Well, folks, you had to wait as long for this next blog post
as I did to complete my trifecta of Montreal Must Sees. Ever since we arrived
here, the top three “must see” experiences we were told about were:
1. Viewing Montreal from atop Mount Royal, the highest peak in the city located virtually in the city center
2. The Garden of Lights in the Chinese Garden at the
Botanical Garden 1. Viewing Montreal from atop Mount Royal, the highest peak in the city located virtually in the city center
3. The autumn colors in the Laurentian Mountains north of Montreal
It was only last weekend I finally hiked to the top of Mount
Royal – completing my triple. Marti’s been up top three or four times,
including a hike up with our good friends, Jay and Patt Niebur, who visited us
for a week in September. They also toured the Chinese Garden of Lights with us
the week it opened in September. Two out of three ain’t bad. Lucky for me,
Marti and I had a perfect day to day-hike in Mont-Tremblant National Park, when
the autumn colors were at their peak.
Below is some of our photos, and borrowed information from various websites about the Garden of Lights, including Moon Cakes, which we had a taste of washed down with Jasmine Tea, and Mount Royal City Park, with a connection to Central Park in New York City. The story of our visit to Mont-Tremblant National Park will follow in a Bonus Blog. Two out of three ain’t bad. Enjoy, we did.
Below is some of our photos, and borrowed information from various websites about the Garden of Lights, including Moon Cakes, which we had a taste of washed down with Jasmine Tea, and Mount Royal City Park, with a connection to Central Park in New York City. The story of our visit to Mont-Tremblant National Park will follow in a Bonus Blog. Two out of three ain’t bad. Enjoy, we did.
Garden of Lights
The Montreal Botanical Garden's annual Gardens of Light event
coincides with one of China's favorite fests, the Moon Festival, a harvest season celebration that features
lotus seed paste filled cakes otherwise known as Moon Cakes AND...lanterns.
Hundreds of intricately constructed lanterns, some in the shape of animals,
vehicles and even people are part and parcel of the Moon Festival.
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| Chinese Treasure Boat Lanterns |
The lanterns in the Montreal Chinese Garden are constructed
in Shanghai based on the theme and designs of Montreal artistic designer My
Quynh Duong. (This year’s theme was the voyage of the Chinese Treasure Fleet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_treasure_ship)
Once built in Shanghai, they're shipped to Canada where it takes a team of
local assemblers about three months to mount anywhere from 900 to 1,000
lanterns on garden grounds. Roughly 200 of those lanterns are newly crafted
every year.
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| Snow Lantern in Japanese Garden |
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| Light on trees in Japanese Garden |
For 19 years, the annual attraction was called Magic of
Lanterns or La Magie des lanternes. But in
2012, the name changed to Gardens of Light, ostensibly marking the addition of
the Japanese Garden to the fold. Previously, only the Chinese Garden and its
brigade of lanterns were featured. Ever since that debut, the Japanese Garden
has stayed true to original form, proposing a multicolored lighting scheme that
brings the darkened garden to life after the sun sets. It's a different concept
and more subtle and subdued setup from the lanterns, adding a touch of Zen to
the overall experience.
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| Tom, Marti, Patti, Jay |
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| Chinese Garden pond in daylight. |
Mount Royal City Park
The jewel of Montreal’s city parks is,
without question, Mount Royal. This 200-hectare park occupies part of the
mountain that lies in the midst of Montreal Island, and includes the highest
spot in the city (234m).
In
the 1860s, mass cutting of trees on the mountain for firewood outraged the
populace and led to the area’s designation as a park in 1876. It was originally
landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted, perhaps best known for New York City’s
Central Park, although not all his proposed plans for Mount Royal were carried
out.
The
lookout facing over downtown towards the river was first built in 1906 and is
now officially known as the Belvédère Kondiaronk, named for the Huron Chief who
signed a major peace accord with the French regime in 1701. A second lookout, a
famous trysting spot, faces eastward toward the Olympic Stadium.
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| Could this be famous trysting spot? |
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| Fall color in Mount Royal Park beautifies engineering project...yes, Dave S., I am working here. |
Bonne Journee,
Tom
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