Drew and I were 'tawkin' bikes', as ya do. Yunno, just 'kickin' tyres' and comparing toys for a while. When, around late morning-time, we chucked over our own respective ignition keys to each other and said "Well, let's do it then!"So off we rode to a nearby gas station located 9 km (5½ miles) down the 158; filled-up our tanks with super-premium unleaded - 91 octane? ... huh? .. WTF? - and then carried on 'playing' for around a further 30 km (18½ miles), before we finally got back home to Sven's place.
Now I've been to ... 'The Dark Side'. And quite frankly, I thought it was really good fun. Loads and loads of torque when you roll on the throttle; and boyo-boy ... what a great sound the Hogs make .. luv'it!BTW, now Drew wants a ST1300 too!
Hang On?! Looking at those pics again, it has now suddenly occurred to me why no other Harley riders were waving back. Really! not one HD rider was prepared to wave back at me. In fact, one or two actually turned their heads the other way in apparent total disgust. I guess it's bleedin' obvious now why, especially when I see my riding apparel from another point of view. Hardly the Harley image, is it?!
By late afternoon Amelie's brother; and mum, Suzanne, show-up to spend some time with us. Suzanne lives in Washington DC and works for the World Bank. I receive an offer of a personal guided tour of this famous City, should I get there. I reckon that's an offer worthy of serious consideration. It is indeed such a kind gesture of help and assistance - "why?" - because I've always reckoned that the most precious commoditiy anyone can give away is their time. I hope I can make it into DC when I head south after visiting New York City and Noo Joisey towards the end of this month [July '07].
Now what IS Sven smirkin' about?!
But by late afternoon I need to get away from Saint-Canut and head south, just for a short ride, and get settled into a motel somewhere close-by Montréal Trudeau Airport to collect Ellen on her arrival from her inbound connecting flight from JFK, New York. So with some sadness I say my farewells and by 4:00pm I'm on my way.It was sooooo good to stay with Sven & Amilie et al. And it made such a difference knowing that, from the start, I was always initially heading-out towards a friendly welcome from a couple of familiar faces.
That evening at around 7:15pm, as I approached the Airport's entrance, the heavens opened and dropped the biggest downpour of thunderous rain that I've witnessed for a long time. So rather than park-up a quarter of a mile away in the main car park - and get literally soaked through to the skin - I ride straight to the sheltered area outside the main concourse where the taxis hang-out for their fares, mount the sidewalk; then wait to see if I get moved along by one of the security patrols.
But nothing happened; they just drove on by, despite the display of my 'GB' sticker and conspicuously different registration plate. I thought this odd, especially in view of all the recent shenanigans and associated tightened security back home.
So there the STeed remained for a good 20-30 minutes whilst Ellen and I located each other inside the building. By the time we found each other the storm had passed, and we rode back to the motel with shades-on, in bright sunshine ... excellent! :-)
Tuesday, July-03
There's an International Jazz Festival going on right now in downtown Montréal. Better go take a look then.This is the final approach and where the 60 - 85 mph (97 - 137 km/h) lead-in urban motorways/racetracks fizzle out ..
.. as we ride through and into the heart of the city through the business area ...
.. to the 'old' section. Where I park-up right under the shadow of ...
.. the Notre-Dame Basilica
Wandering around, getting our bearings, it feels good to see young families relaxing together in the warm Canadian sunshine
Montréal has it's own China Town too. I didn't know that before
But I reckon that if you've seen one China Town ... then you've seen 'em all .. right?!
Bonsecours Market
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-SecoursAllegedly, mariners have been popping into this chapel for centuries to kneel before a little 17th-century statue of the Virgin Mary and pray for a safe passage -- or give thanks for one.
Nowadays right opposite this impressive building rests the modern day fleet [behind me], the skippers & crews of which fearlessly brave the elements by setting out on the occassional summer Sunday afternoon - sometimes even for a whole weekend! - trailing their mackerel spinners behind their vessels for some subsistence, and to bring precious food to a few lucky, but unworthy, friends' tables ...
.. it's a hellofa way to make a living, that's wot I say ...
.. Gawd bless-em-------------
MY OVERALL VERDICT: Montréal is one of the GREAT cities of the world; a diverse and cosmopolitan cultural centre of modern-day influence. AND they HAVE indeed just paid off the cost of hosting the 1976 Summer Olympic Games - and that's official!
