Montreal with Owen – Day 1

There are three trips about which I blogged that I never wrote the final day(s)’ blog posts. There are also a few trips that I didn’t blog about, at all. I’ve decided to cast my mind back, and to write these missing blog posts, inspired by the pictures I took, and my memories of the events on those days. It won’t be as detailed as if I had written them on the day of the events. However, I know that continuing to procrastinate will not make the details any clearer.

One of the trips I didn’t blog about was a trip to Montreal, with my youngest, Owen, from April 15-20, 2022. His high school offered a trip to Montreal, but it was a shorter duration, expensive for what was being offered, and none of his friends were going. So I offered to take him. I love Montreal.

The train tickets cost $416 return for the two of us. The fare level was Economy one way, and Economy – Escape on the way back. The price was the same, the only difference was the ability to change date/time, or get a refund. Even though Owen was 17 at the time of the trip, and his was designated a Youth fare, it cost the same as mine.

It was Good Friday, so there was no train service between Brampton and Toronto. Michael drove us to Bramalea GO to get the bus to Union Station.

I had recently returned from New York City where the mask mandate had been dropped just before we visited. I was concerned that the threat of catching COVID had not diminished. We were being told to make our own decisions to protect ourselves, with diminishing information from governments. So, I bought a CO2 monitor just 10 days before this trip.

The carbon dioxide level can be used as a proxy to determine good ventilation. Outside air has about 400 ppm of carbon dioxide. Good indoor ventilation can lower the risk of infection because it reduces and degrades aerosols in the air. CO2 above 1000ppm can harm well-being. It can cause headaches, fatigue, and lack of attention. Therefore, good ventilation is desirable even in the absence of disease.

In April 2022, both Ontario and Quebec still had mandatory masking in indoor spaces.

The bus trip to Union Station was quick because it was a statutory holiday.

The line to board the train was long, but staff were quite organized.

They had portable scales to check the weight of people’s luggage, and put a sticker on the luggage to show it had been checked

There was a requirement to have a vaccine passport to travel by train, (which was dropped on June 20, 2022). The passports were also checked by staff in the departure hall, and we were tagged to show that we had proven we were vaccinated. Shortly after boarding, and not long after the doors had closed, my CO2 monitor was registering over 1500 ppm, and an alarm on it started going off. In this situation, knowing the air quality wasn’t particularly useful, because I couldn’t take any action. I also couldn’t figure out how to turn off the alarm, so I just had to turn off the monitor.

We were allowed to remove our masks while eating or drinking. I decided to stand in between two coaches to eat, because the air quality was much better there. However, before I finish eating, I was told by a staff member that I wasn’t allowed to stand there.

The platform at Montreal’s Central Station (Gare centrale) was dark and uninviting.

Upstairs was brighter, and more modern than Union Station. The station is adorned with art deco bas-reliefs friezes on its interior and exterior. Construction started in 1926, but was halted in 1930 as a result of the Great Depression. Construction resumed in 1939, and the station opened in 1943. The architecture is considered a mix of art deco and international style.

We were not sure where to emerge from the station. It takes up an entire city block. We had about a 2 km walk to the Airbnb I had booked. When I tried to open Google maps on my phone to get a route to walk to the Airbnb, I couldn’t connect. I had been using Wi-Fi on the train, to preserve the small amount of roaming data I thought I had. When I was in Quebec last year, I had one gigabyte of roaming data, and thought I still had the same. Owen, who is also on my plan, had data and used his phone to navigate us to our accommodation. It transpired that when I had gotten a new phone a few months ago, the new plan did not have any roaming data included in the base. So I had to purchase a plan for the week.

Marie-Reine-du-Monde de Montréal is near the train station. It is a minor basilica, and the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal. It opened in 1875. When Michael and I were here in 2016 with our eldest two children, we toured the cathedral.

Here are some images I took in 2016.

We walked through Dorchester Square which was originally built in 1892. Its recent redesign “allowed for the integration of a Victorian-inspired fountain, an urban lighting system, two new footbridges and street furniture, as well as the rehabilitation of sidewalks and pathways making the square more accessible to pedestrians and enhancing the urban environment”. The design received a Public Space architecture award in 2020.

The bridges go over the entry and exit ramps for a parking garage beneath the park, and somewhat camouflage them.

The AirBnB looked much better on the listing, than it did in person. It was an apartment building that seemed to be either Concordia University student rentals or AirBnB. The garbage room on our floor was overflowing. It was a one bedroom apartment with a pullout couch in the living room. Most Airbnbs I have stayed in already have the pullout couch bed made up. Extra bedding is usually in a closet. This pullout couch had no sheets on it. There seemed to be no sheets, blankets, or pillows in the apartment for us to use. I contacted the owner through the app. He told me that it was too late to get sheets today, and they could be brought tomorrow. I told him, either he brought the sheets today, or I’d be asking AirBnB for a refund, and moving to a hotel. One hour later, someone delivered sheets, blankets, and pillows.

The bulb over the stove was burned out. The fan in the bathroom didn’t work because it was so clogged with dust. There was one bare lightbulb over the bathroom sink. The second one was missing. The balcony overlooked garbage bins. I chose this place because it was $725 for five nights. It was by no means cheap.

I had considered staying at the Best Western Plus Montreal, where we stayed last time. However, it would have been about $1000. We wouldn’t have been able to cook our own breakfast. This way, we save money on eating out. In the end, the apartment was adequate, but I would not book that apartment again.

I tried to figure out how to turn off the alarm on the CO2 monitor before going out for dinner, but was unable to do so. I followed the instructions that came with the monitor, but they didn’t work. So when I returned home, I returned the monitor and bought a more expensive, but better quality one.

Mehrunnisa is doing graduate studies in Public Health at McGill, and was able to spend some time with us visiting and sightseeing. Even though she has lived here for eight months, her studies kept her so busy that she hasn’t had much time to explore the city. She suggested this restaurant for dinner.

We decided to get takeout and eat in the apartment. Vaccine passports are no longer required to dine-in in Quebec, and restaurants are allowed full capacity, again. However, we decided to opt for a quieter environment for visiting, and a lower risk environment, compared to a crowded indoor space.