Begging raccoons and foraging groundhogs are not exactly what I expected to find in Montreal, but I guess I didn't know what to expect. Our main reason for going to Montreal was to visit our good friend
Mayssam, who I must add (apart from being the most wonderful host of course), has two of the most beautiful cats I have ever seen, Moody and Spike. Spike was pretty shy, but Moody was a true model and I probably took more photos of her than I took during the rest of our stay.
Montreal is an island city (I never knew that) and consists of many different neighbourhoods, each with their own distinct flavour. Among these is Old Montreal which has a European flair, Downtown feels very North American and the Plateau I would say is a mix between the two (very Montrealian in fact). And everything is in French (don't worry most of it is in English too) which took a bit of getting used to seeing that we were in a predominantly English speaking country. I liked it though, and feel that it gives Montreal a uniqueness that doesn't exist anywhere else in the world.
Aside from attractions such as the Olympic Stadium, the
Notre-Dame Basilica and Mayssam's cats I would have to say the food markets were the highlight, particularly Jean-Talon. I saw things there I had never seen before: purple peppers, white peppers, yellow cauliflower, purple cauliflower and white aubergines! And the produce was ultra-fresh, with peaches so full of flavour they sent me right back to when as a child I used to eat them straight from the tree. The sheer size of the market was pretty overwhelming, as was the selection of goodies, a true foodie and photographers heaven.
Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the begging raccoons as we saw them at night on Mont-Royal harassing people coming to enjoy the view. Below however are a few of the pictures I did manage to take during our stay (and yes there is one of Moody there too).
Notre-Dame Basilica
Canon EOS7D
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
ISO 1000
Aperture: f/4
Shutter Speed: 1/5
The Aldred building on Place d'Armes
Canon EOS7D
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
ISO 100
Aperture: f/8.0
Shutter Speed: 1/250
The dome of Marché Bonsecours
Canon EOS7D
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
ISO 100
Aperture: f/8.0
Shutter Speed: 1/640
Artichokes at Marché Atwater
Canon EOS7D
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
ISO 200
Aperture: f/4.0
Shutter Speed: 1/50
Reds and greens at Marché Jean-Talon
Canon EOS7D
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
ISO 100
Aperture: f/4.0
Shutter Speed: 1/60
Marché Bonsecours at twlight
Canon EOS7D
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
ISO 100
Aperture: f/11
Shutter Speed: 30 s
Graffiti
Canon EOS7D
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
ISO 100
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/125
Watchdog
Canon EOS7D
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
ISO 100
Aperture: f/4.0
Shutter Speed: 1/80
Getting ready for winter
Canon EOS7D
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
ISO 100
Aperture: f/4.0
Shutter Speed: 1/60
Moody the model
Canon EOS7D
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
ISO 500
Aperture: f/4.0
Shutter Speed: 1/40
Stade Olympique at twilight
Canon EOS7D
Lens: Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM
ISO 100
Aperture: f/13.0
Shutter Speed: 30 s
The magic of lanterns at the Jardin botanique de Montréal
Canon EOS7D
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
ISO 100
Aperture: f/10.0
Shutter Speed: 5 s
