Montreal, Canada
Tuesday 31st July 2018
We headed to the airport. Our flight was at 12:50 pm. We got there a little early and had something to eat at the airport. The flight is for 8 hours and 20 minutes, but we land at 3:10pm. There is a difference of 5 hours between Europe and Montreal. The flight with Swiss Air was really comfortable and the food was probably among the best airline food we have had. (Remember we are flying economy so the bar isn’t really high).
We arrived in Montreal and we were excited. Until we hit the security line! Oh! My! Goodness! The queue was SO long. There was nothing we could do, but join the line. To our surprise the line moved really quickly. It only took about 20 minutes and we were at the baggage carousel. That took heaps of time though. We headed out of the doors (after lining up to get out) and found our driver.
He was waiting for other people and told us to wait near Door number 24. We went over there and sat down. We were starting to get confused as we were led to believe that it was a private vehicle transfer. Anyway, it all got sorted and we got into the stretch limousine with 2 other couples – one from Milan (whose luggage was delayed) and one from Switzerland – mother and son). The driver was driving so quick – it was like he was possessed.
We got to the hotel and got organised for the photo tour. We got to the hotel at 5:10 and the tour was starting at 6:00pm. We put all the equipment together, grabbed the tripod and headed down to the bar so we could have a drink before the tour. Marko Kulik (who runs Montreal photo tours) met us there and found out about our skills and what we were already doing.
We headed out to the Artist’s area to take some photos of different sites.
We were so stoked to see the squirrel. Our next stop was in a couple of different neighbourhoods that had interesting buildings. Marko pointed out to us the stairs on the outside of the building up to the first floor – which are used frequently in winter due to the amount of snow that they get here.
After we had finished here, and Marko provided some well appreciated soft drinks, we headed up to the lookout. We parked the car and walked up the hill a little further. We were well rewarded for this effort.
We stopped at a smaller lookout on the way down the hill. The sunset here was stunning. Phil also got some great photos of some raccoons.
We were having such a great time (luckily cause it was 2:30am local time when we got up and Bel hadn’t slept on the plane). Next stop was by the river to get the lights of Montreal – using tripods. This was so pretty. I’m so glad Marko brought us here.
Our final stop for the tour was a dome that was used for Expo 67. It is really cool and lights up beautifully. While we were taking photos, Marko pointed out a skunk to us. I couldn’t get any photos, but at least we got to see it and we didn’t get sprayed. Winner, winner.
We had such a great time with Marko. He was amazingly helpful and explained to us how local Montrealans (I have no idea if that is right or not – but, you know, people who live in Montreal) live. He happily answered all of our questions and we had a great time with him. If you are ever in Montreal you should definitely look him up and go on a photo tour with him. Marko worked out our skills and knowledge levels and then helped us to improve. We had a great time and I was sad for the tour to end, but needing to get to bed. We had a quick room service dinner of club sandwich and burger and crashed.
Sleep in tomorrow, with some suggested places to visit from Marko. What a great day!
Bel and Phil's Adventures 
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