Saturday was our last full day in Montreal, so we wanted to make the most of it! One of the places we knew we definitely wanted to go on our trip was the Jean Talon Market -- another of Andrew's favorites. So we saved it for Saturday morning when we knew it would be full of action.
First, though, we stopped at Dupond & Dupont, another of Dort's neighborhood spots, for croissants and coffee. It was the Sugar Magnolia of TMR!
After breakfast, Andrew drove us over to the market, which was indeed super busy. This is not your average farmers market!
They have every fruit, vegetable, cheese, meat, and flower you could ever imagine. With plenty of samples too! Andrew started out by buying a little basket of raspberries to snack on while we walked around.
We were specifically on the hunt for beans, corn, and tomatoes for dinner, but we took our time touring and tasting. (And as you can see -- taking pictures.)
This celery was literally the length of my arm.
Of course, we also had to make a stop for some maple goodies. What trip to Canada would be complete without some of those?
After our morning at the market, we came home for an early lunch before making our last stop on the "Tour de Montreal". We added it at the last minute -- because how can you resist visiting a church high above the city, up to which people are known to climb on their knees for healing?!
Oratoire Saint-Joseph
We caught a bus out of TMR that dropped us right near the church -- St. Joseph's Oratory. (That was a good thing since I think Saturday was the hottest day of our trip, and as you can see, no clouds.)
The guidebook said some people find it inspiring while others find it "forbidding". It's actually a newer structure that was built in place of a small church in which a man named Brother (now Saint) Andre Bessette is said to have healed many people. The many flights of stone stairs leading up to the building -- which you can see in the first picture -- are hard enough to climb as it is, but the center wooden set is reserved for those seeking healing. They climb them on their knees.
Abandoned Shoes
While the other churches we saw were just amazingly ornate and brightly beautiful, the Oratory was more...austere.
It was huge, dim, and much more stark than the others. Still impressive, obviously, but we could see why the book called it forbidding. It just didn't feel like a very happy place.
The random stretcher in the hallway outside didn't add much to the charm either. (Tim, if you're reading this, didn't you once see somebody being carried in on this?)
Fortunately though, when things get a little too heavy inside, you can walk outside the doors for a beautiful, panoramic view of the whole city!
Can you spot the Big Orange?
We also visited the museum, which featured a few historical items from the Oratory's history but (sort of oddly) mostly contained nativity scenes of every size, shape, and variety.
Bowling Pin Nativity
There was also a creepy red hallway (the glow didn't show up in that picture) that contained life-size depictions of scenes from Jesus's life. Hopefully it's not sacrilegious to call it creepy, but it was totally empty except for us, unnaturally silent, and filled with fake people. A little unsettling.
Speaking of unsettling, did I mention that Brother Andre's heart is on display here too? Well, it is. It's formalin-fixed and back-lit in red inside a little cage. (The cage is there because it was stolen once before. Really.)
As you can see, this relic did not want to be photographed. Actually, Andrew got a "tsk tsk" from a lady when he tried to take a picture, so maybe we weren't supposed to. You can barely see it, but it's underneath the "RIP" and behind a red ribbon.
Last, we went down to the lowest level of the building to the Votive Chapel, which is also where (the rest of) Brother Andre is entombed in an above-ground vault. The smell of matches/candle smoke was overwhelming in here, and it was in stark contrast to the main part of the basilica. It was almost other-worldly.
All of the wooden crutches and canes that people discarded after being healed on the hill are on display in giant sculpture-like arrangements. There were at least 3 or 4 just like this, and most of them were floor-to-ceiling. This one was over the doorway to Brother Andre's tomb.
We could also hear somber organ music in the chapel, which was coming from the adjacent Crypt Church. It looked infinitely more light and pleasant than its name and music suggested it would. I actually thought it was really pretty.
We headed out of the building just in time for the 2:30 performance of the carillon bells. It took us a few minutes (and a lot of stairs) to figure out where they were coming from. We thought it would be giant bells in the tower/dome of the Oratory.
Not quite. :) It was a nice performance though, and we were able to see through the little window and watch the girl who played the bells.
Rather than have a heat stroke on our walk back to the bus stop (I know - you get it - it was hot), we made a visit to the only place at the Oratory with air conditioning: the gift shop! Once we had cooled off, we walked down to the street to get a few more pictures. The jury is still out on whether this stop was fascinating or disturbing. Maybe a little of both. ;)
We took the bus back to TMR, officially done with all of our sightseeing! I still can't quite believe how many things we managed to see in just a few days. Even though it was tiring, we're so glad we had the opportunity to see it all!
Shuckin' Corn
Back at Dort's house, we spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with some of Andrew's mom's friends who stopped in to see us before prepping our morning market haul for dinner. Then it was time to get packed up and ready to head south!
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