After hearing about the trip Andrew and I took Montreal, Quebec, I am sure some of you were wondering, "What for?" or "Just for fun?!?" Well... not quite. With Andrew planning on moving to Michigan, it was required for him to go. They set up an appointment for an interview at the US Consulate there and so we took a road trip just for that! ...and well, decided that since we were there, we might as well take a little bit of time to do some touring.
Our first stop at 7am was the US Consulate! Sorry I don't have any pictures of that, but they wouldn't let us take anything with us. Everything went well at the appointment, for which we both are very grateful!
Next, we went back to
Complex Desjardins (where we parked our car) to get the belongings we left behind and to grab a bite to eat, before meeting up with our friend, Rolina, for a nice personally guided tour! Displayed in the center of the complex, were these 20 foot statues of individuals who were influential in Montreal's history. Unfortunately, I am unable to explain more about them, as everything was written in French and I do not know a single word in French.
Now the tour begins with us going through China Town! Every big city has to have one!
Going through
Old Montreal! All the architecture you see in these pictures are of the original buildings that were built many, many years ago. You will find that much of the architecture has European or mostly French European influence.
This is the one and only
Notre-Dame Basilica! An absolutely beautiful cathedral! We were not able to go into it, for the sake of time and saving money, so I only have a couple pictures of the exterior. I highly recommend that you click
here and take a look at all the beautiful pictures of what the interior looks like.
This is Andrew and I in front of the large and heavy doors.
Since we did not go into the Notre-Dame Basilica, our friend, Rolina, instead took us to another cathedral, which was free. :) This cathedral is a replica of the famous
St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. As you will see from the pictures, it was also a very beautiful place.
From the entrance to the front. It is shaped like a cross, with the main isle being the longest and having a wing on either side, closer to the front.
At the front, looking up into the dome
This ornate seating place for the pope or arch bishop, reminds me of the fancy chairs the Chinese use for their king or president.
Looking from the front to the back.
This is a cemetery along one of the sides of the sanctuary where they buried the priests or whoever was important at that time.
The labeled sections
More labeled tombs for the not as high up leaders of the church.
A closer view of the giant pipe organ
Back to viewing more of the beautiful architecture! It was common then, to have a 3 step form in the design of their architecture. This building helps display it the best. This building has 3 levels of construction. Within those 3 levels, are 3 different layers of design on each level. The bottom level got cut off so you will have to use the other two levels as a reference. At the bottom of each level is one style of architecture, in the middle is a second style, at the top is a third style. Here this building is unique, as all 3 styles are displayed and it carries it out in 3 separate tiers.
Just walking the streets of Old Montreal, which we did a lot of that day!
The still remaining old cobble stone streets!
This is a true visual of Europe, with the old stone architecture buildings side by side and being a shopping alley with stores and restaurants on either side!
This is supposedly the well known bridge in Montreal.
This place is called the Clock Tower! It was designed after Big Ben in Europe and was built as a tribute to many who died in WWI and WWII.
After dropping off our friend, Rolina, at the University she is attending there, we continued our hike up Mount Royal for our spectacular scenic view of the city. But first check out the number of stairs we had to climb and this picture doesn't even show them all! This was after our feet were already tired out from walking all around the unlevel city for 3 hours!
We made it!! It was worth it!
A view of the far left side, or at least of what I could see...
...a view of the middle...
...and a view of the far right side!
Despite how exhausted we were all day, we greatly enjoyed our trip and highly recommend it to anyone! If you ever end up somewhat close by on a trip sometime, make sure to stop by and at least take some time to visit a little bit. You will be glad you did!
Sam had the opportunity to do a special number at the program, so he picked a song and asked a few siblings to join him in a beautiful quartet harmony. Lenelle - soprano, Sam - tenor, Dan - bass, & Anna - alto.
Here is the Koinonia Graduating Class of 2010! (Sam was already dressed for his play he had to perform right after the graduation.)
#2 - The GRACE Home School Association Graduation!
Each graduate had a table displaying pictures and any special memorabilia. Here Sam is proudly standing by his home school basket ball trophies that he has earned himself, or with his team over the past 7 years of playing.
They had a class song, which they sang for everyone. "How Great is Our God" by Chris Tomlin.
Again, my parents were privileged to hand him the diploma, while someone else read off his name, favorite verse, and future plans.
Presenting the GRACE Home School Association Class of 2010!!!
Proud Parents! :)
