Waiter, there's a bug in my drink

Clem, Pascal & I headed out for supper yesterday evening. These guys are a gay couple I've known for many years. We thought we'd get a little exercise in and take a walk on Mount Royal for a bit and then head down to the Plateau to find a place to eat. It turned out to be a really nice time.

I haven't really been to the mountain in several years which is a shame because it is basically a massive park and quite quiet and relaxing. We drove up from Cote des Neiges which was really odd to me since in all my life I've never approached the mountain from the west side. Once parked and out we thought we'd head over to the lookout then stroll down to Beaver Lake before going to the Plateau.

There were lots of tourists. I think I heard every language but English and French there. Everyone was getting pics of themselves in front of the skyline. Arabs, Chinese, Hispanics and several unknown European languages. A veritable United Nations of people up there last night.

The view was nice as always. The skyline has changed over the years but it's not all that much different. A few new skyscrapers here and there and just generally more of them be they small or large. The mountain is the ceiling level where no skyscraper can be built higher. The aim to not block out the view of it from downtown and I guess the South Shore. Also visa versa from the mountain to the other side of the river. I'm not totally in agreement with this because in the end you might get two 30 story office towers instead of one 6o story so ultimately there could be just so many buildings it becomes congested and that might block out more general viewing than a handful of very tall buildings. This canyon effect can ruin the ambiance of downtown in my opinion. There's not much to worry about though, Montreal hasn't doubled its population in my lifetime and there doesn't seem to be so much economic activity that there's any need for 60 or 80 story office towers anyway.

Lots of nice flowers up there. I have an 8' high sunflower growing like a beanstalk in my back yard... here's the city's smaller version (mine isn't out yet).






So here's some pics of the cityscape view;











Here's a nice panorama of the skyline






It's actually even nicer at night with all the lights on but still it's a classic image of Montreal that's usually shown to the world when my city is showcased somewhere.

Clem took a pic of me up there... so here's my ugly mug LOL :






Anyhow we then walked over to Lac des Castors (Beaver Lake). All my life it's been rumored the lake was the crater of an ancient volcano. I've since heard none of this was true but I'm really not sure to be honest. It would really have to be ancient though if so.

The Lake however was a huge disappointment. Normally this is a very pretty site filled with people relaxing, getting their feet cooled off and lots of ducks and so forth... but today it was practically dried up thanks to all the heat we've had this summer. There is a water shortage in parts of the city. The walkway around it was a crumbling mess and the building at the far end of it was being renovated. It needs a total renovation actually. So hardly impressive for anyone let alone the tourists. I really don't understand where the city puts it's money sometimes. It sure isn't going here nor is it going into road repair... they city's a crumbling mess in some ways. I know snow and frost damages a lot of the infrastructure but come on, we're not that poor we can't maintain it. God knows Quebecers pay enough taxes, more than most places in Canada. The touristy areas are the one part you want to keep updated, clean and nice especially on the mountain. If anyone comes to this city Old Montreal and Mount Royal are the two places everyone has to see if nothing else. Last night though I would have taken them from the viewing platform straight down to Vieux Montreal and skipped the lake...

Here's a pic at sunset with St Joseph's Oratory way in the background.






Some people exercising too.. lots of joggers and cyclists.






...the dog is cute :)

We parked on St-Hubert in the Plateau. Lucky us, it's one of the most difficult places in the city to find free parking. We walked along ave. Mont-Royal doing some window shopping. They've got the most colourful and imaginative stores along there. Finally we ended up on rue St-Denis, the city's most well known night time street. Tons of restaurants from all over the world, lots of bars and beautiful unique stores. Mont-Royal and St-Denis is a bit to north for the best places. It's several kilometers long actually. We went even a bit higher if not to the very top where any of this activity would begin. Actually I think we ended up in the Brazilian section of the city if I'm not mistaken.. several Brazilian bars and restaurants were along there. We passed one we went to a few years ago in fact... ought to go back really, it was good.

We picked a restaurant called Ouzerie du Plateau. It was a large urban chic Greek bistro with a wine list from here to Athens. I ordered salmon, Clem had Octopus and Calamari and Pascal, Crevettes. I also took a garden salad to begin but it was a meal in itself. Neither of them were overwhelmed with their meals but mine was delicious. So was the white wine Clem ordered. After the meal I had with some home made Greek yogurt with honey and nuts as well as a Grand Marnier, Clem had a tart/pie which he didn't like... so they were disappointed but I really couldn't complain. This is typical of us.. I often order things in new restaurants I'm at least vaguely familiar with and hard to get wrong. lf they get my choices wrong then the place really is no good. They really ought to learn from me LOL.

We talked about their mini vacation they just took. They headed down to the Gaspé and then to New Brunswick. Pascal is from the South shore of the St Lawrence just west of Quebec City in fact. They made the entire trip around the peninsula including Percé and an incredible bird sanctuary. Then they went into New Brunswick and checked out Magnetic Hill (which they said was a rip-off) and the Bay Of Fundy as well as some really beautiful beaches. I've spent a lot of time in Nova Scotia and PEI but just passed through New Brunswick on the way. My parents had their honeymoon at Percé in the Gaspé many many years ago actually. One day I'll make that trip too... just riding up to LaPocatiere the view across the St Lawrence as it widens in spectacular!! So beautiful with rolling hills and little villages and church steeples... quite the site.

Anyhow we had a good time there even if it was typically noisy. My Grand Marnier had a bug in it though which I noticed as we were talking about the Maritimes.. the waitress was mortified when I showed her and got me a new one LOL. She joked about it when she asked if she could get us anything else with or without bugs. He he.. oh well, it was summer and in Montreal when it's hot like this everything is open air so these things happen.. just like in the Plaka in Athens. This place would have went well in the Plaka actually... brought back some nice memories of it for me :) I really have to go back to Athens one day.

We then headed out for a drink downtown and called it a night. It's rare I see them on a Saturday night so kinda neat.