Celebrating the New Year in Montreal (Part 3)

Index:

• Celebrating the New Year in Montreal (Part 1)
• Celebrating the New Year in Montreal (Part 2)
• Celebrating the New Year in Montreal (Part 3)
• Celebrating the New Year in Montreal (Part 4)

Sunday, January 1
This was my last full day in Montreal and I still had a lot to see and do across the city.  It being New Year’s Day wasn’t going to help me though it seemed.  After getting up and taking advantage of the free breakfast in the lobby I figured my first stop would be the Montreal Biosphere in Parc Jean-Drapu.  The ride on the metro doesn’t take that long and soon enough I was on a quiet island.  Seriously there really was not any one out here and as I approached the Biosphere I found out that it was closed.  With nothing better to do, I walked around for a little bit and played in the snow in order to make a mini-snowman!  I haven’t done that in a number of years, so yeah it took me back a bit.

Montreal Biosphere

Snowman!

With no biosphere to do I figured that I would make my way across town in search of lunch.  I had heard about the various markets across Montreal being good for picking up a bite to eat while perusing the various goods.  As a result I made my way towards Marché Jean-Talon.  Problem was that once I found the place, it was closed until January 3rd.  I didn’t know at the time that they were all closed, so I then headed to Marché Atwater and that as well was closed up for the holiday.  I was starting to feel defeated in my search, so I popped out my Montreal guide and discovered a place called Reuben’s Deli.  It appears that it is a well known place for smoked meat (similar to pastrami) – and it was pretty good.  The sandwich was stacked rather high which caused the top slice of bread to be a bit difficult to balance on the meat, but overall pretty top notch.

Reuben's Deli - Smoked Meat

Since the restaurant also has wifi, I took advantage of that to figure out my next move considering it was already around 1:30pm.  Not knowing what would be open with already experiencing a day of failure, I figured I would try the Montreal Biodome.  Actually, my luck turned for the better and it was actually open!  The various habitat rooms were all very interesting, but the first room which was the tropical room was impossible to use my DSLR in.  The lens just kept fogging up from the humidity.  Even my point and shoot took a while before I could even use it in there.  Also, as a Floridian, I wasn’t impressed by the small gators.  Rooms with some Canadian habitats were more interesting and of course Penguins – how can you not like Penguins.  They’re birds too cool to fly and swim and jump and hop and everything else.  One looked like it had a cast or something on its foot.  It really was starting to get dark outside, so I opted to head next door to the Stade Olympique (Olympic Stadium).

Biodome + Stade Olympique

Flags Outside the Stadium - Interesting In That Several Are of Defunct Countries

Biodome - Birds!

I Think This Penguin Just Discovered That He Can't Fly...

I made one mistake in how I purchased my tickets.  Going into the Biodome I wasn’t fully sure if I would go up to the top of the tower at the Olympic Stadium, so I bought a ticket just for that.  I could have saved a few bucks if I had purchased a combination ticket for the two – a tip for those out there looking to do both.  Anyways, back to the stadium, you ride a funicular that runs along 266 meters of track to the top of the observation tower which on a good day gives you a view of much of Montreal.  Today, however was not a very good day and on top of that it was starting to get dark.  I could make out Mount Royal in the distance and what appeared to be downtown Montreal, but quite honestly I couldn’t make sense of anything.  Not even looking through my telephoto lens helped me make anything out below, but then the weather probably contributed to that as well.

Going Up To The Top

Downtown Montreal - From La Tour de Montréal

By the time I got back down the base it was now dark and time to get back to the hotel.  I had no clue what I wanted for dinner, so after dropping my backpack off and getting cleaned up I wandered around the old city trying to figure it out.  I spent way too long looking and ultimately settled on Les 3 Brasseurs.  The place was packed and the only spot I could get at the bar.  Despite my sitting right in front of a register, it was difficult getting service.  I understand being packed, but pretty much ignoring a customer is certainly not a way to earn a decent tip.  On the plus side, they eventually did get to me and I ordered some sort of beer and a lamb sandwich, which was ok, but nothing overly fantastic either.

The night was still early and I wasn’t anywhere near being done with the night.  I had heard that there were some bars out by Concordia University and since the Montreal app on my phone listed McKibbin’s Irish Pub as a place with beers and the occasional live music, I headed there.  Unfortunately, everyone must have still been recovering from the previous night, because it wasn’t very busy and there was no live music that night.  The beer selection was decent and I snacked on an appetizer as I watched a game on TV.

Still not being satisfied with the night I figured I’d do something I’ve actually never done before: go to a Casino.  Seriously, it was my first time and as a first-timer it was a bit of an overload at the Casino de Montréal.  There truly are slot machines everywhere and other odd machines in what seems like hallway after hallway in a maze that is designed to keep you from escape.  Worst part was that I didn’t pay the best attention to where I entered and since (I believe) that the casino is really three different buildings connected together, its not hard at all to get turned around.  I admit that I stuck mostly to machines during my visit there and that I allowed myself to only what was in my wallet (probably around $30 CAD), but it was fun to say the least, but it was fun.  I was probably feeding off some of the energy of those really into it (especially while roaming the poker floor), but it was rather fascinating.  Never did find that glass floor though…

By the time it hit midnight, I knew I needed to start heading back to the hotel since I was relying on public transit, despite the casino being open 24 hours.  The next day would be my last in Montreal and in reality I still had a few things I wanted to do in the morning before I headed to the airport.  If I had stayed out any later, I would probably have screwed up those plans.