Friday, July 07, 2006

Île Sainte-Hélène

Time to burn off the meal of over 1/2 pound of smoked meat. A day in a park with lots of area to explore is in order. The old Expo 67 site is now Parc Jean-Drapeau which is composed of two islands–Île Ste-Hélène and Île Notre-Dame–in the St. Lawrence river within view of Vieux Montréal. It's easily accessible by the yellow métro line which was built for Expo 67.

Among the few buildings left from Expo 67 is Buckminister Fuller's iconic geodesic dome. The former United States Pavilion is now known as the Biosphère which houses exhibits on ecology and the environment.

The history on this island extends much further back in time. There are architectural remnants of old colonial days. The fort strategically overlooking the river is now the Stewart Museum. Unfortunately I arrived too late in the day to see the exhibits and costumed recreation of life at the fortifications.

Scattered around the island are interesting large scale art works. The large metal sculpture simply called Man looks like an alien spider robot. The slender white granite columns called Imaginary Village would not look out of place in the background of an episode of Stargate SG-1.

I didn't have time to check out Île Notre-Dame but since the main draws there are the casino and the Grand Prix track I'm probably not missing out on too much. I took the ferry back to Montréal which drops you off at the Jean Cartier Quay in the Vieux Port.

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