Day 2, and my first full day in Montréal. Waking up in a city never before visited has a tendency
to throw someone off as the unexpected of what lays ahead gives a person plenty of surprises, but for some reason, this city feels like I have been here before, considering the architecture of the buildings, the roads, the cars, even the people for that matter. This was very weird.
The first part of the day was all about visiting a museum that packed a "bite" of an exhibit, but before getting there, a unusual vehicle was awaiting some passengers to take from dry to wet in 2 shakes of a second. Unfortunately, couldn't get on as it would have taken precious time away from today's planned adventure (something else came along that did that, more on it later).
What was the "bite" the Montréal Science Centre packing? A shark exhibit. Terrible joke, I know.
What greeted visitors before entering the exhibit was a friendly reminder why extinction can be a good thing. The actual jaws of a Megalodon Shark (aka the King Kong Bundy of sharks).
I can literally walk right in the mouth with little trouble. That's a scary thought.
In case your wondering why there aren't any pics of the shark exhibit, it's for one simple reason. They barred the paparazzi's from providing the supermarket tabloids an inside scoop of one animal you won't find in North American Supermarkets (at least the legitimate ones).
I will say the exhibit was "above average", meaning, they gave" something to those who dared pay the $20CAD entry fee. They had plenty of teethes of the different species of shark (including a comparison of a average Megalodon tooth to its distant-smaller-but-more-popular relative the Great White Shark. The comparison reinforces my previous statement about extinction.). They also had many jaws of different species of sharks, as well as interactive screens showing common, weird, and extinct sharks with tidbits of information. Another aspect of the exhibit is how humans are connected to sharks with the shark cages, the uniform some airmen wore with the so called "shark repellent" that gives another "shark repellent" a better reputation, and why we can be confused for sea turtle/seals (for those of you who surf/bodyboard, your the ones at fault). The realistic life size shark statues also gives you a up close and personal look at the beasts minus the risk factor (no fun at all).
With the museum conquered, it was time to head out into a deceptively beautiful day.
How many marina-front places have a boat that can act as a restaurant? Not many.
The obligatory random shot of statues, to accentuate this city's aesthetic features.
Looks like I have stumbled upon the entry to the Asian town.
One of the many old churches standing tall and proud (with a horse drawn carriage to provide bombardment support on the eye).
So what made this beautiful day "deceptive"? The bus I needed to get me to my destination. I was walking around the same area for almost an hour looking for the 715 bus, and I couldn't find the stop for shit. I was literally wandering around until I took the chance to take the Metro (which became my lifesaver in more ways than one).
The next stop, Profusion Metal Store. One of the highly recommended places from the Metal Travel Guide.
Before arriving to Profusion, I found what appears to some kind of Buddhist Temple. Gotta admit the statues they had were impressive considering it wasn't big. Good things come in small sizes.
Before arriving to Profusion, I found what appears to some kind of Buddhist Temple. Gotta admit the statues they had were impressive considering it wasn't big. Good things come in small sizes.
Profusion. A store that dares stock what others won't, all in the convenience of a store you can walk in, browse the selection, take with you on the same day. CD's/Cassettes/Vinyls/shirts/patches, they are stocked with Metal bands that are not filtered (meaning, really underground bands you will never hear about unless you earned your stripes by going in the deep end of Metal). The store is small, but quaint, with a charm that is very welcoming. It helps a great deal the front of the store grabs your attention.
Introducing Francisco, the proprietor of Profusion. One man, one store, one courage to have what others won't. Good show Francisco \m/
Earlier, I mentioned the debacle of finding my way to Profusion, and what I forgot to mention was the fact I was running on an empty stomach. So hours upon hours of walking left me with an appetite that only a bear can understand after hibernating. This is the perfect lead-in to Quebec's most well known dish, poutine. Before getting on the Metro, I went to the first restaurant that had a huge pic of poutine plastered on its wall. My first reaction was to go in and slam down a plate. This was the plate in question. I will be the first to say that this first impression didn't help the dish case, but keep in mind this restaurant was near a Metro, making it convenient as its pro, but lack in quality as its con. This was one dish I wasn't going to give up on, but more on this later.
After getting back to my hostel, I took a much needed 2 hour nap to sleep off all the unexpected hiking in Montreal and woke up to go to my next stop, Rock Mi-Chel. This store was never discovered in the research I conducted for this trip, and as you will see later in this series of posts, it was a lifesaver.
With the procurements at Rock Mi-Chel said and done, it was time to go to Cafe Chaos, a Metal Bar.
The bar portion of the establishment was medium on the small side of things, with an atmosphere that can best be described as intimate and dark. The music played was really good and the company was very down to earth.
An omen from the Gods above, or below? Only time will tell.
Feeding this beast will determine the music played. Give it Sno Balls and you got a bald problem in the speakers.
Metalheads being Metalheads, but considering the prices, this is one special everyone can take advantage of and be happy about.
Armed to the teeth.
With Cafe Chaos now in the history books, it was time to grab some chow before calling it a night, and I managed to go to another convenient restaurant and grab some more poutine. Unfortunately, this dish also had the same issues as the first, and it seemed like the dish was not going to prove itself worthy, but alas, I still had more days to go before this trip was over. On the other hand, I found a can of Fanta we don't have in my neck of the woods, Grape Cream Soda. Tasted weird, but at least it was a pleasant surprise compared to the 2 dishes of poutine I ate this day.
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