Travel at Home: Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

DC has some surprising little bits of nature tucked away.  The National Arboretum is a must-visit, but if you're here in July you really can't miss the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens.  Both are free admission and free parking.  Unfortunately, a car is required to reach this gem.



The park preserves the wetlands that were once widespread in DC (though these are reconstructed).  The showpiece part of the park is a series of small ponds with paths between them, each pond housing its own variety of water lily.  They bloom around July and there is a festival the third Saturday in July each year.



Beyond the ponds there is a much larger wetlands complex with a boardwalk that takes you on a nice little jaunt.  We saw a giant heron perched in a tree in the distance.



Lilies aren't the only flowers in bloom; there are gorgeous wildflowers everywhere.  Wildlife is abundant as well: frogs, butterflies, and a deer that we managed to startle.



If you prefer to stay on solid ground, there is a nice little trail to the Anacostia; it is under a mile and flat (though if you're using a stroller you'd need the jogging variety with big tires).  You hike along the edge of one of the wetlands, which peeks through the trees at you.  At the end the river view is picturesque and there are benches to rest on.



It's recommended to get to the park early to see the maximum number of blooms.  Not being morning people, we arrived in the late afternoon and it was still gorgeous.  You can see the rest of the photos here.

As mentioned, you need a car to get there; be sure to look up directions in advance as it is set into a residential neighborhood.  

Day Hike on the Appalachian Trail to Annapolis Rocks

For my birthday over the weekend we decided to try out a new local hike.  Michael found a hike on the Appalachian Trail to Annapolis Rocks--which is nowhere near Annapolis--about an hour and fifteen minute drive from DC.  Perfect!  We took 495 to 270 to 70, stopped in Frederick's cute little downtown to pick up some sandwiches to bring up with us, and headed to the parking area on 40. 


Pay attention to the mileage given when you map your route--we found it easiest to locate the parking area by watching our mileage.  (In Google maps, use the search term "Annapolis Rock, Myersville, Frederick, MD").

The parking area is not huge, but it's easy to spot on the side of the road.  You'll know you're in the right place because you'll see a sign for the Appalachian Trail at the end of the parking area.








You'll walk parallel to 70 for a bit--very noisy with traffic--and then turn onto the trail.  The first mile or so is pretty steep and not very shaded.  Make sure you're carrying plenty of water!

Once you make it past this stretch, the path becomes wide, relatively flat, and tree-lined.  This is the quintessential image that comes to mind when I picture the A.T. (based on nothing other than reading and conjecture, as the only other part I've been on is at Harper's Ferry).





Although it is late in the season, we saw lots of little wildflowers, along with gorgeous stands of ferns and lots of trees.


It took us around 45 minutes (maybe?--we weren't watching the time) to reach the turnoff to Annapolis Rock.  Coming out to the cliffs was quite unexpected!  We found a shady spot to eat our lunch and watched the rock climbers set up their gear.  We asked a friendly couple to take our photo and they did a spectactular job!


We went back to the trail and kept going.  About a mile past Annapolis Rock is Black Rock Cliff, allegedly.  I think we might have missed the sign for the turnoff from the trail, or maybe we just didn't walk far enough.  We had dinner reservations we didn't want to miss, so we turned around and headed back to the car.

We really enjoyed this hike.  It is quite popular so we saw lots of other people out, some day hikers like us and a fair amount of through-hikers backpacking the AT.  Everyone was friendly and shared the trail. 

There is a bit of traffic noise throughout the hike, mostly from the occasional motorcycle, so you don't feel like you're totally getting away from it all, but it wasn't too obtrusive. 

I'd definitely do this hike again, allowing a little more time to make it to Black Rock Cliff.

All photos are here.

Biking the Sligo Creek Trail

 I took the day off work today, and decided that I would celebrate by going for a ride.  I'd only been on the Sligo Creek Trail in Montgomery County, MD once before and the ride had to be abbreviated, so today I wanted to bike the whole distance.

I cheated and started the ride by taking the Metro to the West Hyattsville Station.  The Northwest Branch Trail runs next to the station (come out the faregates and turn right); it connects with the Sligo Creek in something less than a mile.

The trail is a perfect for a nice and easy ride.  It is very flat for DC--it runs along the creek, and the creek doesn't have any rapids, lol--with a slight incline going from W Hyattsville to Wheaton.  The last mile or so is noticeably uphill, but not at all steep.  I was out for a "Sunday drive" kind of ride, slow and meandering.  It took me about an hour of riding time each way.  The trail is 10.2 miles long; according to Google I rode about 9 miles each way so I missed some of the trail at one end or the other.

About 15 minutes into the ride, this happened:



The mother of all blowouts.  Luckily, I had stopped my bike because I was hearing a weird sound.  It turned out, the bead of the tire had come out of the groove of the wheel.  About 10 seconds after I stopped there was a MASSIVE explosion.  It sounded like a gun shot.  I thought I was going to be surrounded by a SWAT team within 3 minutes (nobody ever came).  I can now claim my first successful field change of a tire, pumping with a tiny pump and then having to deflate no fewer than 4 times to get the bead set correctly.  I had brought two tubes with me, along with two patch kits.  I would have needed a whole lot more patch kits if I'd gotten another one of these.  I was nervous the rest of the ride, but luckily both tires held air until I got home.

I rode up to the top of the trail (to Wheaton Regional Park) and turned around.  I took the photos on the way back.  The trail takes you under 495, so beware, those who fear to go outside the Beltway!

 Nearly at the end is the Kemp Mill Shopping Center with several Kosher restaurants, as well as a grocery store and a CVS.  The restroom at the CVS was not terrifying, though it's one of those in the warehouse/back room area.  Staff was nice about letting me in.  I bought packing tape.  It was on sale, buy one get one 50% off.










I stopped at a bench to eat my lunch.  Nice and shaded.



There are areas of young trees (I rode through this water crossing without realizing there was a bridge right next to it)....



and areas of mature trees.



Mostly the creek is still and clear...



Though there are a few parts where it is moving.



The path has dozens of lovely wooden bridges



 and also dozens of playgrounds.

 

Maybe not dozens, but it is so nice for the neighborhoods to have all these little playgrounds everywhere.  They are not full parks--no restrooms or other facilities (hence the CVS).

It's mostly shaded but there are a few fields.  This part is my favorite, only a little bit of a ride from the W Hyattsville Station.



I know the land is clear for the powerlines,



but the tangle of vines and ground cover is so lush!  And there aren't that many wildflowers on the rest of the trail, at least at this point in the summer.

Most of the trail is off road, but there is a small portion on a quiet street with nice little single family homes.



The trail is fairly well signed, though there are some dogleg road crossings where I got confused.  There are two tricky crossings of busy roads where you have a crosswalk and can push a button for flashing lights, but no signal.  The other crossings are on quiet roads or have signals or stop signs.

After a nice 3 hour interlude (well, the 20 minutes changing my tire was not so nice), I was back at the metro.  Bikes are allowed in the DC metro system outside of rush hour.  You must use the front or back door of the car.





All photos are here.

Dandies & Quaintrelles Full Moon Ride

I have been wanting to do an event with Dandies & Quaintrelles (also check out their Facebook page) forever. They, or really he--as it is one very dedicated guy who does most of the work (thank you!)--are the ones who organize the Tweed Ride (I have scoop that it will be mid-November this year) and the Seersucker Social (which I missed, but Cidell attended). Bicycles and dressing up? Truly, two of my very favorite things, and who would have thought the combine them? Brilliant!

Anyway, I finally caught a break with the advent of the White Night/Full Moon Ride tradition! I didn't make the first one in July, but I was determined to go to the August ride. I emailed around and my friend Donna was game (thank you, Donna!). There is never a strict dress code for D&Q events, but there are suggestions. The style guide for Full Moon Rides calls for light colors, but beyond that it is your imagination. The white clothing is both stylish and practical for nighttime visibility.

I had actually completely forgotten about my McCall 5045 50s style dress until I went hunting in my costume/evening closet (not to be confused with my regular closet, my auxiliary summer dress hanging rod outside my regular closet, or my coat closet). It is white, retro, and definitely a full enough skirt to bike in--woo hoo! As you can see, there are all manner of interpretations of the dress code--some people went full retro, others were in t-shirts and shorts...and everyone had a great time regardless of what they were wearing.

This ride was a joint venture with BicycleSpace, a great new bike shop that is really working to create a bike community. I've taken my bike there a couple times and had truly great service at a very reasonable price. We started off with a trumpet calling us to arms (or bikes, as the case may be), followed by a performance of "Night and Day." We were encouraged to sing along, but few of us knew the words so there was a lot of humming and ad lib. Then we were off!

There were somewhere between 50 and 75 people, I would guesstimate. The ride was well-organized, with both leaders at the front and sweepers behind to make sure nobody got lost. The leaders had whistles to make sure cars were aware of us.

The ride was, in a word, awesome. I have no idea how far we biked. Based on the amount of time were out and the landmarks I could recognize my guess is somewhere between 10 and 15 miles. I know that sounds like a lot if you're not big on biking, but I had taken a 40 mile ride earlier in the day out to Mt. Vernon so I was quite depleted. At our pace I did not even feel this ride.

In the middle of the ride we arrived at the Navy Yard area near the Nationals Stadium and took a break for Truckeroo, a monthly food truck gathering. What fun! There were at least a dozen trucks parked in a safely enclosed area with lots of people enjoying their wares. We had met for the ride at 8 so I was plenty ready for dinner. I got the very last portobello panini from Capitol Greenz. Bleu cheese, yum!

We resumed our ride and took a pause at the Capitol to ride around and around the roundabouts (more fun than it sounds), and did a stop at the White House to see the moon shining overhead.

We ended our ride at Logan Circle, spreading out picnic blankets and being serenaded by our trumpet player and a guitar.

I cannot even tell you how much fun I had. My only hesitation about doing a D&Q event was I feared it would be snobby hipsters who would be too busy being cool to have fun and too afraid of losing hipster cred to talk to the likes of me, but I was completely wrong. It turned out that the participants were--wait for it--nerds. Yes. They are my people. Everyone was incredibly friendly. You could pull alongside anyone and start a conversation with them and nobody would miss a beat. I talked to at least a dozen people and didn't meet more only because the evening came to an end. If you're in DC and own a bike, there is literally no reason you should not be doing this. And if you don't own a bike, there are plenty of places to rent one!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a lot of photos because my camera does not take good pictures at night and I need both hands on the handlebars at all times. All my photos are here. There are photos from the previous Full Moon Ride here. It appears I'm the only one who's added photos to the Flickr pool from this ride. So it's hard to tempt you/make you jealous with pictures, but trust me you should be!

A Visit to Charming Milford, PA in the Poconos

My travel companion and I drove to New Hampshire over the long weekend to visit his sister. We did the drive north from DC in one very long 10 hour go (helpful hint: never, ever drive through New York City), but decided that we'd break it up on the way home and take a little time to enjoy ourselves. We looked at the map and it appeared that the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area was just about halfway between New Hampshire and DC. After a quick look on TripAdvisor we decided on the Myer Country Motel in Milford, Pennsylvania. We gave them a call (reservations can only be made by telephone) and snagged the evening's last vacancy.

The motel was easy to approach and to find, just five miles off I-84. It was founded in 1943 and keeps the old school motor inn style of the rooms being small cottages (some are duplexes) arranged around a lawn with a few picnic tables and barbecue spots, rather than the bland row of rooms you find in motels today.

It is completely adorable and we were thrilled to have one of the single cottages. The interior is cozy and clean with country style decor and a comfortable bed. The towels had been washed into a perfect softness and smelled of my favorite dryer sheets.

We settled in and then headed into town. Route 209, on which the Myer Motel is located, is the town's main drag. To walk there from the motel you have to walk on the shoulder of the road for a bit, which isn't fun, but once you get past that you're onto sidewalk and the town is very pedestrian friendly. There are only a few stoplights but there are several pedestrian crosswalks between the stoplights with signs to motorists saying they have to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalks. In DC this would be taken by drivers as a challenge to mow down as many pedestrians as possible, but we found that cars actually stopped for us when they saw us standing on the side of the road waiting for the road to clear so we could cross. Highly unusual!

Milford is a quaint little town with beautiful old buildings. Since we're lawyers, we were intrigued by the courthouse, which still performs its original function.

I was also struck by this large old castle-y looking building, which has now been subdivided into little shops (our favorite name: "Reigning Cats and Dogs"; groan with me over the pun). Unfortunately, we arrived at around 6:30 on a Sunday evening and everything was closed, so we couldn't check out the shops or the historical buildings. This gives us a reason to come back!

After walking through the town we chose the Dimmick Inn to have a drink before dinner. We sat at the bar next to some people we took to be fellow tourists but in fact they were locals who lived about a mile down the road near the llama farm. We did not, alas, see the llama farm, but they are kept for their wool apparently. They were very friendly and we enjoyed hearing about the area. The bartender was also a local, just returned from Boston where he had been studying. I had a glass of wine but after seeing him expertly working the shaker I thought I should have ordered a cocktail! The restaurant at the Dimmick specializes in steak and burgers and the food we saw coming out looked good, but since I'm a vegetarian we decided to look for somewhere else.

We decided on Bar Louis downstairs at the Hotel Fauchere. Although there is a bar, there is actually a lovely dining room downstairs. The decor is nice--pale wood paneling, an old brick support wall, indirect lighting.

I was immediately struck by the fact that (1) there was a vegetarian entree, and (2) it was not pasta. The downside of being a vegetarian is that the fancier the restaurant the less likely they have anything--even a salad--without meat in it. And if there is a vegetarian main dish, it is invariably an uninspired pasta. Not so at Bar Louis! The veggie entree was grilled halloumi cheese, an arugula and foraged purslane salad with heirloom tomatoes, and a fried egg. Several dishes featured fried eggs; I don't know if they keep chickens or what. There were also several small plates to choose from, but I decided I'd go for the entree for the novelty value of a non-pasta veggie main. I didn't think to take pictures of the food so please content yourself with random bear statues that were scattered throughout the city.

Everything on the plate was fantastic, though the salad was definitely the star, perfectly dressed in a nice vinaigrette with perfect tomatoes and greens in a generous serving. The fried egg was indeed fried....mmmm, butter. The grilled halloumi was excellent. I really appreciated that there was adequate protein, which shows a degree of thought and care that is a glaring omission in the ubiquitous pasta. My travel companion had the steak frites and also enjoyed his meal.

The dessert was the crowning glory. I had some kind of dense flourless chocolate concoction with browned butter caramel and lemon curd. Chocolate and lemon are not often paired together but here they were sensational and the browned butter caramel was amazing.

We woke up the next morning and unfortunately many shops are closed Mondays and those that aren't normally closed were closed for the holiday. We took one last walk through town and stopped for photo ops at the locations that best represent our personalities: me at the library and my travel companion at the Beer Barn.

Luckily, Jorgensen's Deli was open and we had fantastic New York style bagels for breakfast before hitting the road back home.

We'd love to come back and get a chance to see more of the town and do some hiking in the area so we're considering this our scouting trip!

All photos are here.

Biking to Mount Vernon

I had the day off last Friday and it was an amazing, glorious summer day in which it was possible to be outside, unlike the 100F+ degree days that had kept us cowering indoors the past few weeks. So I decided to go on a long bike ride. The DC area has a plethora of great bike trails (see also, Capital Crescent, C&O Canal, W&OD, Custis, etc.), but I have always been partial to the Mt. Vernon Trail, which runs 18 miles roughly alongside the George Washington Parkway next to the Potomac river from a little north of Teddy Roosevelt Island in Rosslyn (Arlington, Va) to Washington's estate, Mount Vernon. I have ridden along the trail many times, but this was the first time I went all the way to Mount Vernon. I'm hooked!

First of all, the trail is awesome. It is paved, so perfect for biking, and except where it goes through Old Town Alexandria is completely separate from the road and therefore very safe (be sure to share the trail with runners, walkers, and inline skaters). In Old Town, the bike trail runs along low-speed limit streets with good visibility.


There are a few tricky points where the trail seems to disappear. The Park Service Map sort of shows them, but when you're on the ground it can be tough to figure out. The first is when the trail enters Alexandria. You run paralell to some railroad tracks and then it seems to peter out. Stay on the street closest to the river, Union Street, for a couple of miles (look for the bike stencils painted on the road). At the end of Union Street, the trail seems to dead end at a playground. There is a tunnel to your right--head through the tunnel and the signs on the other side direct you to the left along another street. The photo is of the other side of the tunnel--coming back, this is the only hard part because you have to spot the tunnel going off to your right.

Eventually, the street you're riding on is closed to cars but continues as a trail under an underpass and then it really seems to end in an apartment parking complex. To your right is a paved inclined embankment (see photo at right). Bike up the ramp. At the top a huge medallion is embedded in the sidewalk (you can't miss it) and it points to the left for the Mt. Vernon trail.

These small annoyances aside, the trail is phenomenal. It goes through several little ecosystems like the swamp on the left and the marsh at the top of the post. There are several rest areas with bathrooms, many drinking fountains, and dozens of benches and grassy areas to pull over for a rest and to enjoy the scenery.

I pick up the trail from the 14th Street bridge (entrance to the protected bike/pedestrian crossing is near the Jefferson Memorial) in the District, but if you're looking for a shorter ride, bikes are allowed on Metro subject to a few rules--not during rush hour on the weekdays (7-10 am and 4-7 pm) and only in the front and back doors, not the middle door with one bike allowed per door. No extra fare is required. Take the Yellow/Blue line to Braddock Road (a little shorter ride down to the trail) or King Street (a little more scenic, but also more crowded) and ride downhill toward the river until you pick up the trail or Union Street, respectively. From there it's about 10 miles to Mount Vernon.

I am a slow rider; from my door (in the middle of DC) to Mount Vernon took me about two and a half hours. You do not have to be a fitness nut to ride the trail, but you do need to be in reasonable shape. If this is the first exercise you're getting in a couple of years, I can't guarantee you'll make it or that you'll be happy if you do. There are gentle rolling hills and--I'm not going to lie to you--the last mile is almost entirely uphill. The estate is called Mount Vernon, after all. Mile Marker 0 is at Mt. Vernon, so the mile markers count you down and cheer you on as you head toward your goal. Riding back to Alexandria, on the other hand, is practically a coast!



There are plenty of bike racks at Mount Vernon, though when I arrived a Bike'n'Roll tour was obviously on the premises because the rack was full! It must have been a special event because a Mount Vernon tour is not on their website. I have done their Mall tour and highly recommend the company. They also rent bikes and have a location in Old Town.

Admission to Mount Vernon is $15. They have added a visitor's center with a short film in the past few years. I recommend the film, if only to sit in a cool darkened room for a bit and see Pat Sajak in colonial costume.

The house (pictured above) is really only a small part of the Mount Vernon complex. Actually, it is referred to as "The Mansion" but is quite modest by today's standards. The objects and decorations inside are interesting, but after seeing it once I've not waited in the long line again to return. The real draw of the mansion is the one experience you *must* have while visiting: sitting on the back porch overlooking the Potomac. It is a gorgeous, relaxing, timeless experience with great views. No need to wait in line to go through the house for this; just walk around to the back.

The grounds are extensive and well-kept under the "Living History" philosophy. In addition to the Upper Garden's butterfly-attracting flowers, it is still a nominally working farm with fruit trees and a vegetable garden and a few livestock. Allegedly, costumed interpreters work the farming area of the grounds, but I've never managed to catch them even though I have been to Mount Vernon many times. There is a little climb through the forest (the sign estimates 10 minutes) with signage about local plants and wildlife, as well as a nice pier (left) ending in a gazebo from which boat rides depart. I've never taken the boat ride, but you can walk onto the pier without a ticket.

Be sure to pay your respects at Washington's tomb, set up in the location he specified in his will. Washington died with no children--it is suspected that smallpox rendered him sterile--and the estate is run by the Mount Vernon Ladies. In a sense, it is fitting that he had no children because that way all Americans sort of get to "own" him without anyone having a larger claim. The Mount Vernon Ladies definitely take a proprietary interest. During one of my visits there was a Mount Vernon Lady acting as an interpreter at the tomb. I asked her if George and Martha had any children (and thought it odd I didn't already know). She replied that "The General and Mrs. Washington did not have any children." Although nobody owns Washington's legacy, apparently the hoi polloi ought not be too familiar!

The ride back down to Alexandria is a breeze and goes by fairly quickly. Back in Old Town, I kept my eyes out for this welcome sight and stopped for an ice cream lunch (never mind it was 6:00 in the afternoon).

I had such a fun day, though I confess I was pretty beat by the time I finished my ride. I bought an annual pass to Mount Vernon ($25--only $10 more than one time admission) so I'll have to make it back eventually! Just give me a little more time to recover...

All photos are here.

Montreal, June 2010: Sights, Activities, and Culture

I went to Montreal last week for Pattern Review Weekend! I had never been to Montreal--or to Canada at all--so my friend Cidell and I decided to head to Montreal early to see what we could see.

Monday, 14 June

When my plane landed on Monday it was pouring rain and quite cold. Cidell and I were scheduled to land at around the same time but, as is the way, her flight was quite delayed. The good thing was that when I finally left the airport, the rain had stopped and the sun had come out!

We bought weeklong Metro passes--carte hebdo--and navigated our way to Marche Atwater, a large market the guidebook insisted was open until 8. Unfortunately, it had closed at 6 so we hopped back on the metro (love that unlimited pass!) and headed into the Plateau, to famous La Banquise for poutine. It has about 30 varieties of poutine on the menu. Poutine, by the way, is a regional dish of french fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. La Banquise makes a vegetarian gravy so even veggies can have the pleasure of clogging our arteries. It had been a long day of travel with an early morning breakfast and no lunch so fries, gravy, and cheese sounded just about right. I'm not sure it's an experience I could repeat very often, however.

After dinner we walked around a bit, trying to digest our meal. The row house architecture is lovely, and everyone has added their own little twist with brightly colored balconies, hanging plants, and painted doors. We got back to the Mount Royal metro stop just in time for the (late) sunset and headed back to the Universite de Montreal dorms and hit the sack.

Tuesday, 15 June

The weather prediction was for alternating days of rain and sun, and luckily our first full day was a day of sun. We decided that a bike tour would be the perfect way to take advantage of the weather and get an idea of the city, so we contacted Cycle Tours Montreal and arranged to take the City Highlights Tour.

This turned out to be a fantastic decision. Our guide, Shea, was very enthusiastic, loves the city, and tailored the tour to our varied ability levels. We started at Parc La Fontaine in the Plateau, meandered through the Plateau (stopping for croissants and coffee), headed to the Mountain where I very proudly biked all the way to the top, then went down into the city, stopping to see McGill University, biked along the Lachine Canal, and had lunch at the Marche Atwater. It was a gorgeous day and we could not have been happier with our choice!

Wednesday, 16 June

Rain was predicted and the morning started cloudy, but we hoped it wouldn't start until the afternoon and planned a self-guided walking tour of Vieux Montreal (Old Montreal) for the morning. We started at the Basilique de Notre Dame de Montreal, a copy of Notre Dame in Paris (though without the flying buttresses). I visited the famous wedding chapel, which honestly did not seem very romantic! I did enjoy its modernism, in contrast to the traditional interior of the main part of the church.

Next we meandered our way through the old financial district, stepping into several amazing banks that still serve customers, including one with a wedgewood ceiling and one guarded by gargoyles. Looking at the gargoyles I think I understood J.K. Rowling's inspiration for the goblin bankers in Harry Potter. I was amused that there used to be a Molson Bank (left), now an office building, but beer-making is pretty steady business through good economic times and bad so perhaps we should have more liquor-run banks and fewer mortgage-backed for the stability of our financial system.

We ended our tour at the Old Customs House, next to the Archaeological Museum and along the St. Lawrence river, just as it was beginning to rain. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to visit the museum. It is my reason to go back!

From there, we headed to the McCord Museum, stopping along the way we stopped by the Cathedrale Marie Reine du Monde, which the guidebook said was a 1/4 scale reproduction of St. Peter's in Rome. We went to the McCord to view their temporary exhibition of costumes from Cirque du Soleil. I love Cirque, but when I go I am in the very far away seats and the costumes are nothing but a bit of color to me. It was so interesting to see them up close. The designers put minute and intricate details into each one. I really appreciate their dedication to their craft. The museum also has exhibits on winter in Montreal and Irish-Canadians, with lots of artifacts and bits of history.

I had a late lunch at vegetarian restaurant Lola Rosa. It was so pleasant to enjoy my meal and watch the passers-by. It is very near McGill's campus so there were lots of students to-ing and fro-ing. The waiter was very pleasant and (as with our bike guide and most Canadian men) quite attractive, which never hurts.

As soon as I left it began to rain in earnest, and then it began to POUR. Cidell and I tried to visit the Musee des Beaux Arts, which has late opening on Wednesdays. Unfortunately, only the temporary exhibits are open during the late hours and we wanted to see the permanent collection. So we headed to Pullman for a glass of wine and some nibbles instead, and capped off our evening with gelato.

Thursday, 17 June

Since sun and rain were alternating days, Thursday was a day of sun. Yay!!! I returned to the Musee des Beaux Arts in the morning, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that it is free to visit the permanent collection. They have a wonderful little capsule collection of Impressionists, whom I love, and an excellent exhibit on Modern Art by artists from the Quebec province and Montreal in particular. There is also an exhibit of Contemporary Art; I must confess myself a cretin when it comes to Contemporary Art. I pretty much hate it all. Then I took the underground passage to the Decorative Arts exhibit, which has great furniture and glassware from the early 1900s through the present.

Not wanting to waste a beautiful day, I took the long metro ride out to the Jardin Botanique. I first stopped to take some photos of the 1976 Olympic Stadium, which is on the walk up from the Pie IX metro stop to the Botanical Garden.

Admission to the gardens is steep--$16 (though I got a small discount because the Insectarium was closed). But once inside I saw dozens of groundskeepers hard at work maintaining this huge and beautiful complex and realized that the admission price is actually a bargain. I had only about three hours to spend before the gardens closed, but you could easily make a day of it with a nice picnic lunch (there are restaurants on site, but I didn't see any prohibition on bringing your own food).

There is an amazing diversity of gardens--including a vegetable garden, poisonous plant garden (!!!!--I finally know what poison ivy looks like), First Nations Garden, medicinal garden, water gardens (I got to see cranberry plants! they are one of my favorite foods) etc. etc., but the real showpieces are the Japanese and Chinese gardens. I have been to many Japanese gardens, including in Tokyo, but never visited a Chinese garden before. It is gorgeous! The garden was built in China and then carefully disassembled and shipped to Montreal, where it was reassembled by the original Chinese designers and gardeners. It has water features, buildings, a Bonsai garden, and amazing views.

By this point I was pretty well exhausted. A free mini-train makes a loop around the property, the north half of which is a large arboretum. I didn't think I'd manage a tramp through the arboretum so I took the mini train for a bit of a view and a rest. I finished off at the spectacular series of greenhouses, which range from tropical to desert. I learned that bananas never ripen on the tree. Interesting!

For dinner I headed to vegetarian institution Le Commensal. There is a buffet of hot and cold foods (and dessert!). You fill your plate and pay by weight. I got a full (but not unreasonably so) plate and a bit of dessert and it was around $13. I went to the location on Rue Berri and found a secluded little table where I could observe the busy street without feeling exposed and self-conscious about eating alone and heartily enjoyed my food and the view.

Saturday, 19 June

Friday I was at my sewing conference, and went fabric shopping Saturday morning, but I snuck off to do one final bit of sightseeing on Saturday afternoon. I didn't want to miss the Oratoire Saint-Joseph, which was luckily located in the vicinity of U de M and the dorms.

I decided to save myself some time and rent a Bixi bike from the stand conveniently located at the dorm. There are tons of bike racks in the trendy and tourist areas (not so much in the working class areas), you pay $5 for 24 hour access, and can use the bikes for 30 minutes at a time. If you exceed 30 minutes, it's $1.50 for the next 30, $3 for the next 30, $6 for the next, etc. This is meant to be an extension of the public transit system and the rentals are for transportation, not leisure. DC has a similar but not as user friendly system called Smartbikes DC. The only way to use them is to pay a $40 annual membership and get a special card. On the flip side, you can keep a bike up to 24 hours (at which point you are charged a $550 replacement fee). The Bixi model is so much better! A person is much more likely to sign up for the program if they can test it out first on a 24 hours basis, and the Smartbike is no good for tourists who won't want to pay an entire annual membership.

Well, I really should have taken into account my inability to read maps or navigate! I got lost several times, each time involving bicycling up and down very large hills, and when I finally found the Oratoire I sailed past it down down down a large hill looking for a Bixi rack, couldn't find one, cycled back up up up the large hill and was afraid I was going to have to ride all the way back to the dorm to drop it off. Finally found a stand. Had I done all this smoothly with no getting lost and finding the stand immediately (it turns out at the stands where you rent the bike there is a map with all the stands in the vicinity clearly marked) it would have taken about 12 minutes. It took me about 50.

However, I had plenty of time to climb up to the oratory, visit Brother Andre's tomb and view the interior of the main chapel. There is a lovely garden with (I think) the stations of the cross, but it continued on uphill and my enthusiasm for hills had waned. Brother Andre, the founder, was known as a healer and many people seeking cures visit the Oratory. There is a large display of canes that have reportedly been left behind by the healed.

I walked over to the Cimetiere Notre Dame Des Neiges and just had a moment to pop my head in before it started raining. I raced back on the Bixi bike through the rain and managed to arrive back at the dorm before it really started to deluge.

Sunday, 20 June

I had just enough time before I needed to leave for the airport to take the metro to Mount Royal and ride a Bixi Bike over to the Mountain to try to catch the beginnings of the weekly Tam Tam festival. This time I was well and truly foiled by my inability to navigate. I picked up a bike at Parc La Fontaine and knew I needed to ride along Rue Rachel to get to the Mountain. So I rode and rode and rode and then eventually the Olympic Stadium came in view and I realized I'd gone several kilometers in the wrong direction. When I turned around I realized that I could clearly see the Mountain and the direction I should have gone. Oh well. I picked up a pain au chocolat to console myself and returned to the dorm to head back to the airport and come back home.

It was a wonderful visit and I hope to return someday and have a little more time to enjoy the city. All photos are here.