Montreal and Ottawa

Morning in Montreal

The alarm goes off at 6 am, and before breakfast (which is only served after 8 am on Sunday), we visit Ile Notre Dame, where the Formula 1 circuit is located. After walking around the entire track, you have a wonderful view of... Montreal Skyline, thanks to perfectly clear weather. We continue to Mount Royal, a hill that rises above Montreal and which gave the city its name. Between joggers and those meditating, at 7 am we have a great view of the city from above. Finally, we go to the Olympic Centre, where you can see... the world's most tilted tower, which supports the stadium's mobile cover, with shapes reminiscent of a seashell. We return to our B&B on time for breakfast, surprising the other diners who had just woken up. We set course for Ottawa (Ontario), reaching it after 200 km by highway.

The urban face of Montreal

The image immediately shows a clean city, and although it's Sunday, there are no difficulties in understanding that this is the capital. It is full of administrative offices where the hectic atmosphere of business-oriented cities does not appear. The information center is as always comprehensive: we take a walk around the Parliament Hill, behind which opens a Ottawa River valley and on the other side is Hull, another important city, but located in Quebec. The parliament is divided into three bodies: the main and most impressive one. east and west wings. Between the central and a lateral part, there is the stray cat shelter, with cots that look like dollhouses. It seems to be here to represent the Canadian spirit of hospitality and caring for people around the world. The cats living there are certainly well-fed.
Let's take a look at Notre Dame Cathedral from the outside (where a friendly security guard tells us that we can't enter because mass is in progress), and the Byward market with its stalls selling fresh produce. colorful wild berries also products derived from maple trees. We make several purchases and get good deals. We leave Ottawa around 2 PM and Let's head to Toronto. The highway is very busy, and there are delays near major cities. We arrived at Toronto There are no particular delays due to the highway, which has a number of lanes that we can barely count. Heavy traffic, despite the speed limit of 80 km/h, everyone is traveling much faster. An experience that, just by remembering it, brings back the tension I felt. When it's already night, we arrive at Niagara Falls, and we wanted to see them at night for all costs. The city is like a small Las Vegas, full of casinos and neon lights everywhere. We have dinner in a casino with an "all you can eat" option and spend our fixed amount of $22.
Let's take a look at the chickens being slaughtered at the roulette and then dive into the spectacle, metaphorically speaking. illuminated waterfalls From colorful lights. It's something fascinating.