Sunday morning in Montreal

Two weeks ago, I spent the weekend on a whirlwind getaway to eastern Ontario and Quebec. Day one, the Saturday, we left Toronto before the sun was even up and made our way to Kingston, then Ottawa, then Montreal. I've shared some of my Ottawa photographs here -- scroll down and, in the sidebar on the right, you'll see a list of labels, where you'll find Ottawa -- and now it's time to show you a wee bit of beautiful Montreal.

It was dark when we arrived in Montreal Saturday night so, no pictures. We were up bright and early Sunday morning, with St. Joseph's Oratory our first stop. I have never ever before gone sightseeing so early. I took my first photograph at 7:19 a.m., inside the bus as we were approaching the oratory! How nuts is that! Above and below, a few of my captures (some altered, as you can see), both inside and out. As always, if you click on them you can view in a larger format.

We left the oratory just after 8 a.m. and made our way to old Montreal, headed for the Notre-Dame Basilica. This beautiful Roman Catholic church is an architectural stunner and our time there was totally insufficient to really take it all in. I did not go inside -- a sign informed us that no photos were allowed inside and, besides, mass was being conducted and I just thought it was a tad disrespectful to be disruptive. Anyway, there simply wasn't enough time; we had only 30 minutes there and the entire area is so photogenic. Below, just a few of the photos I took during this brief stop.

Finally, about 35 minutes after the bus had parked, we pulled away. I spied the McDonalds and was thankful the camera was still in my hands, as I noticed something I hadn't when I had walked by it just a few minutes earlier -- the building was built in 1905! To find this garish fast-food chain in one of old Montreal's classic historical buildings .... make of it what you will. I admit, it makes me go hmmmmmmm.