Ticket to ride

[randy_byers]

Well, Sharee and I have our plane tickets for Montréal, so I guess we're really going to do this. We'll be arriving late on Saturday the 1st, playing tourist in the city for the next few days, then checking in to the Delta Centre Ville on the 6th for the World Science Fiction Convention. I've wanted to go to Montréal for a long time, so this is pretty exciting. Anybody have any recommendations for what to see and do there? The Jardin Botanique is already on the list. It looks like the convention is being held right next door to the old part of the city, Vieux-Montréal.

Comments

[surliminal.livejournal.com]

Well Vieux Montreal is lovely. I mostly remember amazing artisan's markets - i bought LOTS of local jewellery..

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Well, I know somebody who will undoubtedly be interested in the markets.

[johnnyeponymous.livejournal.com]

Hey, if the two of you have a spare evening on Thursday, I'd love it if you joined us at Au Pied d Cochcon for dinner. It's a part of my "Meals with Folks I never See!" series
Chris

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

That sounds great, Chris. When are you getting in?

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Save room for dessert: their "Pot de crème au chocolat noir" is utterly fabulous. There's plenty to share, too. carbonel and I shared one when I was up for Farthing Party two years ago.

Our group's entire meal was tasty and interesting in all good ways. But that dessert was staggeringly good. Yes, they have it to go. I would probably embarrass myself with gratitude if you were to order one for me and bring it back to the Delta. You'll be able to find me in the Reno party, no doubt.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

I'm sure that can be arranged, although my memory may need jogging. I certainly hope it's true that I'll find you in the Reno party (and elsewhere at the con)!

[trinfaneb.livejournal.com]

Mount Royal Park has a special place in my heart for its beauty and also because I impressed a geography professor by mentioning how much it reminded me of Central Park NYC and he looked it up and indeed both were designed by the same guy :)

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Would that be the Olmsted brothers? They also designed some parks in Seattle.

[trinfaneb.livejournal.com]

I was thinking about their father, Frederick Law Olmsted, whose Wikipedia page also credits him with some Seatle park designs, although it seems like his sons did the bulk of the work there. I wasn't aware of the work his sons did until now.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

I've just been reminded that the Olmsted brothers designed part of the University of Washington campus when the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition was held here in 1909. The hundredth anniversary of the expo is being commemorated this year. (According to Wikipedia, it was primarily Frederick's stepson, John Charles Olmsted.)

[trinfaneb.livejournal.com]

A talented family :)

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Yes, the convention center area is close to Old Montreal. Walk toward the river, but don't get discouraged when the first section of the city you see seems deserted. That's because the Banking District is in between the Palais and Vieux-Montreal, so there's a sort of dead zone of a couple of blocks you have to traverse before you head down the hill and toward the river. During my brief walk through the area on the trip I made a couple of months ago, I saw lots of things to look at and plenty of places to eat. I'm only sorry I won't get to try all of the great-looking restaurants.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I had a feeling there wasn't going to be a shortage of interesting restaurants around there. Thanks for the warning about the dead zone.

[stevegreen.livejournal.com]

Montreal fandom is organising a restaurant outing on the Sunday afternoon, if you two feel like joining us.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Going out with locals sounds like a winner. Is this specifically a TAFF thing?

[stevegreen.livejournal.com]

Only in so much as it's being organised to coincide with my visit. Drop a line to cathypl and she'll update you.

[spacecrab.livejournal.com]

I'll be getting in on Wednesday evening 8/5. (Bit the bullet and paid the horrendous airfare.) Look forward to seeing both of you.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Cool! Perhaps you can ask Sharee if she still wants that fanzine column from you.

[kateyule.livejournal.com]

I am seriously looking forward to poutine, or perhaps merguez sausage "avec leur frites", at Frite Alors!

There's discussion of Montréal food over at antici_food, though I haven't really sat down with the information yet.

We get in to Montréal late afternoon on Tuesday the 4th, and are heading to Qeébec City and small-town Eastern Townships after the con.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

I definitely want to try the poutine. Haven't heard of the merguez sausage. Thanks for the food pointer!

[onyxlynx (from livejournal.com)]

You'd have to work to find bad food in Montréal. Although I haven't been there in thirty years, last time the food ranged from excellent to merely very good.

There were music clubs around McGill U; there should be new ones now. If you do museums, there's Place des Artes. If you do subways, there's the Métro, and it is fine. There is or used to be a planetarium down by Gare Windsor. The hockey Holy of Holies is near Atwater.

If you had a month, you still wouldn't have enough time in Montréal!

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

So I guess I'll just stick a fork in it. Thanks for the tip about the music scene. The guidebook I have claims the subway is slow and prone to delays. Hm.

By the way, do I know you?

Um, Yeah, Actually

[onyxlynx (from livejournal.com)]

Which is to say we've shared meals at Potlatch in Seattle and you send me Chunga, which hides when I want to LoC it, like now, but otherwise I am a mere acquaintance who stops by about once every six months and is moved to comment about half the time.

I don't remember the subway being slow, but it has been a while. Map here.

Re: Um, Yeah, Actually

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Okay, I think I have a pretty good idea who you are now. And yeah, the Metro is brilliant. We got week passes, and we got our money's worth within two days.