MONTREAL, CANADA

                                          City Highlights

 Getting from the airport into the city entails getting the hotel shuttle, going to the Greyhound terminal and then taking a smaller shuttle to your hotel. This process took me two and a half hours and my friend from L A three hours. Once in the city it is very walkable and easy to get around. With a low crime rate it is safe to walk anywhere anytime.

     Montreal, often referred to as the Paris of North America, is the capitol of Quebec Province where French is the predominant language. However, nearly everyone also speaks English.

The city is a bustling study in contrasts where Victorian brownstones nuzzle skyscrapers, and architectural marvels soar beside stately neo-gothic churches. The city blends the old and new with ease.

In 1535 French explorer, Jacques Cartier, looking for passage to India, was the first white man to set foot on the island that became Montreal. It was the site of a Hochelega and Iroquois village. In 1611 de Champlain fortified a settlement and trading center at the confluence of the St. Lawrence, Ottawa and Richelieu Rivers. The British conquered New France in 1759, but they confirmed the right of the French people to maintain their faith, language and legal code. For many decades the minority British ran the city’s economy. In 1867 the Articles of Confederation joined the provinces of Ottawa, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia into Canada which effectively ended British rule in Ottawa.

            Our first morning we headed to Notre Dame Basilica to pick up an English-speaking walking tour of the city.  The jewel of Montreal, it is one of the largest and most beautiful churches in North America. Designed with double balconies all around, it can seat 3800 people. This neo-gothic church, the start of the Catholic mission in the city, sits above the original 17^th century church. The first church was in the middle of what is now the street.

The organ has 7000 pipes. When forestry was big business, all the inside decoration was carved of red pine that now has been gilded. The marble-looking statues are carved white pine. This church has twin towers. The star-studded blue vaulted ceiling is unusual. The stain glass windows are by Limoges, and the church houses one of largest bells in North America.

            Our guide added, “The pulpit is no longer used, as microphones came into use in 1960. The architect, O’Donnell, was Protestant, but made a death bed conversion to Catholicism, so he is buried here in the church.”

            We spent a lot of time inside the church and in fact returned again another day to admire its lovely interior.

In lovely old Montreal the antique gas lights have been converted to electricity, but there is still one street where the old gas lights remain fueled by gas and are left on 24-hours a day. The cobbled old city is near the waterfront.

The monument to Montréal's founder, Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve, in the square marks the city’s historic center. It also marks the site where he and a few Frenchmen had a brief skirmish with some Iroquois Indians resulting in a French win. The red brick New York Life building, built in 1888 and the city’s first skyscraper, sits to the right of the square.. Many old warehouses have been converted into apartments and condominiums, and many of the old 18^th century banks have been converted into hotels.

Marche Bonsecours with its graceful silver-domed and neo-classical architecture is hard to miss, as it dominates the waterfront of Old Montreal. Built in 1847 of gray stone, the cast iron columns were brought from England. The imposing building, with its silver dome, was the city’s main agricultural marketplace for over a century and is now full of small boutiques.

Montreal’s French architecture typically has solid stone wall construction. The roofs are steep with dormers. The windows are small with many small panes in them. The glass panes were shipped in molasses from France, to prevent breakage, and then assembled on arrival. The double small windows help keep heat in the home during the winter. On the first floor the windows were what we know as French doors, and had heavy wooden shutters to cover them in winter.

 Other city highlights are noted elsewhere in greater length and detail. Montreal is a wonderful city where we had a most enjoyable and interesting time.

WWII MEMORIAL

                                                  WWII Monument

            On this Memorial Day I think it appropriate for me to detour from my travel experiences to tell you about a trip a good friend of mine, who happens to be a WW II vet and who happens to live in Sun City Texas, recently took to Washington, D.C. to see the most recent memorial on the Washington Mall.  

            The 34 Sun Cityans, plus a 107-year old from Austin, were excited about the trip and were surprised to see 200 people up early to cheer them and send them off.

            My friend told me, “You can imagine the war stories that floated around inside the plane. You know the memorial sits on 7.4 acres about half way between the capitol and the Lincoln Memorial. At a cost of 175 million dollars, it took three years to complete. Opened in 2004, it is a memorial to the 16 million   men who served in the conflict and the over 400,000 who made the ultimate sacrifice. You know the war ended 68 years ago so it doesn’t take much to figure none of us are very young any more.

            “I couldn’t believe my  eyes as we were pushed down the long exit lane at the DC airport at the huge crowd, many of them school children who had come out to greet us, cheer, shake our hand, clapping and telling us thank you for our service. What a welcome!

            “The next day we were awakened by the loud phone ringing at 5:20 AM. We had been instructed to stay in our wheelchairs at all times to be pushed about by our guardian. This wheelchair business is pretty new to me but it does have advantages in crowds and lines!

            “Our first stop was the WW II Memorial which is certainly impressive and its location gives it a commanding presence. Granite, bronze and water blend well with the lawns, trees and shrubbery of the surrounding landscape. The 24 bronze relief panels flanking the ceremonial entrance brings new life into old black and white photographs of that era.  The 56 granite columns are split into two half-circles framing the rainbow pool and its fountains. The columns representing the 48 states, seven territories and the District of Columbia are joined together with a bronze rope at the bottom. Each engraved column. holds a bronze oak and wheat wreath. The two 43-foot high arched pavilions represent victory on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts.

            “Senator Robert Dole and Award winning actor Tom Hanks teamed up to raise the monies for the memorial to become reality after over a half of a century.”

            My friend told me they also visited the Lincoln Memorial, Korean Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, The Navy Memorial, Air Force memorial and basically ended the day at Arlington National Cemetery.

            Statistics estimate that 800 veterans are dying daily. Honor Flight Network made its first flights of  six veterans in 2005 using small private planes. The program was the brain child of a retired Air Force physician assistant who was also a pilot and working for the VA. The program grew and in 2008 Southwest Airlines became their official carrier. Each veteran is assigned a guardian who handles his wheelchair. Most of the guardians are young active duty servicemen who volunteer for a flight.

            Everyone knows how important mail call is to anyone in the service or anyone away from home for that matter. As the vets were headed home there was once again mail call where each was handed a manila envelope of letters written by friends, volunteers and school children.

            My friend closed by saying, “It had been an exciting day but a long one and nearly everyone snoozed on the flight home. It was a wonderful experience and honor to be part of this group.”

          On this Memorial Day pause to think about all those who have so honorably served and fought for our freedom. God bless America!