Montreal Day Two

Afterwards we caught the Metro and headed across town to visit the Olympic Park.  This was where the summer Olympics were held in 1976.  There are huge stadiums still throughout the area and they are building a new planetarium in the midst of them.  The Olympic buildings have deteriorated over the years and there is now lots of rebuilding activity to repair them.

We rode the funicular to the top of the Tour Olympique.  Interestingly, this tower wasn’t completed until 11 years AFTER the Olympics!  It’s the tallest inclined tower in the world, standing over 175 meters high and at a 45 degree angle.  You might ask how they did this.  Well, I’ll tell you!  The upper part of the structure has a mass of about 8000 tons.  The lower part, which extends about 40 feet into the ground, has a mass of about 158,000 tons.  Simple!

I got distracted with data there for a bit…sorry about that.  Anyway, we rode the funicular to the top and enjoyed the great views of Montreal, the St. Lawrence Seaway and the mountains in the distance. Beautiful!

We caught the Metro and went back to Old Montreal for lunch.  More escargot and frites.  Gotta get them while we can!  Then back to our room to just relax.  Haven’t done much of that this trip!

And, because Mona edits this blog before it’s posted I must tell you a story about the Metro.  We purchased  day-long passes because we anticipated several trips today.  We went up to the turnstiles together, but I was having a bit of a problem getting my pass to work.  I looked up to find Mona on the other side of the turnstile as she had already passed through.  With obvious delight she walked me through the simple process of using my pass.  There, I’ve said it.  Can we just move on?!?!!?

Early evening, we walked down the street adjacent to our hotel,  Rue Crescent, to find a place for dinner.  We found a nice little place two stories up where we could people watch and enjoy our last evening in Montreal.  Tres Bon!