You win some, you lose some

 I was going to write this last night but my Photos app informed me that my macbook needed to rest and would not be uploading my photos until it was good and ready.

But you'll be happy to know I write this while eating a bacon egg and cheese sandwich and drinking coffee that got dispensed from a large vessel, into a 20 ounce paper cup, like we do in civilization. Up until now,  I've been drinking cappuccinos which has less coffee than I typically want in my coffee.

On Tuesday, I went to the Musee d'Art Contemporain, which is around the corner from where I'm staying, where it is under construction until 2028 (not the 2025 my guide book said.) They have a smaller space at the Place Ville-Marie, where they got more of this guy:

And this big-ass ring:

The collection was comprised of a lot of video format stuff, although one was of these lovely bird drawn on packing boxes, meant to depict which bird populations are endangered.

I was very proud of myself that, of all the hawk-looking birds, I was able to accurately pick out the red tail hawk,

which I'm pretty sure makes me some kind of bird genius. (Not really, they are just all over SF and the Bay Area.)

After I got out, Tim texted offering free advice from a friend of his who is familiar with Montreal. I, of course, asked about food. He gave me one place to get poutine and two for bagels. So rather than go to a park, which it turns out is just a sitting area also around the corner from my Air B&B, I walked about 45 minutes to La Banquise. All the places his friend recommended ended up being in my guide book. Who else knew about this place? All the people waiting on line:

It wasn't too bad and it gave me time to apply sunblock. Anyway, in comparison to the prior poutine of Monday, these fries were soggy and bland, but acting as a vehicle for far superior poutine components. 

The gravy had a much better flavor and the cheese curds were cheddar-er. Good stuff, and less expensive. And, as usually happens when I go to random places for random reasons, I walked through an interesting neighborhood, on Rue St. Denis, and bought some beautiful glasses from an import shop. They are wrapped up so I can't show them. 

Side note: I have yet to touch Canadian money. My credit card bill is going to be interesting.

Above is a picture of my current knitting project. Guess what it is!

Also, these are my feet, in my Fluevog sandals, which worked better than I had hoped. And by "better," I mean I have not left anymore blood stains on them. More on that later.

On to Wednesday!

I walked to Crescent Street, which is known for it's architecture and it's mural of Leonard Cohen.

I tried to go to Galeries d'Art Contemporain du Belgo, which is not exactly a museum but spaces where artists can show their work in different rooms. I got there, and I got to the third floor of this creepy building. I didn't see any art, although I was half expecting those twins from the Shining to show up and silently usher me into a back room to show me a Jackson Pollock,

I decided I was artistic enough, and walked back to my hood, where I continued to say hello to this guy.

In the mall:

In the art space:

above a restaurant:

I went home to hang out for a bit and check on the blister that I felt forming on my heel the entire day. And decided to put my sneakers back on.

I went back to Old Montreal, ate a salad because my diet has been pretty carb-heavy these days. I walked around, got caught in a thunderstorm.

Said hello to these ladies:

Then I went to Basilique Notre Dame for L'experience AURA, which I reserved tickets for ahead of time. We were not permitted to take pictures during it, but it's a light show projected onto the alter and ceiling. This is what it looked like beforehand and after.

Beautiful... very churchy. 

I walked through Chinatown after, made a mental note that I have to get dim sum at sum point (see what I did there???) I came across a group of elders dancing. 

Okay, that is the full update. Today the plan is to go to the Botanical Garden, which I will do on the metro.