Montreal

Oh yeah you’re right, we haven’t even had poutine yet. I guess we can stop in Montreal for a bit.

First, we’re going to visit the Biodome. What I like about the Biodome is that the building has really big windows so when go inside to visit the animals and what not, they’re not only receiving artificial light. Big, bright windows can also reduce the electrical burden of any building space because natural light pours in from every angle.

Biodôme de Montréal

So now we’ll head over to downtown Montreal. If you’re maybe thinking, “FINALLY! No more old buildings, it’s downtown Montreal!”, well I’ll just be honest and say you’re wrong.

A modern high-rise office juxtaposes the older building across from it

What’s nice about a lot of older Canadian cities, especially Montreal, is that you’ll still often see a fairly even mix of old and new, especially in downtown. And what’s nice about this mix is that you still get the feeling that you’re inside a big, bustling, modern day city, but it also makes you take a step back and explore the city’s older historical buildings while brushing up on your Canadian history.

Notre-Dame Basilica in Old Montreal
source : user Tango7174 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame_Basilica_(Montreal)#mediaviewer/File:Montreal_NDame1_tango7174.jpg

It’s sad to say that inevitably we will see less and less historical buildings as the population’s housing demands increase. But part of me also wants to see Canadian cities transform into this:

Tokyo Kabukicho District, Japan
Photograph by Puku/SIME-4Corners Images
source: http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/city-guides/tokyo-japan/

I know I know, feel free to disagree with me! I won’t decide to ditch you here in Montreal. It’s reasonable to say that in the picture above, there’s very little that resembles what Japan would’ve looked like 50 years ago. So why would I want that to happen to Canada? Well maybe it’s because I’m just a young student who likes the vibe and bright lights in a city at night.

Before I make this a really long post about why I love cities at night, and also ruin our newly formed friendship, I’m going to cut this post right here. So since we had our fill of Canadian poutine (it’s good right?), it’s time to say goodbye to this beautiful city.