Montreal

I have a feeling that we didn't really do Montreal complete justice.  The city had a lot to live up to after Niagara and Ottawa, plus we arrived on the hottest day of our stay (it reached 36^oC and was like sitting in a hair drier when the roof was off the car).  First impression was of a city which was in need of a decent clean and coat of fresh paint.  The hotel had a sort of faded feeling about it, but was comfortable enough.

We were alas limited for time, but managed a wander around the Downtown and Chinatown areas, and spent a couple of hours loitering amongst the afternoon sessions of the Montreal Jazz Festival.  We then headed to the waterfront for the Canada Day celebrations, which were a little confusing as they were mostly in french.  In fact it is state law that shop signs in Quebec state must only be in French outside the premises, and inside signs in French must be twice as large as those in English - so there we go.  But where we did struggle (trying to read temporary parking restrictions in town) we were given a translation by passing strangers.

We did cheat to escape the heat and headed over the Planetarium for an afternoon showing of the creation, and end, of the world.  This was really well presented and we had a chance to talk to the astronomer afterwards - it turned out he was a great anglophile, as were most Canadians, and delighted in talking about comparisons between the opposite sides of the Atlantic.

If we had more time, and a stronger inkling to read the guidebooks, we would probably have made more of the city, it's old areas, parks and waterfront.  Well there's always next time..