Bugs And Blooms

July 2, 2006

With appropriate rested of my action packed the day yesterday I had a quiet breakfast and directed out on the subway to 9:30 am. I like the subway system to Montreal since it is sure, effective and all the major views are accessible through the underground transportation. And the interesting thing is the train race on the rubber wheels - none of this return a metallic metallic noise that I am if that is used to places as Toronto, as New York City or as Chicago...

My first destination for was this morning the complex of olympic Montreal, localized in the hochelaga-maissoneuve sector, at first a founded city in 1883 by the local farmers. Hochelaga-maissoneuve was integrated in Montreal in 1918 and today is one of neighborhoods of class worker of principal Montreal of which living them are 90% French-High-speakers.

The olympic Stadium of Montreal more better is attained to station of subway of IX of Pie and while leaving the station I walked through spread them vast concrete surrounding this historic stadium, constructs for the 1976 Olympic Games of Eted. One of this is nicknames are the "Big O" and it was supposed to be one of the most of the advanced structures of his time, holding more than 56,000 just people. It presented a revocable roof that was held in place by the suspended cables of a 556 big feet tower, in passing the highest turn having tendency in the world.

The stadium was extremely dear and his final cost came to more than C$1 billion, the debt on which only was reimbursed by the city in 2006. In a manner interesting, John Flag, the mayor of Montreal to the time, announced that "The Olympic Games are able not has more a deficit than a man can have a baby", now a popular quotation among the inhabitants of Montreal. Because of the various strikes, the construction delays of the and the complications, the revocable roof did not open until 1988, but that the option was abandoned in 1992 in the service of a new roof to the stop that continued to have various structural problems and a new roof of replacement is considered for the installation again. Despite these problems, these Parks of olympic Montreal is a view to contemplate and an interesting place to explore.

Between 1977 and 2004 the Montreal Stadium olympic was the house of the Expositions of Montreal team of Baseball of Major League that was transferred to Washington, D.C., in the 2005 seasons. It was also the house of the Montreal Alouttes, the team of Montreal in Soccer League Canadian. Today the stadium is used for a goal selection including the parlors, the athletic games, the motorized sports, live spectacles, the expositions, the film pulls, the bullets, the social activities and more. Since his opening, his Stadium of olympic Montreal was one of the covered stadiums the more occupied in the world.

The olympic Stadium of Montreal is one to fascinate, the curious and nevertheless aesthetic building and I decided to explore it in more of detail while taking the funicular that in almost 5 minutes takes you to an observation bridge that furnishes a 360 degrees of Montreal. Climb you have a released view towards the east towards the buildings in form of pyramid of the olympic former Town and on the top I appreciated a perfect view of center city and the skyscrapers, Royal Montreal and the various bridges crossing the St. Lawrence River.

The olympic cycle former track, called the Biodome, was transformed in an artificial habitat that presents four different ecosystems: a Tropical Forest, a Forest of Laurentian, a St. Lawrence the Sea Ecosysta¨me and the Polar Worlds of the Arctic one and the Antarctic. For me, my next item was at the day order the Montreal botanical Garden. I left the olympic and walked Stadium under the bridge of Street of Sherbrooke and was located to right next to the portals of entry of Garden of Botanical Montreal. The C$12. 75 the prices of entry give attains you to the two the gardens just like the Insectarium, therefore I began with an introduction of indepth to the insect world.

Open since 1990, the Montreal Insectarium holds hundreds of type of butterflies, the night butterflies, the insects and the spiders. Its scientific collections hold 140,000 specimens and his exposition collection consists in about 20,000, about 4000 of which is on the public exposition. There is also a collection in arthropod life with almost 100 types. Does not only the home of Insectarium on the insect science, but it explores also insects in an artistic one, cultural and even context of gastronomical. In 2005 it held even an insect tastes the event!

Well, this scientific introduction was for me to reheat enough to continue my explorations outside in the botanical Garden. Just opposite the Insectarium is a marsh and a garden of garden of marsh that presents a selection of specimens of magnificent waterlily.

The move on of there is a rose garden rather big with about 10,000 roses of a lot of different varieties. The roses were one passed little their flower, but I would imagine myself that this garden must appear magnificent just when all is in the full flower.

A little more to the north is the Japanese Garden, conceived as a garden contemporary by the garden designer Ken Nakajima famous Japanese. All the elements, the rocks, water characteristics and the plants carefully were chosen and are impregnated with a unique symbolism. The Chinese Garden next to the this is a result of a link between the Montreal botanical Garden and the Parks Department of the City of Shanghai. More than 120 receptacles were dispatched Shanghai in 1990 and 50 Chinese craftsmen were necessary to assemble the components to construct the garden.

I took a walk then by the First garden of Nations that reflects a natural environment and is the first ease of his type to Montreal. After crossing some ponds and some quiet wood I attained the Garden of Shadow that welcomes a big collection of primroses, astilbes, hostas and the brackens and proves that the same shady sectors can present brilliant colors and a selection of foliage and a flower selection. Now it it was the serious time for an ice and I am sat one of the tables outside the House of Fuji that is a restaurant of 66 places furnishing cold drinks, the ice and the frozen yogurt and the light meals.

After my small rest there was a somewhere else city that I wanted to explore and that was Small Italy. If I decided to take the free bus of shuttle that connects the olympic Stadium, the Biodome, the Insectarium and the botanical Garden and comfortably was beaten to the station of subway of close Vieau. Of there I took the subway to the station of Claw of John, alongside one of the streets of major est-ouest of Montreal.

As a lot of cities in North America, Montreal has a big Italian community. Indeed, the Italians represent bigger Montreal group ethnic. A lot of immigrants came from Italy as the beginning of the nineteenth century and a lot of them entered into the matters of hotel and restaurant. The majority of them arrived after the Second World War, and most of these immigrants came from the poorer regions of the Italian south. One of the ingredients keys of Italian culture are of course his kitchen, done the fresh ingredients. The Marché the Claw of John is an anchor point in this community where the local inhabitants can buy the fresh products, cheese, meat, the pastries and the other products. This market is different of others since his trace is especially outside. More than 100 producers post their products here in summer, and the market has a mood of the distinct south to him. You feel almost as you are somewhere close to the Mediterranean or same a Moroccan souk.

I wanted to seize myself of a seat in the a little local restaurant next to the market, but most of them if were packed that I decided I was going to jump on the subway again (easy to do with my pass of visitor of 3 convenient days) and examines the st-denis sector a little. Without any doubts to time for a last lunch!

For the entire item including the photos visits please
http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/montreal_olympic_botanical_garden.htm