Montreal 2

Day 44

We have had a few days here now and it is hard to come to terms with the fact that we are in the middle of Canada and all the sign, newspapers etc are printed in French.  Everyone speaks French but fortunately most can speak English as well.  Many of the streets and shops have similar names to those in Paris and some resemble the left bank with the paintings and musicians on the sidewalk.  Some of the restaurants look the same as the ones on the  Champs Elysees.

We did a full tour today and went to see the track where the Grand Prix du Canada will be tomorrow.  It runs past the casino which is actually on an island on the St Lawrence River.  They also have a huge Six Flags La Ronde amusement park beside the river complete with ferris wheel and roller coaster.

We went to Mount Royal which has a great view over the city.  This area also has the St Josephs Oratory which is a Roman Catholic minor basilica.  The construction began in 1904 but it was not completed until 1967.

We also had a great view of the tower of the Olympic Park which is the largest incline tower in the world.  It was built for the 1976 summer olympics. 

When we returned to the town it had been taken over by the Grand Prix with cars, tents and people.  Some of the roads were closed so we had a look around and returned to our hotel.

We later went for another walk and ended up in China Town.  Ian went to a Chineese acupuncturist who fixed his stiff neck with cupping.

The racing qualifications atart at 8 in the morning  - go Webber !!