Montreal Part 2

I really wanted to do a little sightseeing while I was in Montreal besides what I could get to by walking.  I didn't have access to a car and taxi's were so expensive!  But the concierge at the hotel was great!  He explained exactly how to get to the Montreal Biodome and Planetarium by using the subway system.  And it was so much cheaper, only $3.00 each way.  

Biodome and Planetarium

The Biodome was neat, it was like a small zoo, except that it had four distinct regions with all the plant and animal life.  

See the little monkey?

Below is a fake back drop with the water and rocks for seagulls.

They even had their nesting area on some fake rock walls.  I guess this was supposed to simulate the cliffs they usually live on.

Now onto the polar region...

Gotta love penguins and little arctic birds that I can't remember the name...

This sign absolutely means nothing, but it is all in French.  Like a lot of Montreal and something I didn't expect.  It kind of felt like you really were in another country, even though it is only Canada.  All the signs everywhere are in French. Everyone speaks french as well.  I actually had to point at some things in some restaurants because they didn't speak English.

After the biodome, I had to stop for refreshments.  Bottled carbonated water, so refreshing!

And I bought the smarties because I thought they were the US smarties candy, but they weren't!  They were like Canadian m'n'ms.  Another interesting note, Canada does not allow high fructose corn syrup in any of their foods, so all candy, ketchup, soda, you name it contains only real sugar.

This was crazy. While we were in Montreal, we ended up on a bottled water alert.  I guess they had some problems at the treatment plant.  I was afraid to shower and they told us to brush our teeth with bottled water as well!

Then I was on to the Planetarium.

This moon, is the big screen above me for my planetarium show.  It was pretty cool.

While I was at the planetarium, I got a call from my coworker (who was supposed to have flown back to denver) that her flight was cancelled until the next day.  So I took her out for dinner and a glass of wine (for her) and we ended up buying sweatshirts from a tourist shop.

Thursday was my last day in Montreal, it was also the day of my presentation.  I don't mind speaking in front of large groups, but it is still nerve wracking.

I started out the day with a hearty Canadian breakfast complete with fresh squeezed orange juice.  Again, no corn syrup, and we are in Canada (maple leave as the emblem) so they only have and serve maple syrup, yum!

There was sausage and bacon in the middle of my pancakes.

My presentation went really well.  A client of mine was also at the conference and called and asked if I would like to go out to lunch before my flight.  We ended up in Montreal's "Chinatown" for some authentic Chinese food.  It doesn't get more authentic then that, does it?

The trip home ended up being a stressful nightmare, but I made it.  Thanks Montreal for some great times.