Day I, Part II, Parc Mont-Royal, Montreal

After leaving the francophone Rue St-Denis behind, we headed up into the Parc Mont-Royal. This park is where Montreal gets its name. It is a HUGE urban green space ... bigger even that, I think, Golden Gate Park - which it conjured memories of for me. Hiking, biking, walking, and jogging trails; sunbathers, picnickers, families, couples, friends, and individuals enjoying the beautiful space.

But first, we saw this!!

An ad for a new burlesque show - ha!

We decided to avoid the paths and hike up through the forest area instead. The path wound around the "mountain" so we kept coming upon it and could use it as a reference point. After a bit though, it really felt like we were in a forest as we began to do some rock climbing and we left the path behind. It was simply marvelous!!! I miss my greenery!!!

:D

Flower and fern

After we got to the top of our rock-climbing bit, we were blessed with an excellent view!

 That is the 1976 Olympic Stadium in the background.

Montreal cityscape, looking east.

Once we were near the top we came upon a large metal cross full of light-bulbs, I'll bet it must be quite a sight at night!

La Croix du Mont-Royal

After we left the cross, we meandered around a bit looking for an official summit ... but couldn't locate one. As we headed down, though, we found one! It's called the Belvedere Kondiaronk. Here it is:

We sat on the chairs on the patio and explored inside too. Here are some views from the patio:

After that we headed down, this time they had some handy stairs for us. Whew - we got QUITE a workout!

As we were leaving the park we came upon a gorgeous house, and when looking closer we realized it was a street with obviously wealthy houses on it ... it abutted right against Parc Mont-Royal. We walked down it and gawked at the luxury.

 This was my favorite.

Another beauty, with Kurt on the far right.

After that, we headed out of the park for good and ended up on Rue Sherbrooke, a main street with lovely museums, more stately houses, and opulent shopping - to be expected considering the neighborhood we'd just left.

That evening post is next, and the last of our first day. Stay tuned!!

Here is a link to ALL the photos from this section: Honeymoon Day I, Part II, Parc Mont-Royal

xoxo