Montreal General Hospital

The Montreal General Hospital was established on May 1, 1819 as an early teaching hospital. The hospital has moved several times in the past, and is currently situated on Mount Royal, at the intersection of Cedar Avenue and Cote des Neiges Road. MGH is a part of the McGill University Health Centre network of teaching hospitals associated with McGill University. I took this picture last Saturday. As you can see on this photo, it is foggy outside that dayt, with a very wet climate. I've always lived in places where the climate is dry, I personally don't like this kind of weather, it's giving me headaches.

Let's Dance ?

That's what is said on this advertisement made by Fido, a wireless telephone company here is Canada. They have several different ads like this one all over the city, every time showing this dog and some funny outfit. 

Cool T-shirt

I really like this guy's t-shirt. I took it while I was waiting to print something in the printing store of Concordia University when these two guys came in. I'm pretty sure they are working at Reggies, a pub inside the H building of the university. Every bouncers have this kind of t-shirts over there. You can see the school logo, the Stingers, on the back of his hat.

In Engineering 202 Class

Today I thought I'll take a picture while sitting in class. This morning I had an ENGR 202 class, which is dealing with environmental issues. We are learning things such as greenhouse gases, renewable energies, and things like that. Today I had to turn in a paper whose topic was : When and what will happen when the world will be running out of crude oil ? Hum... interesting topic, based on some data, charts and tables from my text book, my answer was by 2100 but frankly, who really knows the answer of that question ?

Club 1234

I know I've already made a post about this club, but I thought I'll post a photo of their logo. I read also on the internet that before its metamorphosis into a disco club, this historical building was a funeral parlour, as well as the home of Alexander Galt, a Father of Confederation.

Club 1234

Located at 1234 de la Montagne street, this club is one of a kind. David R. Wood originally built it as a residential home in 1859. In 1977 it became a night club known as "Twelve-Thirty-Four" operating seven nights a week. Apparently, it was not uncommon to bump into celebrities such as The Village People, or disco queen Grace Jones. I've never been inside, but I'm sure it's one place to check out. Oh, about my midterm, both of them went fine. Happy Memorial Day for those living down in the States.

CIBC Tower at Night

Today I've been studying all day long. Tomorrow I got tow midterms exams waiting for me. Hopefully I'll do fine. Bell finally came and connected my telephone today. FINALLY, after struggling for 2 long months. I find it really amazing, 40 years ago we were able to send a man on the moon, and today, in 2008, we're still having "difficulties" to hook up a telephone land line. Well, some of you might think I start to look ridiculous acting like that just for an internet connection. Well, here is the thing, I don't have no television, no radio, and no newspaper delivery in my apartment. Internet is my only source of connection to the outside world. I used it for school, reading the news, etc... that is why I've been so mad at Bell. 

View of Downtown from my Window

What a beautiful today over Montreal. I took this picture from my window. The white building on the left is called the “H Building” ( I got a class in this one ), the pinkish cubic building is where you can find one of the library. One the foreground, the first building is where the Tim Hortons is located. Today, I finally received my new modem from Bell, unfortunately it didn’t work. Bell had some “difficulties” ( that’s the term they used ) to connect my apartment to the internet, it should be fix in 72 hours. Oh boy, this Bell company really starts to get on my nerve. I’ve never had such problem before with Comcast down in the states.. Hopefully I won’t have to call Bell again.

Huge Tic Tac Box

Whoa, today I was out early. 6:00 am I was out in a coffee shop close to school to get a good coffee and use the internet. Oh yeah, I am still mad at Bell, it’s been almost a month now that I asked them to send me a new modem. I didn’t know how long it would take, but after 2 weeks, I started to wonder what was going on. Where do they send it from ? Yellowknife, or some other remote place like this. But still, two weeks to receive a little box is quite long. Unless they’ve sent it on the back of a donkey, I would understand. So, at the beginning of the week I checked my mails at school and I was surprise to receive a bill form them, yes the folks at Bell send me a bill !!, arg, when time arrives to send the bill, this one is going pretty fast. Anyway, to come back to my problem, I decided to call these guys ( in English of course, since the French ones don’t seem to be helpful ) and they told me that they’ve sent my modem to my old address. Come one, are they stupid or what, I’ve told them may times my new address. Well, whatever, they told me that they would send an other one … we’ll see….. About the picture, check out this huge tic tac box I bought today. I’ve never seen such a big one like that before.

John Molson School of Business

This building under construction will be the John Molson School of Business of Concordia University. This 15 story building is supposed to be completed by summer 2009, it will be part of Quartier Concordia which will transform the Sir George Williams campus from a collection of scattered buildings into a welcoming and cohesive urban campus in the area bordered generally by Sherbrooke, Guy, René-Lévesque, and Bishop. This stunning new building will be like the twin tower of the Engineering and Visual Arts building ( already completed ) that you can see on the right of the picture. Minister Fournier announced that Quebec Government's $60 million investment towards construction of this new building represents about half of the total construction costs.

Batman Superman

Today as I was walking to the grocery store, I passed by this store selling different things from famous hollywood movies. I liked those two neon signs. It reminds me my childhood heroes.

Nice Condominiums

I really like this building being built on Sherbrooke street. It's going to be some luxurious condominiums just like this antique building on the left. On the right of this building you can find the "Musée des Beaux Arts" ( Art Museum ). I've never been so far, but I'm sure it's a place to check out. 

Checking his Drying Clothes

I don't have school today, the university is closed. I think it's like some kind of teacher meeting or something like that. I used that day to study for my mid terms coming next week. This guy came out to check his drying clothes. I just had time to grab my camera and open the window to take a picture of him. His balcony is located on the left of the window his was cleaning on yesterday's post. What a messy balcony he's got. Have a good monday everybody. 

Time to Clean the Windows

It's been raining the whole weekend, the sun came out only very few times over Montreal. This guy, living in the building across mine, took some time to clean the windows of his apartment while the sun was out. There is a saying in French "Le Ménage de Printemps" ( Spring Cleaning ). It sounds like that's what he is doing. I've been watching him for few hours ( you might think I'm a spy, don't worry, it's not the case ), he's been vacuuming his apartment before cleaning his windows. I should do the same thing, because it starts to be a mess right now in my apartment.
Also, as a little update about ice hockey, Canada lost the 2008 IIHF World Championship final against Russia. Damn it ! lol

View of Downtown

I took this shot from park Mont Royal, one of the main park in Montreal. It is located east of Mont Royal on the mountain flank. It's a great place to be during summer time, with lot's of activity going one. Moreover there is a great view of the downtown area. On the left you can see Parc avenue. In the middle of the picture, you can see the moon trying to pierce through the clouds. Have a nice weekend everybody !

Washington State, the Evergreen State

Whoa ! what a surprise to see a WA license plate here in Quebec, and his tabs expire at the same time as mine. It's the first time since I left Seattle that I see a washington license plate other than mine (127-RTP). I wonder what they are doing here. I see many cars licensed in New York State, New Jersey and Massachusetts. However, I don't see many cars licensed on the West coast. I remember seeing a California one once, that's it. It reminds me some good memories of my time spent over there.

Cherry Blossom

I really like those cherry blossom on McGill College avenue; the city also added some pink tulips underneath, making it a very colorful street. I also like the combination of the pink color from the trees and the blue from the buildings behind. The building on the left belong to the Eaton Center. I don't know yet what those two towers on the right are, but the two buildings on the far right side belong to McGill University. The green hill of the right is Mount Royal. Located north of the downtown area, the mountain consists of three peaks: Colline de la Croix at 233 meters (764 feet), Colline d'Outremont at 211 meters (692 feet), and Westmount mount at 201 meters (659 feet). At this height, it might be otherwise considered a very tall hill, but it has always been called a mountain.

Security Officer

This security officer working for "Banque de Montreal" on Ste. Catherine has a one of a look ! I've been trying many times to take a good shot of him, but each time the picture came out blurry. I have to take a quick shot since I don't think I am allowed to do it. ( They might think I am planning to rob the bank ). I've already been stopped two times by a Concordia security officer for tacking pictures inside the building ( I know, I find it stupid too ). Well, this time I got a great shot of this guy, and he didn't see me taking it. :)

Time for a Break

It was 12:30 today when I walked by this construction crew taking a little break from their hard work. They deserved it ! These days, I feel like there are construction everywhere I look. It's understandable, now that the beautiful days are here. I guess they were done eating, you can see an empty yogurt in between them. I'm sure you all wonder what they were looking at. They were looking at this well dressed guy, with long blond hair, talking to a girl about a suit displayed in the window behind them.

Broken Bus

Today is Monday, and it's back to school for me. By the way, the reason I'm saying this is because of this new song I discovered today. The title is "I don't like Mondays" by the Boomtown Rats ( what a coincidence, I find out about this song on a Monday !). I've been reading few things online about the group. Here is what I found on Wikipedia. Geldof wrote the song after reading a telex report on the shooting spree of 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer, who fired at children playing in a school playground across the street from her home in San Diego, California in 1979. She killed two adults and injured eight children and one police officer. Spencer showed no remorse for her crime, and her explanation for her actions was "I don't like Mondays". It's a sad story, but things like that happen every now and then in American schools. I remember when I used to study back in Seattle, there's been a shooting few years before I arrived. Also, when I was a student over there, the school security/police caught a student carrying three guns and munitions in his bag while sitting in class.
Well, let's talk about some more peaceful things, when I came out of my math class tonight, I've been watching this bus being towed away after a break down on Guy street.

Thank You For This Exciting Season

Since the Montreal Canadien hockey team are out of the season after loosing against the Flyers of Philadelphia, the flags of the Canadiens are becoming scarce in the city. On my way to Quebec city last week I was listening some french canadien radio ( since the tape I am using to play music from my ipod inside my car broke couple weeks ago ). They were talking about the flags of the Canadiens being removed after the defeat. Apparently some "fans" were disappointed about this, while some others were saying that it's useless now that the Canadiens won't play until next season. This weekend, as I went to Future Shop to get some new earphones ( they broke as well ), I walked by one of the underground mall entrance, (the Eaton Center at the corner of Ste Catherine and McGill College streets) and I was surprised to see this sign. I stepped inside the mall to check is there was something dealing with the Canadiens, and the whole mall was teeming with waving flags. I think it's a great thing to do, I really like it. I kinda miss this joyful and exciting time when the Canadiens were still in the competition. Happy Mother's Day for those in the US and Canada.

My Next Car !

Too bad I didn't win the $ 22 million at the lottery last Friday. That's a joke, I don't play those kind of games, but I bet the winner is now thinking of getting a car like this one ! Now that the snow is gone, many Montréalais ( that's how we call people living in Montreal in French ) are taking their nice cars out. I've seen this Lamborghini driving in town many times, as well as other ones like Ford GT 40, Ferraris, Bentleys, Porches or Mustangs. Talking about nice cars, here is a little story. I remember once coming back from IKEA with my car, and many people were looking at my car ( there are not many cars like this one in here ) until .... I've been over passed by a white with blue stripes Ford GT 40 ( that was funny, the colors of the car matched the colors of the Quebec license plate ! ).

Spring is Coming

It's the first time since I am living in Montreal that I can see some vegetation in the downtown area. Besides the relatively chilly nights we have in Montreal, the leaves are coming out again. It feels good to see some colors in this city. I took this shot on Mackay street this morning on my way to school. Most of those buildings ( if not all of them ) except the large concrete tower belong to Concordia. I've never been inside so far, but I've seen that all of those buildings are used as offices for the university.

Rainy Night on Ste Catherine St.

Yesterday night, or I should say early this morning, I made it out from Quebec City just one time for the last subway ( 1:00 am ). Since I park my car in a public parking lot underneath the UQAM university. (It's 3 subway stations away from where I am living now) I have to take the subway if I want to go and use my car. I took this shot after coming out of the Guy Concordia subway station. I really like this shot; It turned out pretty good with the lights and the wet road. Watching all these hockey game made me want to play hockey again. It's now been more than a month since I've been on the ice. I didn't play since I lost my equipment in the fire. For sure now the next thing on my "What's next to buy" list is a hockey equipment.

France vs. Belarus

Today I was off again to Quebec City to watch the 2008 ice hockey world championship at the Colisée Pepsi ( Pepsi Coliseum ). This time it was France against Belarus, with a 3-1 win for Belarus. France will play their neighbor Italy while Belarus will battle neighbouring Russia that day. I want to thank again Mr. Pierre Pousse for getting me a free ticket to the game.
Once the game was over, I headed straight back to Montreal. It was the first time for me to take the freeway at night outside of the Montreal Island. Oh my god, the roads are terrible. Moreover that day it was raining cats and dogs outside. It was impossible for me to see the marks on the road, and with nothing delimiting where the sides of the highway ends, I found it very dangerous.

Is this Paris Hilton ?

As the summer season gets closer, you get to see many girls walking in the street dressed like this woman on the picture above. I personally think that it looks like .... well.... how can I say that, I don't want to offense anybody, but I think that sometimes it's too much. I mean come one, with her blond hair, her huge sunglasses ( at least today was sunny, because sometimes I see some girls walking outside in the street wearing sunglasses while it's raining ) and her fake pink fur. In addition, there is also the purse, and the cigarette. She's trying to much. I get so see girls like that every day in Montreal. Who does she think she is ? a Hollywood star ? well if you understand my point, you'll make your own judgement....

Looking up !

Today I was back in school, I woke up early, and since I had time, I went to school to use the internet. By the way, I don't know what is tacking so long for Bell to hook up the internet in my apartment, but it's been a week already since last time I showed up in one of their store to ask them. (by the way, it's a different story, but the employes of Bell that speak french don't know their job !!! I might have talked to at least 10 different french speakers from Bell to ask them to get a "dry loop" for my internet connection. None of them were able to help me, so I finally hanged up and called again, this time I pressed #2 and spoke in english. Finally I had to deal with somebody that knew what he was talking about). Well, well, well, to come back to today's story, since I don't have the internet ... YET ! I have to go to school to access it. I took this shot while looking up in the EV building in Concordia.

Quebec City

After yesterday's game, I thought I'll stay and spend the night in Quebec City, I was a bit tired to hit the road and head back to Montreal. I wanted to sleep in Quebec City, but with the hockey games going on right now, all the hotels were packed for couple weeks. So I ended up sleeping inside my car as you can see on this photo. I felt like I was sleeping inside the Frontenac Castle ( the impressive castle in the background), with a leather bed and carpet on the ground.... my car was perfect for me and all of that for $0.
Quebec City is located about 233 km ( 145 mi) East of Montreal, it is the second largest city in the province, after Montreal. The ramparts surrounding Old Quebec ( like you can see on this photo) are the only remaining fortified city walls in the Americas north of Mexico, and were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985 as the "Historic District of Old Quebec". It is also one of the oldest cities in North America (founded in 1608).
Quebec City is internationally known for its Summer Festival, Winter Carnival and the Château Frontenac, a historic hotel which dominates the city skyline. To view more pictures of my day spent in Quebec City, Click Here.

France vs. Switzerland

Today I was off to Quebec City to watch an ice hockey game between France and Switzerland at the Pepsi Coliseum for the world championship. The French team lost 4-1 against their (european) neighbor. I was lucky to get a free ticket to assist the game thank to Mr. Pierre Pousse, the coach/trainer of the French team was in the past my coach/trainer when I used to play hockey in France. You can see him on the bench behind the players right of the little french flag. On this picture you can see the game starting with the puck dropped between Meunier and Monnet. To see more pictures of this game, click here.

Enjoying a Cigar

The 12 degrees celsius temperatures don't seem to bother this old man enjoying a cigar while reading the news on Ste. Catherine street.

Theme Day : Numbers in your City

Since the first day I saw buses in Montreal, I was wondering what the "POLICE 911" red sign was used for on the top of the left window. My guess was that maybe, in case something goes wrong on board of the bus, the driver simply turn this signal on to warn people outside to call the police. Just like in banks, with a silent alarm. Hum... who knows, maybe I watch too much television...