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Montreal Day 2: Incredible Sunrise & Inside the Basilica

Jim Bellomo

The saga continues. The following day (Friday), we awoke at our hotel in Montreal. This would be our last morning at the hotel as we would board Oceania’s Vista this afternoon. Of course, this meant one more predawn photo walk for me. Initially, before they had changed our boarding time, I had planned NOT to walk this morning because we would be leaving the hotel before 11:00, and I would have needed to pack and get ready to leave by 10:30. But when they pushed our embarkation back to 2:00 (more about that later) I decided to walk, and as you will see from my photos, it would have been a tremendous loss if I hadn’t.

The day before, when I had gotten lost trying to get to the top of Mount Royal in time to take sunrise photos, had been kind of a bust with me arriving after the sun was over the horizon and having missed the blue and golden hour of light. But today, I decided to walk Montreal’s waterfront and didn’t miss anything. One of the reasons I wanted to walk the waterfront was to take some. early morning photos of Vista (our home for the next two weeks). On the way I would get not only photos of Vista but some cityscapes of Montreal from the bottom looking up, some early morning lights and then one of the best sunrises I have ever had the pleasure of shooting.

Sunrise the day before, I had been kind of blah. Even if I had gotten to the top before the sun came up, it was rather hazy up there. Not so this morning on the waterfront, as you shall see. Here are my pics from that morning (with captions). Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

My walk started in this park where I just wanted a photo of this sculpture. As I walked up to take it, I realized I was in the middle of more than 100 sleeping homeless.
This is the square in front of the cathedral.
It looked totally different than the night before…
Montreal Bank
The outside of the basilica.
Right behind the basilica, there was Vista.
Up close and personal.
Then the sun started showing itself in the blue hour.
Montreal Reflection
I must have shot 30 pics of the big wheel and the reflections.
When it switched to Golden Hour, I just started snapping.
Every time I would think it couldn’t get any better…
Montreal Sunrise
Montreal Tower at Dawn
The Jacques Cartier Bridge with Six Flags amusement park behind it.
The Jacques Cartier Bridge again.
Molson Beer is the second oldest company in Canada after the Hudson Bay Co. Their sign is reflective so that’s the sun you see.
And the sky got better…
Montreal Tower
and better.
As I said, whenever I tried to walk away, I would get called back.
The tower was just the focal point I needed.
But I finally gave up as the sun itself crested the horizon.
Lots of small shops lined the waterfront.
The yacht club had a real sand beach.
Loved the blue.
Behind me was the city.
And of course, the Clock Tower once again.
Molson sign a little later.
Food trucks on the waterfront.
The sign at the port.
Vista, head on.
A very interesting piece of architecture…
An apartment complex called Habitat 67.
An old, abandoned facility on the harbor.
On my way back to the hotel I walked through Old Town.
I would come back here the next morning off the ship.
But the reflections of the light on this dome (above a shopping mall) were too good to pass up.
Old Town Montreal or a street in France—you decide.
Finally, back to our hotel.

After breakfast, Mike, Steve and I wanted to go back and get more photos inside the basilica. because we had been rushed the night before after the performance. There had also been so many people. We still had tickets that would let us in for a tour, so we headed over. We got some great shots–here are mine.

We had missed the stained glass windows the night before..l
because it was dark outside.
Cathedral of Notre Dame in Montreal
Truly a huge work of art
Incredibly well lit
Some of the parts in closeup.
The lectern was about halfway down the side of the church.
There was a private chapel behind the main altar.
The pipe organ at the back.

After shooting the church, it was back to the hotel to pack for the ship, process photos, do a little writing and then grab an Uber. Even though we had received the e-mail about not boarding until 2:30, our check-out time at the hotel was noon. So we thought we could just as easily wait at the port than in the hotel lobby. Plus, if we went over early, we could drop our big luggage with the porters. But Oceania surprised us by just letting us onboard.  And I have to say it was probably the best and smoothest embarkation we have ever had in 30+ cruises. We were getting out of the Uber at 12:20 and sitting down to eat lunch in the buffet before 1:00. More about that (and the ship) tomorrow.

There’s never one sunrise the same or one sunset the same.
                                                                —Carlos Santana

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