Day 17, 18 and 19: Montreal and Ottawa City Trips

On the 17th day, we went to Square One mall. I felt like I was shopping inside the Galleria (Makati). Well the configuration is similar to Galleria Malls and even some of the lay-outs of the tenants and parking area. My cousin's kids had their haircuts!

We left Mississuaga for Montreal at 730pm on the same day and arrived Quebec at 1:30am. We stayed at Holiday Inn (Express) at suite accommodation. My cousin managed to get ½ price of the second night stay and fair enough the place is excellent for families. I slept in the sofa bed and I really enjoyed my stay considering that the hotel has as free wireless internet connection. I had the chance to finalise my report and sent it to my supervisors by email.

Well, on our first day, after we took our free breakfast at the hotel, we immediately proceeded to St Joseph Oratory. It was easy to find it using the newly purchased GPS gadget. The place is really interesting and well-recommended for people who have devotion to St Joseph, the father of Jesus. Later on, we went to the popular bakery for "Bagel". Believe it or not, a long line of people waiting to be served for delicious bagels! I love the chocolate ones, including the salmon filling. My cousin was telling me that, without tasting the bagel, it means you did not visit Quebec!

By the way, everybody speaks French in Quebec, even traffic signs and posts are in French! Generally, the city centre is not busy because of the weather, and it seems that the streets are bumpy most of the time. Houses are painted in bright colours with winding steel staircases in the front leading to the second floor of the houses. Maybe, a replica of French architecture!

After that, we had a quick tour to the Olympic Stadium of Montreal – the place where 1976 summer games took place. I was really excited to get in the stadium and grab some souvenirs, but we can not find a good parking area and besides side streets were covered with snow! From a distance, my first impression to this huge sports complex is like a space ship.

Later on, we had a quick shopping in Costco and proceeded to the hotel for a rest. After taking a short break, we decided to go out and had the last evening French mass at Notre-Dame Basilica. This church is stunning especially the altar area. We did buy some souvenirs in the nearby shops and again it is expensive for T-shirts!

Early in the evening, we had our dinner just near the hotel and again we tasted the "Smoked Tuna sandwich" which another food to taste while in Montreal. It was a lovely dinner and the owner and the waitress of the restaurant were kind to serve us at the last costumer.

That night, I had a bad condition – running nose and sneezing! Frankly, I don’t drink tablets to stop, but since I can not bear anymore of it and not to spoil my sleep and to contain it to myself (considering that there are two kids which are vulnerable for colds), I took a tablet of Claritin and took one after 12 hours.

The following day (19th day), we woke early, packed our things and had our breakfast. We checked out and using the GPS gadget, we left Quebec and after two hours, we arrived our next destination, Ottawa. The roads were ok and not much of traffic along the way.

By the way, everybody speaks French in Quebec, even traffic signs and posts are in French! Generally, the city centre is not busy because of the weather, and it seems that the streets are bumpy most of the time. Houses are painted in bright colours with winding steel staircases in the front leading to the second floor of the houses. Maybe, a replica of French architecture!

After that, we had a quick tour to the Olympic Stadium of Montreal – the place where 1976 summer games took place. I was really excited to get in the stadium and grab some souvenirs, but we can not find a good parking area and besides side streets were covered with snow! From a distance, my first impression to this huge sports complex is like a space ship.

Later on, we had a quick shopping in Costco and proceeded to the hotel for a rest. After taking a short break, we decided to go out and had the last evening French mass at Notre-Dame Basilica. This church is stunning especially the altar area. We did buy some souvenirs in the nearby shops and again it is expensive for T-shirts!

Early in the evening, we had our dinner just near the hotel and again we tasted the "Smoked Tuna sandwich" which another food to taste while in Montreal. It was a lovely dinner and the owner and the waitress of the restaurant were kind to serve us at the last costumer.

That night, I had a bad condition – running nose and sneezing! Frankly, I don’t drink tablets to stop, but since I can not bear anymore of it and not to spoil my sleep and to contain it to myself (considering that there are two kids which are vulnerable for colds), I took a tablet of Claritin and took one after 12 hours.

The following day (19th day), we woke early, packed our things and had our breakfast. We checked out and using the GPS gadget, we left Quebec and after two hours, we arrived our next destination, Ottawa. The roads were ok and not much of traffic along the way.

We did not stay long in Ottawa – the capital city of Canada. We immediately proceeded to the Parliament Hill and climbed to the chamber where the bells are housed. The main building's interior is impressive and well-maintained. Highly- recommended to visit the place in summer. Took some photographs and left the city centre back to Toronto. It took us another 4.5 hours to finally reach our destination, but this time to attend a b-day party. It was a foggy late afternoon and I met some of my hometown friends and exchanged stories about our lives. We did not stay long and we finally drove back to my cousin's house after long hours of driving from Ottawa.