Sunday, May 7, 2017

Eastern Canada Trip 2016 Day 4 Friday June 17: Montreal, Sainte-Anne-de-Belleville, Senneville, L'Île-Perrot, Pincourt, Terrasse-Vaudreuil, Vaudreuil-Dorion

UPDATED: February 11, 2021

This is the 4th of a series of posts dealing with my 2016 trip to Toronto, Montreal, and vicinity. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports (typos, bits I don’t feel like making public). Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of two years later or to add further clarification.  These are indicated by “NOW”.

As I was shutting down last night an update installed which surprised me due to XP so I turned on my computer again just to make sure Windows 10 didn't get installed. I seem to be fine. As with yesterday, all transit STM/Société de transport de Montréal.

Got up a little after 5, my feet still in pain (more on this below). I walked along rue Ste Catherine, and noticed that the Victoria’s Secret that replaced Chapters was across from a La Senza. At least the women of Montreal are wearing underwear; hygiene is important after all. I rested at Places des Festivals. I continued along and looked at a row of new (to this trip) art pieces including one obviously of Gulliver and Lilliputians. I rested at Place Émilie-Gamelin and then wandered around the bus depot/Gare d’Autocars de Montréal. I grabbed some free booklets. Heading to Station Berri-UQAM someone claiming to be a student of photography started harassing me. He claimed he only wanted to ask questions but since he kept after me after I begged off, I was relieved when I finally got away from him at Station Berri-UQAM, where I took a Green Line train to Station Guy-Concordia, I had breakfast at Aubege Bishop and then took another Green Line train, briefly going the wrong direction, from Guy Concordia to Station Lionel-Groulx. I got on the 411 bus, which was standing room only. I found a place where I could stand and take photos without shooting over someone. Also changed memory cards, knowing I'd run out before the bus stopped again. Everything to this point is on the first 256 GB card.
 
[NOW:  Auberge Bishop has closed.]

The bus got into a traffic jam on the freeway. I was still recovering from yesterday and on the best of times can't stand too long in one place due to being hit by a Bronco, so a woman finally noticed and offered her seat. The traffic jam proved to be caused by an accident. The bus finally made it to Terminus Macdonald in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, which proved to have a lovely downtown area.  I grabbed a icey drink at Couche-Tard and wandered north to briefly dip into Senneville before returning to Sainte-Anne-de-Belleville

To explain the area directly west of Sainte-Anne-de-Belleville, it's necessary to note that there is the community of L'Île-Perrot and the island Île Perrot. Sometimes they overlap, sometimes they do not. So crossing Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal (Canal de Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue), using city/island, I passed L'Île-Perrot/ Île Bellevue and L'Île-Perrot/Île Claude, arriving at L'Île-Perrot/Île Perrot, Continuing west I walked along same then Pincourt/Île Perrot, getting water at Walgreens, briefly to Terrasse-Vaudreuil/ Île Perrot, back to PIncourt. I then crossed the Ottawa River to Vaudreuil-Dorion/mainland, which unfortunately doesn't look as nice on ground level as on the top level of a doubledecker bus.

[NOW: The bridge I crossed from the Island of Montreal/Île de Montréal to Île Perrot is Galipeault Bridge (Pont Galipeault). I might have meant Pharmaprix as Walgreen's is US.]

Pause Vidéo didn't open until 12 so I returned the way I came, skipping Terrasse-Vaudreuil and Senneville. In L'Île-Perrot I bought DVDs at Vidéotron le Superclub. McDonald's nearby had too much of a line, as did the Subway at Sainte-Anne-de-Belleville. i got a drink at the same Couche-Tard as earlier; the cashier recognized me. On the 405 bus back to Station Lionel-Groulx in Montreal, I had trouble keeping awake to take photos so there might be some interesting ones. Walking south to rue Notre-Dame I had lunch at McDonald's, passed a free public piano (there's another near my hostel), and got more DVDs from Vidéotron le Superclub.

[NOW: Both Vidéotrons are now closed.]

I took another Green Line train to Station Préfontaine and walked to Promenade Ontario, where L'Idée Fixe was gone (judging from the notice there might be another but not sure). I walked to Station Joliette and took the Green Line train one stop to Station Pie-IX, where I took photos of the Montreal Biodome/Biodôme de Montréal. I was going to do more in the area but decided I wasn't that interested. I took the Green Line train back to Station Place-des-Arts and rested a while at Place des Festivals. Then I took a Green Line train from Station Place-des-Arts to Station Berri-UQAM and transferred to an Orange Line train to Place-d'Armes. I visited Old Montreal/Vieux-Montréal, including the Bonsecours Basin Park/Parc du Bassin Bonsecours at the waterfront. I had dinner at Subway then wandered to the two-block Victoria Square/Square-Victoria. I took an Orange line train from Station Square Victoria-OACI to Station Sherbrooke. I visited Saint-Louis Square/Square Saint-Louis and the pedestrian store area Prince Arthur. I walked to rue Sherbrooke and then to the hostel from my first trip to Montreal, Hotel de Paris. I walked back to Place Émilie-Gamelin.

Here if not sooner I figured out the source of my foot pain. Part of it, yes, was the walking yesterday but I'm normally hardier than that. It turns out that the shoes I had only worn a few weeks had holes in them. The walk yesterday no doubt hastened their condition but they were still shoddy shoes to be causing me this much pain this soon. I walked to Librairie Marché du Livre, a French only bookstore whose top section was graphic novels. I walked to Boutique Volume then another French bookstore, Librairie Zone Libre. By this point my feet were in considerable pain to I walked to Le Baie/The Bay. Amidst more expensive shoes I found a $30 pair. They look like runners on the bottom but slippers on the top, no lace or Velcro. A little tight but better than what I had been wearing. As I left it was lightly raining. I tossed the old shoes, got a pop at Couche-Tard on boul. du Maisonneuve, took some rainbow photos, and returned to hostel, where I had to get another blanket and pillow case because the old ones had disappeared. Hopefully the new shoes will make the last full day in Montreal more enjoyable.

[NOW: Librairie Marché du Livre is now closed.]

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