|
|
Our second full day in Montreal
was set aside for the tourist destinations of the BioDome, the
BioSphere, and Old Montreal (Vieux Montreal). From the Marriott we
walked down to the connected subway and retraced our route back to
the baseball stadium from the Expos game last night. The subways are
interesting, in that they run on rubber tires instead of train
tracks. They are, essentially, underground electric busses. Of course
the stations and the cars are impeccably clean, like everything in Canada. |
|
 The
Biodome
is interesting and a bit bizarre. The building is the remnant of the
1976 Olympics Velodrome, which has now been recast as a biodiversity
museum, divided into and highlighting four separate ecological
environments. It was extremely informative for Jesse.
The building directly abuts the Expo's baseball stadium and is on the
same grounds as the Maurice Richard arena and near the botanical
gardens (Jardin Botanique) and insectarium (. I could easily identify
and recall each of these vast public works projects as remnants of
the 1976 Summer Olympics.
It was easy to reach the Biodome, using the same subway station
("Pius IX") that we used the previous night for the Expos game. |
|
This picture shows Jesse in front of the BioDome building, loomed
over by "The Tower" (Tour Montreal), the Baseball stadium's roof-blanket
 support
pillar. "La Tour" offers a cable car to its observation
deck, but the stadium area is far enough away from downtown that we
decided to skip it. The roof-blanket was designed to raise and lower
and thus be able to open or close based on the weather.
Unfortunately, technical problems and heavy snow caused it to jam and
tear, and eventually it was sealed shut, such that all Expos baseball
games are now played 'indoors'. |
|
 The
four zones within the BioDome were interesting and educational, but
I enjoyed the penguin area the most. It must have been spring that
particular day, as several of the larger male penguins were facing
off in ritualistic battles for territory. It was a hoot to watch them
strut and prance and generally interact so vociferously. |
|
 A
quick metro ride and we were at Ile Ste Helen / Ile Notre Dame,
islands directly in the St Lawrence across from downtown. These days
the LaRonde amusement park and the Montreal Casino reside here, but
just 30 short years ago, it was the site of Expo '67, the event that
put Montreal on the map, so to speak. Most of expo has long been
dismantled or demolished, but the original US pavilion still stands
and has been recycled as the 'BioSphere'. |
|
 Today,
the BioSphere is a
museum, partially in partnership with the Jacques Cousteau society,
offering some mildly interesting educational presentations on nature.
I mostly enjoyed the river and city views from the building upper
levels through the grid. The big dome was originally covered in a
clear plastic skin, which caught fire and burned off in some
spectacular film footage shown in the museum. Today it is open to the
elements but the day and the scenery were beautiful. |
|
 To
end the day, we took the subway to Vieux-Montreal ("Old
Montreal") and walked about. We visited the famous Notre Dame
Basilica, with its spectacular blue altar, then an early dinner. Lyn
and Jesse went back to rest. I snapped some pictures of the street
performers and old buildings with their cobblestone streets. I
dallied at Bon Secours Market (Marche Bonsecours) and walked through
Chinatown (Quartier Chinois). We joined up at the Marriott for one
last walk around (in the slight drizzle) before going to bed.
Tomorrow we would have a car! |
|
|
   |
|
|
|
|
Original Web Upload December 2000
Last Update: December 20, 2004 |
|
|
Montreal on Foot / BioDome & BioSphere