This patriotic morning we cruised on to Sorel and entered the St. Lawrence River going upstream towards Montreal. We never imagined that we would be cruising this great river on our trip, and the chance to see it is a positive outcome of the Erie Canal flooding.
What a dramatic change from the meandering Richelieu River and the intimate Chambly Canal. We began to encounter shipping facilities, ocean-going freighters and massive amounts of water flowing downstream from the Great Lakes. The currents were 2 mph at the start and 6 mph in the narrow strait when we entered Montreal, and that resulted in our 9.6 mph speed dropping to just 3.6 mph! Our plan had been to anchor out; however, NOAA weather radio was forecasting squalls and high winds overnight, so we decided to go straight to the Port d'Escale Marina which is situated in the heart of old Montreal.
 |
| Shipping and loading facilities in Sorel |
 |
| The great St. Lawrence River |
Despite the heat and humidity, we headed out to walk the old city. There were vibrant crowds everywhere enjoying the waterfront, vendors, street side restaurants, art galleries, and an international jazz festival going on this week.
 |
| Impromptu jazz in the square |
 |
| Rue Saint Paul winding through the historic district |
 |
| Jazz combo in an outdoor restaurant |
 |
| Many outdoor cosmopolitan dining opportunities |
The many historic buildings and statues in the parks tell the story of Montreal, and without a doubt, the most imposing and impressive of all is the Basilica of Notre Dame. The design was the product of an Irish-American Protestant from New York who was a proponent of Gothic Architecture. He moved here to oversee the construction, the main building being completed in 1829 and the towers in 1841 and 1843. This church was the largest in North America for over 50 years and contains a pipe organ with over 7000 pipes.
This Basilica is unusual because it has light shows each night in the sanctuary for the public (paid tickets required) which tell the story of the founding and construction of the church. Inside you are surrounded by huge white pieces of canvas which serve as screens and are given headsets for the audio. At the end, the screens drop, revealing the beauty of the interior.
 |
| Basilica of Notre Dame, Montreal |
 |
| Light show screens |
 |
| Splendor and grand scale of the church |
After the show, we came back to Great Laker, thankful for not one, but two air conditioners.
No comments:
Post a Comment