Once we realized how bad traffic always was in Montreal, we weren't eager to go into the city too much, but of course we had to drop Malachi off at the airport and pick him up, and we had three temple trips scheduled, so we actually saw quite a bit of the island.
The temple (in Longueuil, on the far bank of the river) was a highlight, of course! It is tiny—maybe smaller than the stake center that shares its parking lot! But it's beautiful. We loved being there. We had missed it! They had an interesting way of choosing the language of the session—the temple president would just stand at the front of the room and ask for a show of hands whether people wanted French or English! I loved doing it in French when we went in September. It was the perfect situation for understanding—hearing words I am very familiar with in English, accompanied by clear French speech and French subtitles! I understood every word! But strangely enough, both of these sessions ended up being in English. There are many English speakers in Montreal! I think there are two whole English wards there. I think both of the sessions we attended on this trip were split about 50/50 between French and English speakers, so I don't really know how the temple president decided which to do!
The temple is only open Wednesday evening through Saturday, and Malachi left for Utah on Wednesday afternoon, so sadly he didn't get to do baptisms, but Daisy and Junie went with Sam and had a great time. The younger kids and I went to the store and then just played and walked in the (very small) temple grounds. It was such a warm night, we didn't even need coats!
While we walked around I talked to Malachi on the phone. He was in the Detroit airport and had had his wallet stolen!! But it turned out okay. The thief (a cleaning guy in the airport) took a pouch of all Malachi's stuff (passport! Driver's license! Debit card!) while Ky was working on the other side of a table, and Malachi noticed soon afterwards that it was gone and went running after the guy, who he'd seen cleaning there! The guy of course acted innocent and told Malachi he'd already turned the pouch in to his supervisor, but when Malachi tracked it down, his cash and airpods were gone. He filed a police report there at the airport, but without much hope of ever getting anything back. He was so grateful at least to have his passport back so he could fly home!
So that was an adventure.
Other than the temple, one place we really liked in Montreal was Mont-Royal, the hill the city is named for. There is a big church up there, L’Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal, which you can see from all over the city.
This part of the city was really beautiful!
You can see all the beautiful trees up there—that's Mont-Royal
This is the church. It's huge, and you have to climb many steps to get up to it!
But once you get up there, the views of the city are beautiful!
The church is interesting inside, and impressive. No charge to go inside this one, thank goodness, though there were escalators and a couple gift shops inside. There are huge displays of candles in the "votive chapels" downstairs, which felt hushed and mysterious all lit by the candlelight.
The chapel has an interesting Brutalist aesthetic. I wonder what would make you choose that for a place of worship? It's all concrete and steel and sharp angles.
I thought this huge chandelier must be intended to symbolize Jesus' crown of thorns.
And these iron grates on the doors and windows were very thorn-like, too.
Nice pipe organ!
The stained glass was mostly geometric—it reminded me of a kaleidoscope
I liked this statue outside
Rolling down the hill
From the church, we walked a few blocks to the huge Mont-Royal park. It has a big cemetery on one side of it.
Sam and Daisy and Junie went back to get our car and some food while I stayed with the little kids. We wandered around trying to get to a playground I'd read about and, eventually, found it, much farther away than anticipated—but not before trying to take shortcuts that didn't go through, getting soaked by a quick-but-intense rain shower, and dealing with some extreme grumpiness from the little ones (and, let's be honest, myself). Goldie and Teddy were heroes and carried Clementine, jollied Gus along, and talked to me very kindly until I cheered up again! Bless them.
The playground, when we got there, really was worth the trouble. The kids were so happy to relax and play and not be driving! And the trees in the park were so beautiful! We liked the place so much that we went there again to wait for Malachi on the day we had to pick him up from the airport. These pictures are from both visits.
The park had a pretty little pond—it kind of reminded me of Sugarhouse Park.
And I found the prettiest leaf in the world! Isn't it striking with that black edging? I haven't ever seen a leaf like it before.
A few days later. Sunnier, but colder!
Wide eyes and wild hair!
Sam showing the girls how to draw something (they were all sketching together)
A beautiful leaf!
So many leaves in the pond!
Another beautiful leaf
We were so glad to have a morning to play in this park, after which we picked up Malachi from the airport and his quick trip to Utah, battled the Montreal traffic one more time, and drove "home" to Quebec City! We were so happy to be back there!
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