I went to meet Buffy at the airport and we got her sorted in
the hotel before a walk around the local area. We started off with Crescent
Street, which yesterday was just a normal street, but today had been turned
into a mini carnival, complete with pit lane girls, fast cars and a few free
drink trial giveaways. We had a laugh trying the free Baileys and Lager drinks,
before hanging out at the stage at the top of the street where at 6pm Kimi
Raikkonen appeared to sign a few autographs. It was a fun hour and continued as
we took a further walk around the outside of the Art museum as I showed Buffy
some of the things I had seen the previous day.
Later on as we headed back to the pub for dinner we heard a
bit of shouting and suddenly there were riot police everywhere and the all too
familiar taste of CS gas hit my throat as a load of student protestors ran away
from the police in our direction. We spent a few minutes watching the melee as
the police and protestors had a few shouting matches and charges at one another
before it all died down and we finally headed for dinner – a little bit of
excitement for the end of the day.
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| Me and a Lotus |
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| Kimi! |
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| I predict a riot |
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| So do they! |
The next morning and we were up early and out on the tube,
heading for The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and the Canadian Grand Prix Practice.
It was all going well, with hardly anyone else about until we got the tube going
across to the circuit, where we were piled in one on top of another to a
completely full train. Then when we reached the circuit itself we had to queue
for about 45 minutes to pick up our pre-paid tickets. That’s not bad though as
it was pretty disorganised and some unfortunate people had joined the wrong
queue and had to start over again, with another long wait ahead. We then made
it to the circuit in time to see the last half hour of the first practice
session. It was a good start as we managed to find a good spot, right next to
the track where we could see all the cars very closely. All too soon the
session was over though and so we had a good wander around the entire circuit,
accidentally coming across the pit lane area just across the track from us
before finding a great little spot right next to one of the stands. It was down
a small pathway and not a lot of people found it. It did however have a great
view over two corners of the circuit and so we spent the next 2 hours there,
watching session 2 of the practice. Buffy seemed to be really enjoying the
thrill of the fast cars and loud noise as I was.
The session was all finished about 3.30pm and we decided to
miss the queues for the tube and instead walk back to town across the road
bridge. It was a good choice as the next half hour was mental!! We saw a cloud
enveloping the city about a mile away and knew it was going to rain soon. But
we didn’t expect what came – winds that gusted to about 70mph, thunder and
lightning and rain that came horizontally across the river and soaked us
through with absolutely nowhere to hide. Buffy had her new triple gortex coat
on and kept reasonably dry, where I had my zero gortex t-shirt which was soaked
in about 5 seconds. I did have Buffy’s umbrellas but that lasted about a minute
in the wind and helped only to keep the rain out of my eyes.
Finally the worst of the rain passed and we continued our
walk back home. It was a lot more fun that standing nose to tit in a tube train
full of strangers though!
After drying off and having a rest we went out to a lovely
little French cafe that Buffy was recommended by a friend of hers, It was
brilliant – apart from the French lady not understanding me saying ‘beer’, but
being fully conversant when Buffy said it! The food was great – I had duck,
Buffy had chicken and it was delicious. A great little find and a lovely little
place to eat with a few of the locals. It was also just away from the hustle
and bustle of the main streets.
Saturday it was F1 Qualifying day and so we headed out early
to another recommended place – Schwartz’s Deli – traditional Jewish style deli,
with hand prepared meats and a cool 1950’s feel about the place, with communal
tables and a menu that hasn’t changed since before I was born. We went for the popular
corned beef sandwich. But this was different from normal corned beef – Slabs of
beef, cured over time and cooked to perfection with mustard, pickle and fries
on the side. We ate with our fingers and loved it as the meat dripped out of
the sandwich onto the plate. Another brilliant choice, not only for the food
but the atmosphere, service and the actual look of the place too.
Finally we wandered around the harbour area, climbing up
into the clock tower I had passed the other day and checking out the large
yachts that have appeared in the harbour. It was a great day out, on a lovely
sunny afternoon and a shame it had to end.
In the evening we ventured out again – this time up the hill of Mount
Royal Park, to watch the sun setting over the city. It was a beautiful summers
evening and we even saw racoons right under the lookout waiting for food from
all the humans above to be dropped to them, before we walked back down the hill
in the dark to get a well deserved drink.
When we returned we did notice a particularly strange
fashion statement. One bloke had decided that instead of having his arse
hanging out of his jeans, he would pull up his two pairs of underwear (yes, he
had two pairs of pants on), to his midriff, to show off the makes – Calvin
Klein and Quiksilver. There is only one word for how he looked – ridiculous.
But he made us laugh at least!
The race wasn’t the
most interesting race ever, but with Buffy shouting for Ferrari and me McLaren,
we had fun taking the piss out of each other as they moved up and down the
field. In the end, a great pit stop tactic from Lewis Hamilton, gave him the
edge over Alonso and Vettel, passing them both and winning the race. I was well
happy with a McLaren win, but with Jensen Button coming well down the field we
called it a draw between us two. A long hot walk back to the city followed,
during which time we searched for a swimming pool on the internet to spend a
lazy day at tomorrow, which is due to be even hotter. Then a lazy night with a
pizza and some TV followed. It’s been a hectic, busy, fun, hot and belly
filling weekend in Montreal and it’s been great.
We spent all Monday back on the Ile le Notre Dame. It was
cloudy when we arrived and so we had a little look around the Biosphere, which
is a massive, sphere shaped cage like building, which houses a museum about
ecology and saving the earth. However, due to this global warming, it was by
now a lovely sunny day, so we knobbed off the museum and went next door to the
beautiful outdoor pool, where we spent the whole afternoon. It was a relaxing lovely
afternoon with dips into the cool waters interspersed with lazing about
enjoying the warm weather. It was just what we needed.
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