disappointing. It seemed like everything was geared toward 18 year old girls.
• Montreal is very proud of its Olympic heritage, there were multiple exhibits commemorating the 30th anniversary of the 1976 Summer games that were in Montreal. Getting to see Olympic Stadium and Olympic Park was neat, although I'll remember Olympic Stadium for, technically, never getting finished, or at least never being built to its original specifications.
• While there we watched The Da Vinci Code. I can see why it caused such an uproar. I thought it was pretty good. It definitely had me on edge the whole time.
• Other things that made it feel like Europe: the number of smokers, the very public public affection, and how thin the kids were. There's no obesity problem in Montreal. There are a number of parks in the city and they were filled to the max every day.
• Driving to Toronto on Wednesday, the Montreal-Toronto connection is the 401 freeway, one of the most travelled in the world. Around the Toronto airport, the 401 goes 8 wide on each side, the widest freeway in the world, and all 8 lanes are filled during the day. I thought Michigan drivers were bad, Toronto drivers have them beat. The 401 in Toronto might as well be one long amusement park ride.
• Wed. night we took in the 2nd round of the Tennis Masters Canada men's tennis tournament. The featured match involved Rafael Nadal. I would've preferred Agassi or Federer, but Nadal is a great shotmaker and allows the crowd to get involved in the match easily. His hustle, ability, and intensity make him fun to watch. A little sidenote, the Canadian announcers for the event (every match is televised in Canada) are not very good. Where's John McEnroe when you need him?
• Walking around Toronto Thurs. and Fri. brought back great memories and I remember why I loved the city so much when I first visited. Great shops, a lot to do, great energy in the city, clean, little worry about security, just a great place. Our hotel was by the old Maple Leaf Gardens just off of Yonge St.
• I never thought the first professional sports hall of fame I would ever visit would be the Hockey Hall of Fame. Yes, I got my picture taken with the Stanley Cup replica. It was neat seeing all of the various trophies and old jersies, but I'm surprised there wasn't more. There aren't a lot of interactive activities for kids.
• We also went to the Art Gallery which had a special Andy Warhol exhibit which featured some of his work from the 60s. There were no Campbell's Soup cans in this one. There were silk canvas paintings of pics of Liz Taylor and Jackie Kennedy (in fact the audio commentary said Warhol wanted to be Jackie). There were also random video tapes of things that went on in his Studio. And these included your everday naked girl on the couch, a guy getting a blow job, and people making out. I didn't know I was walking into a porn movie. I wonder what would've been worse, the strip clubs on Yonge St. or the Warhol exhibit? Needless to say, I didn't find out. Andy Warhol, interesting guy for sure.
• Watched Over The Hedge in Toronto. Very good movie, very funny, definitely recommend it.

That's all for now, it's nice to be back in the USA.