McCARTHY IN CANADA

WEEK SIX - 02/06/07 - 08/06/07

Week 6 kicked off with an 8am departure from Montreal, with Frenchman Paul at the wheel of the bus. His high pitched French voice, his tendency to horn and wave at people he doesn't know, his driving without the use of any sort of mirrors at ludicrously high speeds, his tendency to just shout out "Wooo" at random times, and his knowledge of all things Quebecian made him into one of the most enjoyable chaps encountered so far. Our first stop on the route to Quebec was Montmoncery Falls, which stand twice as high as Niagara. The path system enables you to get up close and personal with them, which also results in getting soaked. From here, we headed to Quebec City, the only fortified city north of Mexico and as such a UN Heritage Site. It was extremely French, thanks to cobbled streets and boutiques on every corner. Somehow, Paul managed to back the minibus into a space that a mini would have trouble getting into, without the use of mirrors. This instantly earnt him mine and Iain from Yorks respect. He then lead us on a walking tour of the city, which took around 2 hours. After the tour, many people headed off shopping on their own, but myself, Iain, Japanese man Tatiskmo and Paul headed to a pub. After four pints here, we headed off for the great French Canadian traditional meal of Poutine - a delightful concoction consisting of chips, gravy and lumps of cheese. It was sheer bliss. After this, we headed off to a small tavern tucked in a corner, where four bottles of a 9% beer - 'La Finde Du Monde' - ironically translated into 'The End of the World' - was consumed. After this, the Japanese chap made the sensible decision of heading back to the hostel, while myself and Iain moved onto a live music bar, where local folk songs where mixed with Beatles numbers to great effect. After a pitcher of beer each for myself and Iain, taking our total to 12 pints, including 3 of the rocket fuel, the evening ended in superb fashion with my drinking colleague throwing up into his pint glass. Wanting to make a hasty exit, I necked my remaining drink and we headed back to the hostel, for 6 hours sleep before hitting the road again

Montmoncery Falls The falls from the moist pathway
Twice as high as Niagara Falls Crazy Frenchman Paul, who turned into an iconic figure
This monument is dedicated to the link between Quebec and France, and it was unvieled by French President Jacques Chirac, who described it as "shit" upon seeing it The fortifications around the city
A narrow market street This famous hotel dominates the skyline, and a law has been passed so that nothing can be built taller than it

Pauls erratic driving continued on the Sunday, no doubt enhanced by his drink consumption last night. Our destination for today was Tadoussac, where we took a boat to cross a river. Our activity once in the small town was whale watching. This turned out to be a complete disaster, as we were freezing cold, very wet and didn't see one whale. The disappointing experience was heightened with my notorious record of getting sea sick, which was enhanced by the addition of 10 pints still sloshing around in my stomach. The total waste of $30 was made up for though back at the hostel, as Paul ushered me towards the dinner table, where I proceeded to receive a delightful three course meal consisting of soup, sausage and mash and some form of bakery product, despite the fact I hadn't paid for it. Feeling delighted, I spent the evening watching the beavers at the nearby lake constructing their dam, before heading back for an early night after the escapades of yesterday

Iain, Tatiskmo, McCarthy and Tim from Germany prepare to go whale watching

An early departure from Tadoussac ensured I got away without having to pay for the delightful meal of last night. Our journey back to Montreal today was a long one, and as such several stops were taken. The first saw us visit a small town called Saint Paulie, before stopping at a huge church in which miracles are supposed to occur. It was a rather splendid building inside and outside, and a decent thirty minutes were spent exploring it. We finally arrived in Montreal, where I visited McDonalds before exploring the city on foot. In the evening, myself and Iain joined a young Belgian and a young German in meeting German Tim, and this involved a Metro journey. This proved to be a complete waste of time, as we ended up back in the tobacco cafe of Friday night, where several stouts were enjoyed. Leaving the bar at 2.30am, we wandered back to the hostel, visiting McDonalds in the process for my second of the day, which proved to be a mistake as this second Big Mac proceeded to ruin my stomach and leave me spending most of the night attempting not to be sick or excrete myself

 

The church where miracles are supposed to occur A rather grand building
Inside this fine religious house The son of God and the son of a carpenter

Tuesdays original plans of visiting the Olympic Stadium were soon put to bed due to a rain shower. With this in mind, I took to the underground city in order to remain dry. This soon proved to be a huge mistake however, as I ended up hopelessly lost and further away from the hostel than when I started, resulting in becoming ludicrously wet. With the day written off, the evening weather cleared enough to allow myself and Iain to take advantage of the free tickets on offer for the soccer match that evening, as Montreal Impact took on the Minnesota Thunder. Somehow, we managed to get to the game without becoming lost. The Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard resembled Withdean with no roof and a wet and windy day. However, it did allow for one of the most amusing things I have ever seen at a football match, when one of the beer tents blew onto the running track. The pre-game ceremonies saw the players running through a crowd of children one at a time as they were introduced, before the national anthems. The standard of the game itself was humorous, as was indicated by the fact a Brighton fan and a York fan found it poor. Every 10 minutes there was a draw to win a slice of pizza, which was amusing. The game finished 1-1, with the Thunder scoring in the last minute to secure a point. After the game, we took the Metro back to the hostel, where a traditional evening McDonalds was taken, before heading to bed

 

The main stand of the stadium One of the ends behind the goal
McCarthy ponders just what the hell are himself and Iain doing at this game A team of stewards try to re-erect the tent, which was doomed to failure
 
The locals believe their side are heading for victory, until a last minute goal from Minnesota  

Another day exploring Montreal saw me make it to the Olympic Stadium, where it was bloody freezing. On arrival, I took the cable car up the tower above the stadium, which is the highest tower in the world with a 45 degree incline. It offered a decent view over the city despite the cloud cover. After this, I visited the former Velodrome, which has now been turned into the Biodome, in which animals are kept in their natural habitats and allowed to roam around. The rainforest was pretty exciting, with snakes, an alligator and two parrots raping each other. Next port of call was the stadium tour. The arena itself is now covered with a roof, and has been adjusted to hold baseball and other sports. The journey home saw me stop off at the Giles Vileneuve Circuit, but unfortunately with the first free practice beginning tomorrow, the track was inaccesible. In the evening, myself and Iain went for a plate of $4 spaghetti, before beginning a frantic search for a bar showing the highlights of the England game. We began in an English pub, before heading for an Irish bar, where we instead settled for watching the Anaheim Ducks defeat the Ottawa Senators to win the Stanley Cup. Afterwards, we returned to the hostel via McDonalds, for a final nights sleep in Montreal

 

The inverted tower of the stadium Montreal as seen from the stadium tower
The Velodrome McCarthy overlooking Montreal
The Olympic Stadium The water complex
The inside of the stadium, 30 years on from the games The bar in which we watched the Stanley Cup Final in contained this novel machine which allowed you to see if you were over the drink-drive limit

An early start saw us head off to Mount Tremblant today. Our first point of call was Mount Royal, the mountain that overlooks Montreal. After this, we headed off to Tremblant, a Disney style resort in the mountains that is designed for tourists to enjoy ski-ing holidays in. The prices reflected this, in the fact that your average pint was $10, or the £5 mark. We arrived at our hostel after exploring the town, and a football was soon found which allowed myself and Iain to have a kick around in the garden. After this, the discovery of two attractive girls ensured we stayed in the hostel bar, and enjoyed the opening match of the NBA Finals, and the Cleveland Cavaliers went down against the San Antonio Spurs

 

Montreal as seen from Mount Royal McCarthy at the top of the mountain
The Olympic Stadium dominating its side of the city Mount Tremblant in all its Disney-esque glory

Todays destination was the capital of Canada, Ottawa. The journey would see us stop off at Omega Safari Park, and as such some carrots were purchased to enable us to feed the animals on our journey round. The first animals we saw were elks, which I was pleased to announce to the bus tasted delightful in a burger after my experience in Banff. Myself and Iain took it upon ourselves to not just feed the animals, but also to lob carrots at them. We continued this tradition as we entered the buffalo section, and we also saw geese and turtles. The timber wolves, coyotes and bears were not allowed to be fed. We also saw two moose, who took great pleasure in excreting in a stream and then drinking from it. Unfortunately, I was bitten by a bastard horse fly, but quick retribution was taken by killing the bastard. We then arrived in the nations capital, where myself and Iain familiarised ourselves by visiting the parliament buildings, followed swiftly by the liquor store. 15 cans of beer were purchased each, and the evening was then spent devouring 13 of them for myself, and 10 for the Yorkshire man. Our drunken states saw us watch several movies as well as WWE Smackdown, before exploring the hostel we were staying in - which used to be the cities prison. Before going to bed, McCarthy headed up to death row to explore, but unfortunately no paranormal activity took place. Disappointed, I returned to my cell for some rest ahead of a day of exploration to begin week 7

 

This elk is teased with a carrot out the window it cannot reach We soon allow it to enter the bus through the doors though
A buffalo A timber wolf
A bear cub A bear surveys the area from his rock
Here is a moose A street named after the county champions
 
Death Row in the prison McCarthy was spending his time in Ottawa  in  

 

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