Tuesdays with Montreal

On Tuesday morning, I got up around 8 and did what's turning into a routine: heading down to Tim Horton's for a croissant and and small bottle of OJ. I probably should mix things up, but I don't eat croissants at home, so what the heck.

Afterwards, I worked on yesterday's blog then showered and shaved. I didn't leave the B&B until about 11:30 a.m.

I hopped on the Metro to check out the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Wasn't impressed. Two-thirds of the exhibits you weren't allowed to take pics, and the third and fourth floors were blocked off. Glad my donation was only a pocketful of change.

For lunch I ducked into a place called Thursdays because the menu hung up on the outside wall said they had ribs. The bartender told they don't serve them until nighttime, so I got a green salad with some vinegary dressing. Good stuff, aided by the hard Italian roll I scoffed down.

Refueled, I hopped back on the Metro to pick up a ticket for the movie I planned to see that night, but the theatre's box office didn't open till 6 p.m., so I hopped back on the Metro for Old Montreal. My travel book recommended a French restaurant down there. Unfortunately, it was out of business. On the plus side, I did pass the Notre Dame church. Should've taken a pic or two, but I was too lazy.

Thanks to my "bestest buddy" (as my little sister Sharon used to say as a young'un), the Metro, I was back to the area where the movie theatre is at. It was only 4 p.m., so I wandered around the neighborhood, mostly inhabited by McGill University. Apparently, it's the big school up here. I think somebody told me the other day it has 30,000 students.

Around 4:45 p.m., I ducked into a Greek restaurant I saw earlier in the day on my way to the movie theatre. It was virtually empty, except for some guy in a Panama hat sitting at a table by the open window. I was in the mood for a gyro (never had one), and I went to the right place. It was amazing! I got the platter with a salad, rice and Greek potatoes (cut in wedges). A nice glass of milk topped it off.

The movie I saw was Metropolis, the 1929 German, silent, sci-fi masterpiece. It was only playing one week at Cinema du Parc, one showing a day at 6:45 p.m.; which might explain why the theatre was about a third of the way full -- not too bad for a Tues. night (thought it is summer).

I saw Metropolis 15-20 years ago, but this rerelease features about 30 minutes of newly discovered footage, which is obvious because of its grainy quality. This viewing made much more sense than when I was younger, because I'm aware of the political currents occurring when the film was made, since it's about class warfare. Interestingly, at the end of it, about a dozen audience members clapped. Pretty cool.

Since the movie was two and half hours long, it was close to 9:30 p.m. when I left the shopping centre that house the theatre. I didn't feel like waiting around for the two buses I would need to go back to the B&B, so I hoofed it for the mile-plus walk. Once back at home base, I watched a little TV, then crashed at 11.











Entree I had for dinner at the Greek restaurant. Octopus. Mmm, delicious!