Family Travel with Colleen Kelly

Colleen

Montreal Canada is the largest city in the province of Quebec. With a feeling of old world charm, Montreal is known throughout the world as a cultural hub. Bonjour! Welcome to Montreal Canada, the most European city in North America. I'm Colleen Kelly and this is Family Travel. On this fun filled vacation my girls are out of school and joining us on an adventure. We'll explore Montreal's rich history, bake up some Canadian style goodies, cruise down the Saint Lawrence River and get a bird's eye view of the city. All this and much more! My name is Colleen Kelly, and when I was single I lived abroad and traveled the world. Then I became a parent and wondered how would I ever travel again? So I set off to find a new way to travel and get back to exploring the world family style. I'm here to guide you on how to get the most out of your family vacation. Pack your bags and join me, Colleen Kelly. We're going on vacation! Montreal is a unique multicultural city, combining European charm and North American vitality. With over 80 ethnic communities, the city seems to beat to a different rhythm. Montreal is the second largest French speaking city in the world. However, because it is situated within predominantly English speaking North America, a large number of the people speak both English and French, making Montreal one of the most bilingual cities in the world. The perfect place to start our visit to Montreal is at Mount Royal. From the top of one of its 3 peaks, you can see a beautiful view of the downtown area. Enjoy the winding path as it meanders through the park. It's a great way to get a relaxing start to your visit to Montreal. We are now heading west of Mount Royal to learn about the legend of the Montreal style bagel. Ready girls?

Girls

Yeah!

Colleen

Yeah. Let's go. St Viateur Bagels has been baking up crispy delights since 1957. The now famous recipe was brought from Eastern Europe, forever leaving a cultural legacy with the people of Montreal. Hi!

Vince

Hi guys. Welcome to the bagel shop. I'm Vince. Nice to meet you.

Dunovan

I'm Dunovan

Vince

Hi, I'm Vince.

Shea

I'm Shea.

Vince

Hi

Colleen

Hi, I'm Colleen. We're so excited to be here.

Vince

Nice to meet you. Are you guys ready to make Montreal's famous bagels?

Colleen and girls

Yeah.

Vince

So, come to the table. We're going to learn how to make Montreal's bagels.

Colleen

Wow.

Vince

And what makes our bagels so different? We make them all by hand. So we don't need any electricity to make our Montreal bagels. We make them by hand, we boil them in water and the oven is fired by wood. So this is what I want you guys to do. Put your hand on the piece and roll it out. Try and make a cylinder out of the dough. We're going to wrap it around your hand like a bracelet.

Colleen

Girls like that.

Vince

Yeah, bagel bracelets

Colleen

Bagel bracelets are always good.

Vince

Here we go. So now push it and roll, roll, roll. Push it. What do we got? Let's see. Oh, Shea gets an A.

Colleen

ohhhh, A+

Vince

A+

Colleen

Yup

Vince

Mommy a B.

Colleen

Awww. So how did the bagel come about?

Vince

Well there is a story about a Polish king in the 1600's who uh whose wife became pregnant and they were so happy about the new prince to become that he commissioned the bakers in Poland to invent a special bread shaped like a beugel, which is the part of the saddle, when you put on a horse, that the foot goes through. So then, over time, the beugel, beugel, beugel became a bagel. So they say that these are lucky.

Colleen

Alright, I understand now.

Vince

lucky charms for pregnant women.

Colleen

Oh, I would say so.

Vince

So any time we see a pregnant woman we give them some bagels.

Colleen

Yeah at 3 in the morning it's always good.

Vince

It's always good.

Colleen

They like that. So there's the Montreal bagel and then there' s the New York bagel. What the difference?

Vince

Well I would have to say the main difference is that we never evolved. Uh, New York evolved meaning they started producing bagels by machine.

Colleen

That's what I love about this that it's so authentic and real.

Vince

Yeah, well we don't want to change it. You know, if it ain't broke why fix it?

Colleen

After we finished shaping the dough, it's time to drop the bagels into boiling water, coat with sesame seeds, bake and of course taste test.

Vince

Oh, they're hot.

Colleen

Ohhh

Vince

Here you go.

Shea

It's hot.

Vince

Yeah it is hot.

Colleen

Is it too hot? Can you bite into it?

Vince

This is the thing to do in Montreal. A hot bagel right out of the oven, any time of day.

Colleen

Oh, this is great. You like it? What do you think? I think these are so good we should get some to go. What do you think?

Vince

What do you guys think?

Dunovan

Yeah.

Vince

Do you want some bagels to go?

Colleen

Yeah

Vince

Alright!

Colleen

Say thank you!

Girls

Thank you!

Vince

Have fun in Montreal.

Colleen

OK, say goodbye to Vince.

Girls

Bye!

Colleen

Thanks, Vince.

Vince

Come see us again.

Colleen

Oh, we will!

Vince

Bye!

Colleen

Just east of Mount Royal is the Quartier des Spectacles, home to the 21 swings. These are the 21 swings and they are an exercise in musical cooperation! The 21 swings are more than what they seem! They're actually a giant collective instrument. When in motion, each swing triggers a different note. When all used together, the swings compose a musical piece. The better the teamwork to synchronize the swings, the better the melody emerges. The swings bring people of all ages and backgrounds together, creating a place for playing and hanging out in the middle of the city center. You just never know when you'll find ways to teach your kids how to cooperate! But who knew it could be this much fun! C'mon girls!

Shea

woooo!

Colleen

Wahoo!

Shea

Mama, c'mon!

Colleen

Let's head a few blocks north to experience the timeless charm of Montreal. Along the St Lawrence River, you will find Old Montreal with its cobblestone streets and historical architecture. Taking inspiration from its European roots, Montreal offers a wide variety of boutiques and specialty stores. Montreal is fantastic for shopping, but remember to keep your receipts for customs. Shopping with children can be stressful. Go during off peak hours to avoid crowds and long lines. You'll be able to have more energy and fun. Kids will enjoy the tasty diversions at sweet shops where they can taste test Canadian maple syrup.

Man

Who knows how we make maple syrup? And where does it come from?

Colleen

Somebody knows. Do you remember?

Man

OK?

Dunovan

A maple tree?

Man

Exactly. Do you know how much sap we're taking? Forty gallons of sap. We're going to boil it down to reduce it and that will give us one gallon of maple syrup.

Colleen

You have to get 40 gallons of sap

Man

Forty gallons

Colleen

just to get one gallon of maple syrup?

Man

Exactly. So we know the darker the color, the later in the season. Now this one is maybe a day or two, maybe it's a whole week later. But what's different is Mother Nature made the temperatures a little bit warmer and that sap is flowing faster taking away more sugar. So we're going to have more sweetness, more flavor, but it's the same forty liters brought down to one liter. That's the same rule for all of these different syrups.

Colleen

It's amazing you can taste the difference.

Man

Mmm hmm. Very a subtle difference, but there's more sugar dissolving in there and so Mother Nature has really changed the flavor of the uh sap or the syrup.

Colleen

There is so much to see and do in Old Montreal. And to boot, you and the kids can learn about this historic neighborhood. Don't miss the timeless appeal of Old Montreal. Also located in Old Montreal is something you'll have to see for yourself. We head a few blocks over to see where Montreal got it's start. The museum of Archaeology and History "Pointe--Callire" is the location of the very birthplace of Montreal. The girls and I joined the Sumsion family visiting from Laval, Quebec to experience the underground exhibit called "Where Montreal Was Born." Tuesday through Sunday, interpreter guides are available to lead tours through the exhibit. We toured the grounds to discover the remains of a city with over 370 years of history.

Woman

Welcome to Pointe--Callire, the Museum of Archaeology and History of Montreal. We are right now on the first archaeological site. So when the French came here in 1642, this is the place where they decided to build the first city of Montreal.

Colleen

As we walked through the underground city it felt like we had stepped back in time. We saw where the first Catholic church was built and the first cemetery. Next, we walked over to the old site of the Saint Pierre River.

Woman

If we would go back in time, everybody would be swimming right now because this was the place where the Little St. Pierre River was passing. And it was going into the St. Lawrence River over there. And what happened is that when the French and the English came here, they started to build their houses on both sides of the river and put all of their garbage in this little river here. And all the garbage went down into the St Lawrence River. Where do you think people took their fresh water from?

Colleen

I don't know. Where do you think?

Boy

The river?

Woman

In the St Lawrence River. And do you think that water was good to drink? Yeah?

Girl

No.

Man

No.

Woman

No. Science was different back then. People thought, "Hm. I am walking along this small river. It smells really bad. So it must be all the bad odors coming out of the river and this is how my body gets contaminated." And so they asked themselves, "What can we do to block those bad odors from coming out of the river?" Do you have any idea? Yeah?

Boy

To stop throwing garbage in the river?

Woman

Hah, that would have been the most clever thing to do, but this isn't what they did. Yeah?

Girl

They put a tiny roof over the river?

Woman

Very good! And this is what you can see right now. You see? Bad odors cannot come out anymore. They are blocked. Let's pretend this roof was passing above our heads and going all the way over there. And this is how this little river was transformed into an underground tunnel carrying dirty water. How would you call this?

Boy

A sewer

Kids

Ewwww

Colleen

The adventure for the kids really begins at the Archaeo-Adventure workshop. Visitors get the chance to experience a simulated archaeological dig.

Woman

Alright. So now you have an opportunity to become an archaeologist. What do you think you will find in here?

Boy

Ooo, ooo

Woman

Yeah?

Boy

Pots, like pot shards

Woman

Very good. What else? Yeah?

Girl

Fossils

Woman

Hmmm. Archaeologists are not much interested in finding fossils, dinosaur fossils. But they are interested in animal's bones though. I will show you how archaeologists dig. First they take a trowel just like this one and then they start digging very slowly and carefully. Do you want to do it? Yeah. Let's try it. As soon as you find something, stop with using your trowel. Use a brush so that the object that you are going to find will not be broken by the trowel here. You want to be very gentle and very careful.

Colleen

Each part of the archeo-adventure workshop is a fun and challenging way to have kids learn about the birthplace of Montreal. Through activities such as the dig, children will have a chance to discover traces from three major periods in Montreal's history.

Woman

Did you want to show us what you found?

Shea

A bone

Woman

An animal bone.

Colleen

What are you finding?

Girl

We, we found a bone.

Colleen

Oh, OK. And what's the other thing? Plates?

Girl

We found um I'm not really sure what it's called.

Dunovan

I think it's a brick.

Yeah Colleen

I think it's maybe stone.

Boy

I found a coin.

Colleen

Oooh.

Woman

Wow!

Colleen

Money. You're rich! So do you think being an archaeologist is fun?

Girl

I think so because um you get to discover new things and find new objects.

Colleen

So it's constantly learning, right?

Girl

Yeah.

Colleen

So did everybody have fun in Old Montreal?

Everyone

Yeah

Colleen

It's fun to dig, isn't it?

Girl

Yeah!

Colleen

Pointe--Callire a fun way to learn about the city's past. Ice hockey is considered by many to be Canada's most popular spectator sport. No wonder why it's Canada's official national winter sport. Hockey is so popular in Canada that I've been told that some kids get their first pair of skates when they learn how to walk! And Montrealers are no exception when it comes to being passionate about hockey. A visit to the Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame will attest to that! The Montreal Canadiens were founded in 1909. Nicknamed the Habs, they are the oldest team in professional hockey. If you are a hockey fanatic, you will love the Hall of Fame. Located in the Bell Center, the Hall of Fame offers never-before-seen artifacts and interactive displays all about the Habs. We joined a tour to learn more about the Montreal Canadiens and discover why people go so crazy for them! And why, why are the Canadians so crazy about hockey?

Man

Um, Canadians in general just love the sport. They love the fast pace. It's entrenched in their culture. It's part of us. It's really, you know, what football is to Americans, hockey is to Canadians.

Colleen

Is that how you feel too?

Boy

Yup!

Mom

Absolutely.

Colleen

I mean you're Canadians. What do you guys think of hockey? Is it a big sport for you?

Boy

It's the best sport ever.

Colleen

It's the best sport ever?

Man

So this is our interactive legends wall. It highlights the 54 members of the Canadiens Hall of Fame. Why don't you guys go give it a try. You've got biographies, statistics, different pictures and videos.

Colleen

We can touch all this?

Man

Yeah. It's not even a touch screen. You just put your hand in front and it will move it.

Colleen

Wow, look at that.

Man

So this is our Forum dressing room. The Forum was built in 1924 and closed it's doors in 1996. This is a replica dressing room of the 1976-77 season. So you had all the legendary players Steve Shutt, Bob Gainey, Doug Jarvis, Jacques Lamaire, Guy Lafleur, Ken Dryden on this side. So, it's pretty impressive. A long list of players.

Colleen

After learning so much at the Hall of Fame, we can see why Montrealers are proud of their Habs! Just north of the Canadien's Hall of fame is Space for Life, located in the same area where the Olympics were hosted in 1976.

The Space for Life is made up of four areas

the Biodme, Botanical Garden, Insectarium and Planetarium. They are designed to be interdependent and inspire visitors to experience nature in a new way. On this visit to the Space for Life, we chose to go to the Insectarium and the Biodome. The Montral Insectarium is considered North America's largest insect museum. C'mon, let's go explore! The museum is home to about 160,000 types of insects and many other exciting vivarium. Don't be afraid to ask questions! There are entomologists and facilitators on hand to help.

Guide

The bug in here is here is a...

Boy

A stick insect

Guide

Exactly, it's a stick insect and this is not just any kind of stick insect. This is actually the one species that we have here in Quebec.

Boy

It looks like a stick.

Guide

You want to hold it? Okay We'll start with you.

Boy

It really looks like a stick

Guide

Exactly, it is well camouflaged

Woman

Keep it over the table Sebastian.

Guide

Okay, So this is, like I said, you can find it on Quebec. You can actually find it close to Montreal on the Mount Royal.

Woman

Oh yeah.

laughing

Kids

.

Guide

The reason we call this guy Superisido is because it can give off a stream of acidic acid identical to vinegar from the end of his abdomen. But that's his defense mechanism. Gives off a bit of a vinegary smell.

Colleen

Kids will have a chance to explore the world of Quebec insects and if you're lucky you might get a front row seat to the insect fashion show!

Guide

So welcome to the Insectarium fashion show! We're going to see the different types of wings that insect have. Let's see our first number... We're going to bring out the Butterfly! Let's give her a big round of applause! So the butterfly, if you want to make your way here is part of the family called the Lepidoptera. Man &

Laughing.

Guide

The Lady bug is part of a group called Coleoptera. Okay, so now for our last number...The Fly!! Come on out! Excellent. So the fly is part of a family called the Diptera, D for two and tera for wings! See how he is flapping his wings, he can do so up to 100 times a minute. Which is what causes that famous sound buzzzzz. Can you do it with me?

Group

Buzzzzz.

laughing

Guide

Excellent! A good round of applause for the fly.

Colleen

aww, what did you think about today, with the kids you know learning about bugs?

Woman

Well I love that it's an outing that kids can come and learn something but have fun and discover things that they haven't seen before.

Colleen

yeah. After your visit to the insectarium make sure to buzz around the corner to the Biodome. This building houses a variety of animals living an a simulated habitat. The kids will love to walk around the four different eco-systems that make up the Biodome.

Guide

This building was originally built as the Velodrome, it was built for the 1976 Olympics. And, umm, so after the Olympics the building stood empty for quite awhile. It was a huge building with windows, no columns. What an opportunity to setup as a greenhouse.

Colleen

Yes. That's amazing!

Guide

Well it was thought that maybe we could raise some plants in here and then somebody came up with the idea of adding animals, as well, not just having plants and so the idea of actually building an ecosystem. An ecosystem is an environment where you having living organisms and and non living things all interacting.

Colleen

I think it's fascinating that they took an existing structure, they probably didn't know what to do with, I'm guessing, and it made it this beautiful environment for animals and for kids.

Guide

yeah.

Colleen

I mean this is gorgeous. Each exhibit offers a close look at an environments throughout the americas. This place is huge. Be sure to allow a few hours to enjoy this attraction. Ready for some adventure? Well I hope you're ready to get soaked too! Jet Boating is not for the faint of heart. Put on your poncho and get ready for the ride of your life! I think you look like Teletubbies.

Dunovan

I am a Teletubbie!

Colleen

Now I just need my purple one and I will join you as a Teletubbie.

Shea

Actually there is a purple Teletubbie.

Colleen

Is there? Oh.

Dunovan

Is there us this color Teletubbie?

Colleen

I'm sure there is...there is now! Right? OK.

Dunovan

Yeah.

Man

Let's get this party started for me! Wahooo! I love rock 'n' roll!

Colleen

The boat tour takes you up and down the St Lawrence River and lasts for about an hour. Be prepared to get drenched! You guys want more? You might want to wear a bathing suit and also consider packing some extra clothes in a waterproof bag. Guides on board relate the historic beginnings of the French explorers and the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Man

The St Lawrence Seaway was a joint project between the Americans and the Canadians. It was to help the big ships go from the Atlantic Ocean which is about 1000 kilometers behind you up to the Great Lakes which is about 1000 kilometers In front of you.

Colleen

A jetboat tour of Montreal is a fun way to learn about the city and cool off at the same time! Heading northwest up the St. Lawrence river we taste a Quebec specialty. You cannot get a taste more Quebecois than poutine! Girls, are you ready to go try?

Girls

Yeah!

Colleen

Alright! Let's go. Start with some French fries, top off with some cheese curds and slather it all with brown gravy and you've got poutine! Some people add other ingredients from beef or lamb to more gourmet versions with lobster and truffles. But the girls and I are going to try a classic poutine. Oh look at this. It's all in French. Can we read French?

Shea

No.

Colleen

No, but I bet we can find some words that maybe come close. Let's see if we can find some words. What word is that?

Shea

Tomatoes?

Colleen

Yeah, it's the same in French.

Man

Welcome to Poutineville. I see you guys are here to try our Quebec national dish.

Colleen

Yes, we're very excited. Poutine's rather humble beginnings in rural Quebec in the late 1950's has now elevated to rockstar status and national pride. You ready to try something new on vacation?

Dunovan

OK

Colleen

You're up for it? Wow!

Man

What we'll do is we'll actually get you a classic poutine, which is the three combinations of fries, gravy and curds. And then we'll get you guys to do whatever you want. Kids I'd love you to be creative and tick off on the checklist and make something you like. You can have hotdogs. You can have corndogs. All of these ingredients.

Colleen

Oooh, hot dogs.

Man

all marry well together.

Colleen

This is kind of fun.

Man

It's, it's a blast. It's an experience.

Colleen

We placed our orders in and before you knew it, the food was out and it was time to try this scrumptious, messy dish.

Man

And here we go!

Colleen

Wow!

Man

And this is the classic. This is for you, Kate.

Dunovan

Oh, thank you.

Man

And this Shea is your own little masterpiece with the corn dogs.

Colleen

The corn dogs on top. It looks so good! Should we try it? The national specialty.

Man

Quebec national dish.

Colleen

Yummy! What do you think?

Shea

It's good.

Colleen

It's good? Are you glad you tried something new? Yeah, not just your traditional hot dog or hamburger, right? Look at all this cheese. Oh, I love cheese. Oh that combination is excellent.

Man

Well, there you go. Well, that is our classic so that is what they originally put together by mistake and it became our Quebec national dish.

Colleen

You like it?

Dunovan

It's really good!

Colleen

Do you like the fact that you made your own dish?

Dunovan

Mmm hmmm

Colleen

I think you've got some cheese curds there.

Dunovan

What are those actually?

Colleen

Well, let's ask.

Man

It's fresh unripened cheese that we make for our poutines out in Quebec. Thanks again. I really appreciate it. We're excited to try something new. Fantastic, enjoy your stay.

Colleen

Thank you. Girls, you want to finish up here and get ready for our next adventure in Montreal?

Dunovan

Yeah.

Colleen

Alright, let's finish our dish, OK? Throughout the years there have been multiple creator claims. If you happen to be at a restaurant that serves Poutine be sure to ask them their version of the story.

Girls

Bon appetit!

Colleen

Alright, cheers! To end our visit to Montreal, we travel three miles to get a bird's eye view of the city. The Montreal Tower is part of the Olympic Stadium that was built for the 1976 Olympics. This elevator takes visitors to the top three observation floors of the Montreal Tower, the tallest inclined building in the world. The Tower offers a spectacular view of the city.

Dunovan

Oh wow!

Colleen

Gosh, look at that.

Dunovan

This is so cool.

Colleen

You can see the whole city.

Dunovan

You can see the river, churches...

Shea

A bridge

Colleen

The girls and I play our own version of eye spy, remembering all the fun places we had been to in Montreal. How about...Shea, do you see one?

Shea

A church?

Colleen

Yes, Keep looking. Maybe over there.

Shea

Oh, I see the green one over there.

Colleen

Yeah, great. So did you girls have fun in Montreal?

Girls

Yeah!

Colleen

What was your favorite part?

Dunovan

My favorite part was the jet boating.

Colleen

Yeah, that was cool. And you Shea?

Shea

My favorite part was the swings.

Colleen

Yeah, that was fun. A view from the top of Montreal Tower is the perfect way to end a fun family vacation in Montreal. We can't wait to learn a little French and visit again. I'm Colleen Kelly. Thanks for watching Family Travel. Enjoy making memories on your next

Everyone

family vacation. Au revoir!