keepsakemontreal

The biggest attraction in Montreal is probably the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City. On 13 September, 1759, the British stormed Quebec City under the leadership of General Wolfe, who died during the Conquest. The British won the battle over the French under the direction of General Montcalm, who, after defeat, died the next day on the Plains of Abraham. Many Scottish men joined the French army to fight the British troops. Queen Victoria, after the victory by the English of French Canada, generously consented to give back to the French Canadians their religion (Roman Catholic) and their language (French. This left the British to rule French Canada. Many of the buildings in Quebec City and Montreal were built by British and Scottish stonemasons. The other attraction is the CN Tower in Toronto. It is the highest free standing structure in the world.

The village of Senneville, where I live, is on the extreme Western tip of the West Island of Montreal. It is an historical site as well as a Bird Sanctuary. It is wooded and very beautiful indeed. There are no commercial buildings. It is entirely residential and there are many large estates. Senneville is 20 km from Montreal city. We are presently negotiating with Parcs Canada to become a Heritage town because we do not want to be part of the merger to form one big MegaCity-Montreal. This would mean all muncipalities would disappear and be part of Montreal. Senneville residents are extremely proud of their beautiful village. You have to get permission if you want to cut a tree down-and it is only allowed under exceptional circumstances.

I have a friend coming to visit from Guernsey next year in July. I am taking her to Quebec City-also will explore downtown Montreal, especially rue St. Denis, which has great restaurants. I will take her to Old Montreal which has many interesting old buildings. The mountain range north of Montreal is called The Laurentians. In the winter there are hundreds of ski resorts. In the summer, cottages on lakes where Canadians love to reside. I am renting a cottage on a lake so she has a taste of something really Canadian. I may try to drive to Niagara Falls in Ontario-a great tourist attraction. Also, I will take her to see Ottawa, the nation's capital city. It is easier to understand the French-Canadian culture after visiting Montreal and Quebec City. Quebeckers are very proud people. The official language in the Province of Quebec is French. English and also other languages are spoken as it is cosmopolitan.

As for holidays, there is Canada Day celebrated in the summer-the whole of Canada joins in. There is St. Jean the Baptiste day in French Canada. The Quebeckers really celebrate at this time and a lot of Fleur-De-Lis flags are seen flying. Then there is Halloween on October 3lst when children walk to the different houses dressed in costumes of their choice-mostly scary ones. We put pumpkins outside our doors that are carved with fierce faces, and put a candle inside so they shine in the dark. The children collect candy from each person they meet. People decorate their houses with witches and ghosts and anything that looks scary. It is a spooky night and the children love it!

Canadians love the outdoors. People mostly ski in the winter; downhill or cross-country. They also love curling, skating, ice-hockey and other snow sports like snowmobiling and ice fishing. In the summer Canadians love their swimming pool, as it gets very hot and humid during June, July and August. The temperature is usually around 30 degrees Celsious. We have the second highest Humidex count in the world-India being Number One. Many people don't realize this...it is also popular to go shopping over the border in the United States of America. Bicycling is very popular and sailing, of course. There are many private and public golf courses and public beaches where you can swim.

In sports we love Golf,tennis, soccer, football, rugby, swimming, track and field-also horse-riding. We send a team to the Olympics. These sports are popular with those descended from Scottish, Irish and English roots-Second generation Canadians. They are popular because they played them in their home countries. I forgot baseball! It is like rounders. The baseball fans will never forgive me! It is hugely popular.

Canada is a peaceable nation which enjoys a high standard of living. It has been rated number one in the world by the United Nations Poll, but this year rated third-Finland was first. It is multicultural. Mostly, people perceive it as a land of ice, snow and polar bears!! Many think we have winter all year round! The Great North. Many people think Canadians are Americans, but it just isn't true. I'm also proud that Canada is a world leader in peaceable solutions to global problems.

If there's one thing I would like people to know about Quebec it's that, even though there is this enmity between the Separatists and the English all the time, it is only a minority. Most of us live side by side peaceably. I would like people to know that we are proud of our First Nations heritage (the North American Indians).

One last interesting fact-- Herodotus, the Greek historian, called "the father of history", describes travellers' reports of conditions in the Arctic where "the ground is frozen iron-hard". Geologically, it is a fascinating region of the world.