Olympic View

,,On Tuesday, I headed to the 1976 Olympic Park.  We can see the tower and stadium from our hotel from.  But, the park is far enough away I had to take the Metro.  Once again, the wonderful concierge at the hotel helped me out.  She gave me a Metro map and circled where to transfer trains and where to get off. Finding the Metro station was harder than riding it.  I seem to lose my bearings underground.  I found a station, not the one I was trying to find, but a station nonetheless. See the pic below of the building where the station is accessed.   I was on my way and the train dropped me off right next to Olympic Park.

It's great going during the off season because there aren't any lines.  I purchased a ticket for the Biodome and the Tower.  The Biodome has for environments for plant and forest life.  The rainforest is beautiful with tropical birds, monkeys and fish.  It was also very steamy!  I was happy to head to a cooler climate.  They were all beautiful but my favorite environment was Northwestern with the fir and birch trees, raccoons and a bobcat.  I LOVED the penguins.  I swear they are trained to pose for tourists.  They are playful and would swim up to the glass by me as if begging me to take pictures.  

Next stop, the tower.  The tower holds the world record for the tallest slanted tower.  It seems to defy gravity.  A funicular takes people up and down the front incline.  The views are spectacular!!!  It's a little bit of a tummy-dropping and ear-popping ride, but in a good way.  The 360 views at the top are incredible.  It was clear day so I could see everything.  It's worth the price of admission.  

After my Olympic adventure, I headed back to Old Montreal and Old Port for a walk. There is an old church across from Old Port that has figures on top that seem to be watching over the water.  It was open yesterday for viewing.  I learned that the church is dedicated to Mary, who protects sailors and their travel.  When sailors encounter rough storms, they often bring in a small boat to hang from the ceiling as a gift of thanks.  There are several boats hanging from the beautiful, ornate ceilings.  The church dates back to 1771.  Beautiful architecture and artwork!

I headed to the square next to see what the street vendors had to offer.  I checked out the art and watched the man making giant soap bubbles.  Delightful watching kids chasing bubbles on a beautiful sunny day.

I capped off my afternoon adventure with a walk along the river.  The have great walking and biking rep trails.   

Eric and I had a pre-dinner cocktail at the hotel's absinthe bar.  I couldn't leave Montreal without having one of their signature drinks - an absinthe and limoncello blend.  We followed it up with dinner at Barraco.  I follow them on Facebook and have been dying to go because they have paella, one of my favorite dishes.  We started with charcuteries, a board of chorizo, prosciutto and salami with olives, pickes and bread.  Eric had the chimmichuri and I had the paella.  It was so good - a smoky dish of saffron seasoned rice with shrimp, scallops, calamari and squid.  I was a little squeamish about the squid at first but it was very good.

With full tummies, we headed back to our room to watch the Habs play.  Lots of hockey excitement around here.  Habs are doing well.