Montreal

I had my first border crossing yesterday so I'm reporting from the second country of my tour. Montreal didn't seem very welcoming at first - pouring with rain and the walk from the station to the hostel could have been through any modern city centre. But today it's redeemed itself. The sun shone at least part of the time and I've explored the old town, the waterfront and chinatown, and crossed to the Ile Ste Helene to see the biosphere which is a fabulous building full of exhibitions and activities to do with the environment. A lot of it is aimed at children, but there were very few people around so I played on the water activities, etc. The guide who showed me round the eco-home was so keen to have at least one person at her interactive talk on pollination that she made me a free cup of tea!

The Chateau Ramezay museum which was very highly recommended is closed for restoration unfortunately, but its garden was open, and there I enjoyed an exhibition of pumpkins, gourds, courgettes and squashes, which was much more interesting than you are thinking.

I'd not decided if I was moving on to Toronto on Saturday or Sunday so I'd not booked either place for Saturday night and intended to decide when I got here. What I didn't know is that this is a big holiday weekend in Canada and both hostels are now fully booked. So I may have to treat myself to a night in a hotel - thought presumably they will be pretty busy too!