Well it is fair to say we are no longer Ice Hockey virgins! We had the full Montreal Canadians experience. From the crowds and entertainment pre-game, to the build up, to the goals, to the fighting and the penalties……..and oh, the regular breaks that you don’t see on TV (they are mainly for the TV as far as we can tell 🤔)! Much like American football, a 1hr (3 periods) game takes 3 hours 😄. We did manage to follow a lot of it though, and even got a handle on some of the rules. A great experience that we would definitely do again.

Montreal itself was in part lovely, particularly the Basilica in the old city, but also left us a little flat. It lacked the old France vibe of Quebec city or the larger city feel of Toronto. It didn’t seem to have an identity. Even when we drove the F1 track (at a maximum of 20mph) it left us a little flat, although we did see two Groundhogs 🐭. We probably did not find said identity or visit at the “right” time of year, but we left feeling we did not want or need to go back.

Toronto is a very different story. It is by far the biggest city we have been to so far, and it feels like it. Downtown Toronto is like a calm Manhattan, which we are enjoying. It’s mainly walkable, has some interesting history, good public transport including street cars (trams for the uninitiated), museums, art galleries, lots of interesting bars and restaurants…..and the CN Tower. A building that was built just because. It has no businesses it in, no residents, no hotel….it just is. A great experience with floor to ceiling glass on the observation deck, a glass floor area and a glass fronted lift with a partially glass floor 🤮😁 .

Tomorrow we explore some more….probably in the rain, but then again we do not need three layers, gloves, hats and snoods, and there is no snow 🌨.

Inexplicable big things update – Three more found and photographed. See photos for further information 🙂