Almanac Travel: Seinfeld, Old Montreal and Mt Royal Park

Just For Laughs Festival Montreal 2017, Day 2

 

It’s funny that whenever you see your idols in concert you probably should have bought the video given you’re in the nosebleed section 200m away from the stage.

 

The Bell Centre is about the same size as Rod Laver Arena and is used for ice hockey and all of Montreal’s major concerts. When Seinfeld finally arrived it didn’t matter how far away we were, we were glued for the next hour watching him pace up and down and glimpsing up to the big screen to comprehend how he has defied his sixty three years of age so well.

 

Not everyone likes Seinfeld I get that. He has said that he isn’t a very good actor and that the stars of the show were the ‘other three’ as well as the bit part actors who made appearances. What he is though, is a brilliant stand up and to watch him get through an hour of material so effortlessly in front of 15,000 people was a privilege to witness.

 

He certainly doesn’t need the money, so this is just pure joy for him. He is on tour with a legendary French Moroccan comedian Gad Elmalah. Gad moved to NYC to challenge himself after twenty years of success in France, so he had to improve his English and work his backside off to get to where he is now. Seinfeld graciously performed first and handed it over to Gad to do the last hour. No pressure!

 

The show capped off a fantastic day exploring the city. We started at the Notre Dame Basilica which is a replica of the Notre Dame church in Paris, albeit a bit smaller. A hive of activity, it was soon heightened by a band playing rollicking sea shanties in the square as part of a summer series of concerts. They were superb, complete with a Scot on bagpipes – they soon attracted a big crowd.

 

 

We stayed for half an hour then headed off aimlessly getting lost again. We were looking for the Mt Royal Park which overlooks the city and instead we found ourselves next to a river, meaning we were at the lowest elevation of Montreal.

 

So off we went and walked to the stunning Mt Royal Park which was designed by the same bloke who did Central Park in NYC. The similarities are clearly evident. Beautiful trees and forest with “off tracks”, huge expanses of lawn, a lake, a community piano and in Mt Royal’s case no cars just a huge gravel path for pedestrians, walkers, joggers and bikes. All this culminating in a breathtaking view over the city. An extraordinary achievement and the locals lap it up as much as the tourists. What a brilliant place for a run if I was fit and had the inclination.

 

 

Montreal has a very welcoming and positive feel to it. The spirit we discovered on the first day was there again yesterday. We haven’t seen a cop or cop car yet which is almost Japan-like. Lynda and I were walking in a trendy part of the city coming down the mountain into the CBD when a young bloke and his girlfriend had an argument. She turned and walked away and he ran after her quite aggressively. We watched intently with twenty others to see if the situation escalated. The young bloke soon realized citizen’s arrest was a very real possibility and settled down immediately! That’s about as hardcore as it’s been.

 

We’ve been having some fun with the street names. Like everything in Montreal they are written in French and this can be very confusing when reading a map. We’ve realized it’s better to give a street name something more familiar in order to identify it whilst on the street.

 

For instance, Boulevarde Robert-Bourassa becomes ‘Ron Barassi’, Rue De Bleury becomes ‘Bleary Eyes’ and Rue Saint-Francouix Xavier becomes ‘Xavier College’. Stupid but effective believe me. Just as you start getting used to the French street names they have other street names as ‘Anglo’ as it comes, like Drummond, Stanley and Metcalfe.

 

We finished the day at a diner in Mansfield St where no one spoke English. Montreal is a colourful city that accepts everyone and judges no one. There is a street that hangs every flag of the world and there are constant reminders in the art and history that prejudice won’t be tolerated.

 

Heading up the hill towards the mountain we found the most amazing vintage op shop. The building itself looked like it was in major disrepair and the owners of the shop must have decided that rather than fix it, let’s just get every possible old thing that’s still functional, display it, and therefore extend the building’s life! Everything you could possibly imagine right down to VHS and cassettes were in this place as well as a café and outdoor space to eat and relax.

 

 

Before we found the diner in Mansfield St we found a bakery in Chinatown that sold donuts the size of one of my butt cheeks. Bought two of those knowing that Lynda would never finish hers and that I would need to step in for her to close the deal. The diner was run by two Greek brothers for the past forty years and we ordered what people have been telling us is a Montreal classic, smoked meat sandwiches.

 

When they arrived with coleslaw and fries, I seriously had my doubts about completing the task. I should never have worried because thirty mins later there wasn’t a skerrick left! They even let us eat the donuts with a coffee, and as planned Lynda couldn’t do the business so I gleefully stepped in!

 

We discovered a very French bakery on the way to the subway yesterday so we will head there again this morning. More walking and off to the Fine Arts Museum for a show called Revolution. I should mention that if you haven’t been to Montreal before, the subway is fantastic. It has a Paris Metro feel about it but it’s more spacious and super-efficient. You also might get to see a busker playing violin wearing a dogs head.

 

 

 

 

 

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