Beans' Triumph TR7 Blog: September 2002

Wednesday 4 September 2002

Canada 2002

Another old pré-blog post from 20 years ago, using the original digital negatives and the current version of photoshop to revive the old images.

My initial plan was for a 5 week holiday to visit relatives in the Canadian province of Québec and to tour the coastal Nova Scotia area in the autumn of 2001. Sadly the 911 attacks intervened a few hours before I would depart for the airport. In the end the trip had to be cancelled because the North American airspace remained closed too long. And this left me with a fair amount of money burning a hole in my pocket. Part off which was invested in a (at the time) fairly high end digital camera (Canon PowerShot G2).

Fast forward one year, and I was crossing the Atlantic for a short two week holiday to visit my relatives. But also to visit some of the areas and towns where they lived:

Day 1 (August 18th 2002); Outward bound

It didn’t quiet go as planned. Two flights (Amsterdam-Toronto and Toronto-Montréal) and more than 5 hours of delays due to aircraft defects. So instead of arriving in the afternoon, I was still in the air late in the evening.

The view from the airplane, halfway between Toronto and Montréal

Day 2 (August 19th 2002); Canal de Lachine

For the first full day of my stay I borrowed the mountain bike from one of my nephews together with a city map of Montréal and set off for the area of the Canal de Lachine and its many bridges.

Downtown Montréal seen from the Ecluses Saint-Gabriel, Canal de Lachine

The Pont Gauron seen from Rue Saint-Patrick, Canal de Lachine

The railway swing bridge seen from Rue Saint-Patrick, Canal de Lachine

The Honoré-Mercier road bridge crossing the Saint Lawrence River from the La Salle district

Day 3 (August 20th 2002); Exploring Montréal

From Le Vieux port to Mont Royal

Le Vieux Port, as seen from the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History; Pointe-à-Callière

Old Silo buildings on Windmill Point

Overlooking Montréal from the Belvédère Kondiaronk view point in front of the Mont Royal Chalet

Reflections, Boulevard René Lévesque

Early morning rush hour traffic, Rue Belmont

Hotel Birks, Union Avenue

Day 4 (August 21st 2002); A rainy day in Montréal

Another stroll through downtown Montréal. Though it was slightly moist this day!

Avenue Laval

Fire escapes in a back yard, Rue de la Capitale

Parking meters in the Rue Saint Sulpice

Stark contrast in front of the “Hotel Le St. James”; Rue Saint-Jacques

Fire escape in a back yard, Rue Saint Sulpice

La basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal as seen from Rue de Brésoles

Day 5 (August 22nd 2002); Mont Saint Grégoire

A day spent touring and walking the area around Mont Saint Grégoire

Leaving Montréal over the Samuel De Champlain road bridge across the Saint Lawrence River

On the Expressway 10, just past the outskirts of Brossard (Montréal)

Rue Saint-Jacques in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec

View from the top of Mont Saint Grégoire

Day 6 (August 23rd 2002); Exploring Montréal

This time I used the Montréal metro network to move further out from the city centre

An engineer’s observation of the crumbling concrete construction of the Olympic Stadium.

The Olympic stadium

The not so successful lifting tower for the Olympic stadium’s roof

The Jean Talon Market

Rue Beaubien

Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral with the “1000 de la Gauchetière”

building in the back ground, Rue Metcalfe

Rue Metcalfe

Sun Life Building, Peel Street

Parking area, Rue Cypress

A chance picture of a 1954 Ford Customline Coupe on the corner of Rue Cypress and Peel Street.

And after all those years still one of my all-time favourite pictures

Reflections, Boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest

An evening view over downtown Montréal from the Pont Champlain

Day 7 (August 24st 2002); Family roots

Visiting the farm where my aunt and uncle started their new life in Canada many years ago

Bear Town, the Canadian family farm in Stanbridge East

One of the original farm buildings

Day 8 (August 25th 2002); Around Mont Orford

Hiking and canoeing around Mont Orford, using one of my nephews holiday home as a base

Wide views from the top of Mont Orford

Lac Mamphrémagoy

Railway bridge crossing the Missisquoi River and Lac d’Argent near Eastman

Lac d’Argent

Day 9 (August 26th 2002); Traveling to Québec

Using the than newly opened fast ferriy service to travel to Québec City over the Saint Lawrence River. They used Russian built Voskhod Design 352 Hydrofoils for this pretty fast and spectacular service