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Mostly, what I did in Montreal was just spend time with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rysmiel and adrian_turtle (whose visit overlapped with mine: fitting, since I met her in papersky and Rysmiel's home).
The first thing I did was to arrive quite late (cascading delays on Amtrak), and be glad of Rysmiel's company, and the city, after a couple of days in Niskayuna with almost all ofcattitude's relatives. I had decided on the train that I needed comfort food, and after dismissing a few options as impractical, settled on poutine. It did the job, though perhaps not as well as roast duck congee would have.
Rysmiel and I had a pleasant time at the Biodome, but that doesn't count as tourist stuff. Not for me, at least: I have an annual membership (which may or may not prove to have been a good deal in financial terms, but pleases me, and means not having to queue for tickets on busy days). As Rysmiel noted, most of the mammals were asleep, but we got to watch an adult golden lion tamarin groom a very active child, squirming over and under and around its parent. Watching the pacu (a.k.a. giant vegetarian piranha) crack a walnut, using its teeth and the edge of the tank for leverage, was also impressive. We spent a long time watching fish in the big tank, including discussing whether the cod were showing social behavior. In the penguin area, there was a woman behind a table with bits of animal we could touch. When I asked her "is this musk-ox fur?" she took a moment to answer, then explained that she'd been fumbling for the Spanish for musk-ox, because they'd had several visitors who spoke Spanish but not French or English. She was then happy to talk to us about musk-ox (long and shaggy, with an undercoat) and Arctic fox (incredibly soft). There was also a piece of baleen, and a sperm whale tooth, which I'd guess either the Biodome or another museum has had in storage for a long time.
Adrian, Rysmiel, and I went to the Jardin Botanique in a light rain on Saturday, because Adrian and I wanted to see the Garden of the Senses, after Papersky's enthusiastic write-up. We had that area to ourselves, so the staffer didn't just guard the edible plants area: he showed us around the whole place, pointed out things he thought particularly interesting, and answered any questions. I noted that if I'd been planning to cook dinner that night, I'd have dragged my companions off to Marche Atwater, made a really impressive salad (including rocket, though I didn't bother tasting that, because I know I like it), pineapple sage, and nasturtium if available, and leaving Rysmiel with a refrigerator full of greens that might just sit there. However, we already had dinner plans, involving Indian food and then Maple Delight for ice cream or sorbet. First, though, we took the explainer/guide's advice and went to the greenhouses, which are near the Garden of the Senses and out of the rain. They were also crowded, but we had fun pointing out bromeliads and huge leaves and the occasional flowering cactus to each other. The current special exhibit is a celebration of the Jardin's 75th anniversary, in the form of an invocation of Montreal the city as a woman, all blues and greens, at the center of a large area where the plants are sorted by color. Quite impressive.
I also read a few of my hosts' books, as usual; I should probably have finished Midnight's Children there, since Papersky has a copy of the same edition I have, and I seem to have left mine with one of Cattitude's relatives.
rysmiel and adrian_turtle (whose visit overlapped with mine: fitting, since I met her in papersky and Rysmiel's home).The first thing I did was to arrive quite late (cascading delays on Amtrak), and be glad of Rysmiel's company, and the city, after a couple of days in Niskayuna with almost all of
cattitude's relatives. I had decided on the train that I needed comfort food, and after dismissing a few options as impractical, settled on poutine. It did the job, though perhaps not as well as roast duck congee would have.Rysmiel and I had a pleasant time at the Biodome, but that doesn't count as tourist stuff. Not for me, at least: I have an annual membership (which may or may not prove to have been a good deal in financial terms, but pleases me, and means not having to queue for tickets on busy days). As Rysmiel noted, most of the mammals were asleep, but we got to watch an adult golden lion tamarin groom a very active child, squirming over and under and around its parent. Watching the pacu (a.k.a. giant vegetarian piranha) crack a walnut, using its teeth and the edge of the tank for leverage, was also impressive. We spent a long time watching fish in the big tank, including discussing whether the cod were showing social behavior. In the penguin area, there was a woman behind a table with bits of animal we could touch. When I asked her "is this musk-ox fur?" she took a moment to answer, then explained that she'd been fumbling for the Spanish for musk-ox, because they'd had several visitors who spoke Spanish but not French or English. She was then happy to talk to us about musk-ox (long and shaggy, with an undercoat) and Arctic fox (incredibly soft). There was also a piece of baleen, and a sperm whale tooth, which I'd guess either the Biodome or another museum has had in storage for a long time.
Adrian, Rysmiel, and I went to the Jardin Botanique in a light rain on Saturday, because Adrian and I wanted to see the Garden of the Senses, after Papersky's enthusiastic write-up. We had that area to ourselves, so the staffer didn't just guard the edible plants area: he showed us around the whole place, pointed out things he thought particularly interesting, and answered any questions. I noted that if I'd been planning to cook dinner that night, I'd have dragged my companions off to Marche Atwater, made a really impressive salad (including rocket, though I didn't bother tasting that, because I know I like it), pineapple sage, and nasturtium if available, and leaving Rysmiel with a refrigerator full of greens that might just sit there. However, we already had dinner plans, involving Indian food and then Maple Delight for ice cream or sorbet. First, though, we took the explainer/guide's advice and went to the greenhouses, which are near the Garden of the Senses and out of the rain. They were also crowded, but we had fun pointing out bromeliads and huge leaves and the occasional flowering cactus to each other. The current special exhibit is a celebration of the Jardin's 75th anniversary, in the form of an invocation of Montreal the city as a woman, all blues and greens, at the center of a large area where the plants are sorted by color. Quite impressive.
I also read a few of my hosts' books, as usual; I should probably have finished Midnight's Children there, since Papersky has a copy of the same edition I have, and I seem to have left mine with one of Cattitude's relatives.
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