Montreal, Quebec
We arrived in Montreal just in time for the last two days of the International Jazz Festival. There was a bunch of blocks cordoned off for the festival with 5 or 6 different stages. We had managed to follow another heat wave and it was absolutely sweltering when we arrived but there were water features and little sprinklers throughout the Festival, which were handy for a quick dip under to try and cool off just a little!
The first afternoon after getting ourselves sorted with a Festival program we headed off to check out Old Town. Really beautiful cobblestoned streets lined with majestic old buildings greeted us but unfortunately these beautiful buildings were mainly filled with souvenir shops and overpriced restaurants and cafes.
This dog was actually lying in a shop window
After a short rest we headed back to the Festival and spent the night eating baguettes and dip while listening to some pretty spectacular musicians. We capped off the night with a soft serve from McDonalds as it was still roasting even though it was 11.00pm. Did you know cones in Montreal now cost $1.40?! What happened to 30 cent cones?! Pfft.
The following day we headed back to the Festival and spent a few hours cooling off in the air-conditioned bliss of a mall. I really do like summer but I think this was the fourth or fifth heat wave that we have been in and my body had just about had enough.
There were thousands of people out for the final night of the Festival particularly as the night was kicked off with Mardi Gras! There was a great atmosphere about the place and my highlight band of the night was Trombone Shorty, who came out from New Orleans. They were a really great brass band that had probably about twenty thousand people on their feet dancing. So fun!!
