Saturday was slow going after being out so late, but we dragged ourselves out to meet up with Michael’s friend Vani who we convinced to accompany us on a long walk that eventually took us through the Old Port.
But first, some sculpture. Here is a sculpture of a hand on Michael’s coffee table:
Michael had many opportunities to buy more hands that weekend, but he resisted. I still think a hand collection would be creepy and fun. And here is Michael posing with a sculpture of a woman and a child:
I’d still prefer a sculpture of a woman breast-feeding a child, but I don’t think anyone would find that all too scandalous there. Here is a cow:
And here I am reclining on the cow:
I wanted to ride it, but restrained myself.
I love when birds poop on statues of famous important dudes:
I’d tell you who that is, but I wasn’t really paying attention. I was too bemused by this cat on a leash:
If you look behind this sculpture, beyond the pool you can see a subway entrance modeled after Hector Guimard’s Art Nouveau Paris Metro entrances:
This is outside the convention center. The park off to the right produces mist in the warmer months via grates. I loved the way the colors reflected off the building and into the water and onto the trees.
We randomly came across a piece of the Berlin Wall:
We passed a random wedding reception set-up and I liked these rows of red and orange cacti that were going to be center pieces (ignore Vani’s leg):
Here we are down in the Old Port area where the feel of the buildings is decidedly European:
We passed some art galleries and were struck by the work of Charest at the Blanche Galerie D’Art. They had just ended an exhibition of his work entitled “The Fruits of His Imagination” which featured bright jewel-like colors and close-ups of some of our favorite fruits. He even painted some on slate as if the image was part of a larger fresco or work and was broken off. Here is a gallery of his work and an image to whet your appetite:
I also snapped a shot of this pear sculpture in the window:
I liked the juxtaposition of the cruise ship against the weird, pueblo-like, shanty-town-esque, cardboard-box-condo-mountain:
These trees were so red. This picture doesn’t do them justice:
Vani posing in front of the trees:
The Old Market:
Don’t jump!
That weird geodesic dome I saw from Michael’s balcony. The U.S. government evidently built it decades ago. There are penguins or some mutant experiments in it:
It is always noon. Or midnight.
Late afternoon sun:
And swings! Weeeee!
On our walk back up to Sherbrooke we passed this crazy store that kind of looked like a thrift store but it had this strange window display. Yes, those are used tampons. And yes, that is pubic hair, presumably shorn from the corresponding woman. So random.
After a quick nap we met Michael’s friend David for dinner on the other side of the mountain. I forgot my camera, so I don’t have any pics from the rest of the evening. But after dinner, we hiked up the side of the mountain, passing many a lovely house and embassy and mansion until Michael led me up a flight of stone stairs into a black field which let up further onto a dark spooky road. I felt like the headless horseman would come riding down the path at any minute. Here we walked in the darkness, under the silent, chameleon leaves, the city lights down and to our right. Michael explained how safety isn’t a top priority in Montreal, even though the city, in terms of crime, is very safe. Many people run up here, even in the dark, the attitude being if you’re afraid, don’t do it. Michael conjured a picture of what it would look like in winter with the leaves down, snow on the ground, the city lights and moon light reflecting and I could imagine how bright it would be. We eventually found a long and winding staircase (and other people!) and began our ascent to the Kondiaronk Belvedere and the Chalet du Mont Royal. As I said, I didn’t have my camera, but I found this image of what the view looked like:
I can’t wait to see it in winter.
Flowering cacti weird me out.
Really? Do tell.