The theme for Saturday, July 9th, was gardens, specifically covering gardens with a long lineage. Following strong Travel Club traditions, yesterday's overcast skies turned to drizzle overnight, and even rain! Not that we were surprised, and it was not expected to be anything like the storm on the evening we arrived in Montreal. Thank Heavens!
The Oratory as seen from the lower level. It is a huge building, being built on the site of a 1916 church. This building was completed in 1960.
At the front there is a statue of Saint Joseph, with an inscription on this side describing Pope Pius IX's 1870 declaration of St. Joseph as patron of the Church. And there's Karen checking her photograph.
It's a long way to those stairs up to the oratory. Some of the visitors to the site climb the stairs on their knees, as a sign of reverence.
The park was designed in the early 1870s by Frederick Law Olmstead, architect of New York's Central Park (among many others). It was designed as a public space for all after the citizens objected to the exclusive use of the land by the rich. The city bought or acquired the land, and thus the park came into existence.
It has 60,000 trees and half a million shrubs, with over 700 species! It is used extensively all year long, with cross country skiing and ice skating in winter, and jogging, walking, picnicking etc. during summer.
We had more of a "drive through" tour than anything else, so the only photos are when the bus stopped at a lookout on the eastern side of the mountain.
Looking roughly east and the 1976 Olympic Stadium stands out. The close up view has more detail. It's an interesting design, but has it problems. The white upper part of the roof is some sort of material which can be lifted up by rope to the tower. Thus, the roof is retractable. Alas, the material does not like repeated openings and closings (either it breaks or leaks, or both, I don't recall which), and thus now remains closed.
A view looking roughly north east, showing the width of the St. Lawrence River.