Upper Richelieu, to Sorel, and Montreal (one week)

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One of Many Roman Catholic
Churches on The Richelieu 

Small Ferry

Vicki and Daisy
Chill'in on the Richelieu 

We made the trek up to Sorel and finished the Richelieu River.  The trip was beautiful.  Both sides of the river were filled with nice homes, and well landscaped yards.  I actually thought there would be more wilderness areas alongside the river.  I was anxious about entering the St Lawrence River.  As we approached the river I was amazed at the amount of pleasure craft 'playing' on the river.  There were a few freighters,  but I was going down stream just a bit, so no problems here.  We spent the night at the Marina Sorel.  The next morning, we started up the mighty St Lawrence River.  There are two marked routes that you can take on the river.  There is the main channel for shipping, with a current that averages 3-4 knts.  There is also the 'small boat' channel, the current is typically 1-1.5 knts.  The two channels crisscross each other at two locations.  Obviously I took the small boat channel.  We had an easy (mostly) trip up to Montreal. Navigation was okay, but we had to stay on our toes.  When we approached the shipping lanes, we encountered the additional current.

An attempt to show the 6 knot current

As we got closer to Montreal, and in the shipping lane, we encountered the 3-4 knt current.  However, as we got to the rapids just before the Old Port section, (where our marina was located)  the current jumped up to 5-6 knts.  Okay, I cruise at 7.5 knts....... 7.5 minus 6 is 1.5.  Hmmm going to take a long time for the final two miles.  I powered up a bit, but I was still only going 2.2 - 3.8 knts.  Just as you get to the last turn off and get to the Old Port area, the river current drops to zero.  Yup, Zero. Obviously we made it, and it was an interesting (albeit long) time.

Blue Willow at Old Port
Montreal.
Notice the
Starboard tie, Stern in.

Streets of Old Town Montreal

Serious Rib production

These were superb!

Old Port Marina, is very nice, It is located adjacent to the heart of downtown Montreal.  There are many things to walk to, including the waterfront area with its many shops, museums, bistros, and various entertainment booths and centers. While we were there, there was a world class RibFest.  Serious teams making, competing,  and selling awesome ribs (etc).

View east from the mount.

View of remnants of Expo 67

Court of appeals.
Serious doors!

Clock tower on the St Lawerence

Evening descends on Montreal

Art is everywhere.
1% of every construction
project is earmarked for Art.

Vicki Posing.

Like self-service bicycle rentals,
These cars can be rented the same
manner.

I feel like a tourist !

The Old Montreal Olympic site.
The Womens World Cup Soccer
was in town, I was told the place is
in rough shape.

We took an open air bus tour of Montreal.  Actually we had a two day ass so we went on the tour twice.  What a nice, clean, beautiful city.  The historical areas are superb, as are the various ethnic areas.  There is not much remaining of the Olympic area, while, the former Expo 67 area has a lot going on.  The Old Port area has awesome pedestrian walkways.  There are restaurants everywhere, really.  There are over 6,000 restaurants in Montreal.  Many are french, as Montreal is the second highest french speaking country in the world.  Montreal is very diverse, in most all respects.  Communication is typically not a problem, as most residents in Montreal speak at least two languages, with many speaking three or more.

We planned our trip to coincide with Canada Day, which is July 1.  The Old Port area while busy most times, became even more crowded and there were many many more entertainment venues added for all ages.  As I toured a bit of  the city near the Old Port area, via bicycle, it became apparent that the entire city was ready to celebrate.  Between the International Jazz Festival, and Canada Day (not to mention all the other normal attractions, this place was ready to have a celebration.

The old architecture here (and elsewhere) ceases to amaze me.  I simply love looking at the older buildings, the design, and the wonderment as to how did they actually build these amaze me.

This is Montreal City Hall bldg.
Reminds me of the Eisenhower Building in DC. 

The Montreal City Hall Building is truly beautiful.

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We toured two churches in Montreal.

St Josephs Oratory (above).  CLICK for more

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and.....the Notre Dame Basilica (below).  CLICK for more.  Started in 1824, beautiful today.

This is a close-up detail pic, of the vertical columns.
many were 4-6 inches in diameter.  These were so
beautiful, as a series of collections.

 This is the Chapel

  Awesome churches.

Habitat 67

These cubes are very interesting, please read about them here: CLICK for more 

Remnants of Worlds Fair Montreal Expo 67.  "Man and His World"
My Mom, Dad, and younger brother attended the fair.

The Village in Montreal

We were anticipating a significant Fireworks display for the Canada Day celebration.  They moved the display (they were supposed to be immediately in front of the marina we were at), and they were less than spectacular.  They were still nice, but not what I imagined.

Note to some... Verizon has no coverage near Montreal (even with a Canada Plan). We have a Canada (Rogers) phone cannot call across the border, but we can receive texts.  #514 501 3958

Thanks for peeking in on our blog.