VIEUX MONTREAL

We have crossed the Ottawa River and been to Quebec - 

in fact, the French Grandparents took us to Montreal at the weekend...

The old port area was the place for action ...

Singing the Blues ..

Artists Alley

It was Dollard-Des-Ormeaux Day -

Adam Dollard-Des-Ormeaux was a garrison commander who saved Montreal from attack by the Iroguois in 1660, so I am told..

which seems reason enough for a show of firepower on a Sunday afternoon..

I was heading into the Cathedral and nearly jumped out of my skin when those guns were fired!

Facing Place d'Armes Square, the famous Basilique Notre-Dame de Montreal.

A symphony of gorgeous blues, it is unusual in that the stained glass windows, rather than biblical scenes, depict scenes from the religious history of Montreal:

While in Montreal, we also visited St Joseph's Oratory, one of the world's tallest basilicas, built on the slopes of Mount Royale in central Montreal.

It was founded by Brother Andre, a humble brother of the Holy Cross Order, whose duties included visiting the sick.  He was devoted to Saint Joseph, the patron saint of Canada, and his prayers came to be associated with many miracle cures of the sick.

In 1904 he founded a small chapel on this site, which has since expanded to a huge basilica built in Italian Renaissance style.

The interior has been remodelled numerous times, and has a rather austere feeling of grandeur, very different from Notre Dame.

There are large displays of crutches and walking sticks, left by the cured.

Brother Andre became Saint Andre Bessette when he was canonised on 17 October, 2010, in the same ceremony as Australia's first ever saint, Mary MacKillop.

Still loving crabapples and lilac.

More later ...

XXX