On Veterans Day weekend of 2017, Rachelle and I took a trip to Montreal to visit Hansol Park, our former foreign exchange student from South Korea. He was studying at the prestigious McGill University in Montreal, which gave us a chance to see both Hansol and a new city. Here are a few excerpts from bopping around the city.
The Palais des Congres de Montreal (Montreal Convention Center), built in 1983, is known for its rainbow-colored glass.
Inside, it also has a pink-tree forest.
Charlie Hebdo is a satirical newspaper in Paris. In January 2015, two terrorists entered Charlie Hebdo’s headquarters, killing 12 people and injuring 11 others. The attackers were angry at Charlie Hebdo’s joking cartoons about Islamic leaders and Mohammed. Charlie Hebdo is well known for its mockery of Catholicism and Judaism as well as other groups. Four days after the attack, 40 world leaders and another two million people met in Paris for a rally of national unity (plus another 3.7 million throughout France) and the phrase “Je Suis Charlie” became a slogan of support. This display of Charlie Hebdo cartoons is located at the Musee du Beaux Arts
Peacock-themed Coke bottle at Yakisuki Shabu-Shabu Restaurant.
Museum store, Musee du Beaux Arts.
There’s a lot of moose-themed merchandise in Montreal .
Remember the bullet bras of the 1950s? Have you ever seen one? (bottom object in picture above). Also seen here is a corset from approximately 1910. These were on exhibition in the Musee du Costume et du Textile du Quebec (AKA Fashion Museum).
Our very first restaurant in Montreal has co-ed bathrooms. Each stall is a private tiny room. You then emerge to use a common sink area to wash your hands. I know this would blow minds in North Carolina, but it’s eminently sensible and would resolve the ridiculous American bathroom wars (not to mentioning shortening the wait times for women at public venues such as sports arenas and concert halls).
November 12, 2017