We then went to Basilique Notre-Dame, the oldest cathedral in Montreal. Anna wasn't used to seeing snow scenes or teepees in the stained glass. The alter has what looks like a miniature cathedral standing on it with statues of Christ and various saints. Like a lot of the rest of the artwork, it was very three dimensional. There was a smaller chapel behind the alter with a really cool cruxifiction scene on it. I can't really describe it very well though.
As we were leaving we noticed that there were lots of people milling around the alter, and crews were setting up TV cameras. Then a person with a string bass started warming up. It seems that the OrchestreSymphonique de Montréal was going to have a rehearsal for its summer festival. We stayed and listened to them rehearse Listz's Les Preludes. It was wonderful!
We left and walked back to the hotel through Old Montreal, a section of town that is very much like waterfront towns in Europe. Lots of closer together brick buildings on brick streets.
After gathering strength and food, we went to the game. Le Stade Olympique is a silly place. They build this place with a retractable roof. However, the way it retracts is almost unbelievable. The roof is a large tarp with cables connected to several points. There is a tower where the cables are connected to a winch, and they retract the roof by pulling it up to the tower. They had the 76 Olympics here, but the retractable roof wasn't ready until 1985. What a hack.The stadium also has many seats which don't face the field at all.
Another bizarre place.
The game was great. Atlanta and Montreal were playing, and Atlanta came into the game with a 2.5 game lead on Montreal. 45000 people showed up. It was the largest crowd in six years. Ken Hill faced Greg Maddux, and the pitching matchup lived up to its billing. It was 2-2 until the eighth, when Montreal scored 5 runs, including a big, three-rum home run by Cliff Floyd. (Note for baseball fans: this was Greg Maddux' last loss on the road until early in the 1996 season).
What a great day!
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