Montreal. June 29 2018 History, Art, Jazz… and naturally, food! Day 3

Très tard dans la nuit…

Just returned from fantastic Ry Cooder performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival – more on that later; it’s about 1:00 am.

Started the day with another bagel adventure… very hooked on these Montreal bagels (which you can find in Oakland at Beauty Bagels on Telegraph Ave – but guess it’s true about the water having an impact on the taste. Beauty Bagels are definitely not as good as the ones in Montreal!)  From there we walked to the Museum of Archeology which had a special exhibit on Egyptian queens, as well as the requisite introduction to Montreal history. The museum itself (located at Pointe-à-Callière is considered a national archaeological site – the very site where Montreal was founded. The museum attempts to present the history of the city  from indigenous settlements to the present day and does a pretty good job. There is a 20-minute film that is definitely a promo for Montreal and very upbeat placing Montreal in the “I” position of the story.. It walks on eggs to be “neutral” but definitely could use a once-over to undo some terms and phrases.

From there we walked (total walking today was about 6 miles – in the heat; it was in the high 80s today and quite humid; not my favorite weather; I wilt at 72) to the Museum of Contemporary Art. We strolled through great cobblestone streets and cute boutiques and literally hundreds of cool-looking restaurants; stopped for a salad and continued uphill (through a lot of construction and infrastructure renovations) to get to the museum – affectionately called the MAC (Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal). The current exhibition was the work of Mexican-born Rafael Lozano-Hemmer– a prominent international artist working in Canada. His work is large-scale, participatory installations that generally incorporate technology, light, and public spaces. He considers them “anti-monuments,” and they are often displayed outdoors to increase accessibility. These works were exhibited inside the museum (thereby limiting exposure). The exhibit was somewhat participatory and several pieces had subtle political content. I believe that all or part of the exhibit will be coming to SFMOMA later this year.

Choosing to visit museums today was a good idea as it got us out of the heat for about an hour each time; walking in the heat was grueling especially when the streets were not shaded and when we had to walk around construction areas.

After our culture exposure… we trekked back to the hotel, taking some different streets and seeing some new areas of town. Quick cooling off and then we headed to dinner at Bouillon Bilk, a modern restaurant with yet another wonderful menu. We shared… an asparagus dish that came with clams, mussels, apple, and quinoa; a yellowjack sashimi with yuzu kosho, grapefruit, fennel, and cucumber  (those were two appetizers). For the main course we shared duck, which was prepared with raspberries, chick peas, kale, and sesame. OK.. we figured since we shared the meal we could get dessert (pineapple tartlette – fruit is healthy -right?)

We dashed out of the restaurant to get to the Jazz Festival; we had pre-purchased tickets for Ry Cooder who is doing a tour in conjunction with his new album “Prodigal Son.” It was a real treat. Cooder is a legend in his craft, and is perhaps best known for his slide guitar and for his collaborations with traditional musicians from around the world. His range is broad and tonight he played and sang work inspired by everyone from Johnny Cash to Blind Willie Johnson. Cooder is also known for having produced the Buena Vista Social Club. His recent work, exhibited tonight and in his new album is quite spiritual, building on black and white gospel church music, in a really fresh and modern way. The tour includes his son who performed solo as the start up and then accompanies his father as part of the group, playing drums.  The message was clear — our moral state is not what it should be!  The city is transformed by this huge jazz festival with free concerts outdoors day and night at several venues in close proximity and ticketed performances inside huge theaters. The one we were in tonight held about 1,500 people I’d guess.

Stopped for a little nightcap and strolled to the hotel. Carol leaves early in the day; I leave end of the day. It’s supposed to be even hotter tomorrow so I will try to find some spot to stay cool. Back to the office on Monday!

Take care –

Fern