Day 6 - a grave, grand prix and graffiti

We started the day with a bike ride. Andrew was going to see the grave of Leonard Cohen so he said he would go alone as Oliver was still sleepy in bed. It was quite a walk, so I offered to join him but only if we cycled. So we got ready and went to the park to hire some of the Montreal public bikes. A bit of fiddling around and before long we were whizzing along the dedicated bike lanes up the hill to the cemetery.

Montreal has so many bike lanes. They are separated from the road but a concrete kerb and they are really well used. Obviously Canada benefits from having lots of land and wide roads, meaning adding bike lanes is quite easy. We passed joggers and cyclists and local people on their way to work.

It took around twenty minutes to get to the cemetery and the grave was just inside the gates. There were lots of kisses on it! I left a stone on the top of the grave and we cycled back to wake up Oliver and start the rest of the day.

We had seen a cafe the previous evening that we wanted to go back to and they had amazing pastries. I chose almond & chocolate croissant, Oliver had a pain au chocolat and Andrew had a beef empanada (!). It turns out they are a gluten free cafe and the food tasted nice, but was very claggy! We took the metro in to the old port and picked up some more bikes. Yesterday’s tour told us that there were bike lanes along the old canals, so we decided to give them a try. It was so so hot, and walking just zapped our energy, so bikes (and electric ones at that) seemed much easier. We had a wonderful time. Most of the cyclists were very respectful of those of us hiring the city bikes. We cycled all the way through the newer areas and ended at the site of the Expo held in 1967. The only thing left is a huge sphere which is spectacular.

As we looked for a new path around the sphere we stumbled upon a track with lots of cyclists. It had lots of stadium style seating and we quickly realised we were cycling on the actual Formula One track! That was a bit of a thrill - we passed the pit lanes, lots of tyre skids and had a thrilling time racing around!

So after 2 hours and 22 minutes (and 20.2 km) we docked the bikes and took the metro back to the centra where we had a light lunch in the shopping mall.

The final thing we wanted to see were ‘The Two Snobs’ statues. These were created by a Candian artist in 2013. They are huge bronze statues They are ten feet tall and stand on two corners of a square. One is an Englishman holding a pug, he has a huge fake nose and is stares condescendingly at the Basilica of Notre Dame (symbol of French dominance), the other is a French lady holding a poodle, and she is staring in the same manner at the Bank of Monteal (a symbol of English power). The dogs are staring at each other - because clearly, animals aren’t as petty!

We were very tried now, so we took the metro back to Mont-Royal, and walked back via the ‘Mural Festival’. This was a main street in the area closed to traffic with lots of stalls selling hand made items and vintage clothes and lots of murals on the walls. Some still being painted! We stopped for a beer at a bar (where Canada were playing their first match of the World Cup) and then limped back to the room.

We have all loved Montreal. So much more than Quebec City. Quebec City seemed a bit staged for me - almost a town made for the instagrammers, while Montreal seems a more grown up city.

Tomorrow we fly to St John’s and we are so excited!