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Well the day started just a little later than yesterday but we were not in any rush. We headed down to the Eaton Centre (a big underground mall that was built this way so that the people of Montreal could still shop in the harsh winters that they get here). It was just as well that we had something to eat as we were about to go on an expedition up a mountain!

The mountain in question (and yes the locals do call it a mountain, we would call it a very high and steep hill) is called Mount Royal and it was named this by the French man that discovered Montreal a certain Mr. Cartier. When he arrived in Montreal the native Indian canadians took him up to the top of this hill to show him the waterways and the vast lands that sat below him.

Cartier was so impressed that he called the mountain Mont Royal as he considered what he saw in the land and how the ports could be developed such an important place that it needed to be addressed Royally.

Now it does not take a genius to work out that todays name for the city derived from its old name so you have Mont Royal becoming Montreal.

Now that problem with a mountain and this one in particular is that you have to get up it and the only way of doing that (unless you have a car) is by foot and a whole heap of staircases that cut through the dense woodlands that cover the hill. Apparently there are over 400 steps up the mountain and today it was close to thirty degrees...this was not going to be easy!

By the time we reached the top and the lookout point we both knew that we had exhumed a lot of energy. Both of us were hot, well beyond hot to be honest and out T-shirts were sticking to us with sweat, not the most attractive feature or look at all. To top that all off Trevor's knee had decided that it did not want to play anymore so he had to walk up the last fifty or so steps in a lot of pain. It has to be said at this point that the journey up to the staircase is exhausting enough. It was like climbing a San Francisco like steep hill and then you still have to go up. The journey up the steep hill was lined with beautiful granite set houses from the victorian age that now all seemed to belong to the McGill University here in Montreal.

Anyway back to the hill, we made it to the Kondiaronk Look out and yes....it was worth it. The whole of Montreal stretched out in front of us and it really was impressive. We were both glad that we had made it but stopped for a drink to refresh ourselves and stop us getting dehydrated!

Feeling refreshed and with heart rates returned to normal we set off on a walk on top of the mountain down to the huge Lake that was part of the grounds. In the winter this lake freezes over and you can hire ice skates from the boathouse that sits in front of the lake. All the pathways around the mountain also become ski runs for cross country skiers.

It must be duckling season as we saw quite a few young birds that looked like they had not long hatched. They were sitting on top of mum rather that getting along in the water under their own devices, very cute.

The Parc itself was opened in 1876 and was actually designed by the same landscape architect that designed New Yorks Central Park. It really feels like a huge green space for the city to enjoy. There were dense woodland areas, large flat green spaces, the lake, viewpoints to the city. Of course on such a beautiful sunny day everything looks even better so we were spoilt today but yet again, the climb had been worth it.

Of course what goes up must go down so we started the slow walk down to the city and for a well deserved lunch. We went back into one of the large malls seeking air conditioning to cool off for a while before heading off back in the direction of the old town and yet another stunning cathedral. This cathedral was certainly designed in the style of St Pauls in London and even had the gallery level around the main dome and again like the cathedral we had visited yesterday this was a stunning piece of architecture both internally and externally.

From here we walked round to the train station to check on the procedures for our train journey tomorrow. An eleven hour journey crossing country borders ending in New York's Penn Station. All seemed clear, no baggage check in tomorrow but sit on the left if you can for the best views. Lets hope that we can get a seat there then.

Our next stop took us back to the Metro (underground) as we headed off to the Jean Drapeau Park which is actually located on an island in the middle of the main waterway adjacent to Montreal port. This was the location of the world Expo in 1967 and the island itself is actually man made. In !967 countries of the world used to fill these sites with hugely expensive pieces of architecture to showcase what their countries were about and why other countries should trade with them. In 2013 few of these original buildings remain but the most impressive of them that does is the Biosphere a huge dome made of small scaffolding like pieces that punches out from the trees and actually looks quite beautiful.

The park now is a playground for the Canadians with swimming pools and sculptures and yet more festivals and art programmes bringing the people out of the city and into green spaces at the weekends. These Canadians have really got something right.

The part also houses more of the Olympic venues such as the rowing lake and a gymnasium hall. It also has one of the biggest theme parks I have ever seen which is actually owned and operated by the six flags company, famous for running some of the scariest theme parks in the U.S. This one os no exception and can actually claim the title of having the highest and longest wooden roller coaster in the world.

Back at the hotel Jonathan went off to the gym whilst Trevor packed and took some well earned rest from all the walking that we had done today. I really wish that we had set up a pedometer at the beginning of this trip because believe me our feet have covered some serious miles.

Dinner tonight was a short walk out from the hotel and a fast food Thai place. It mind sound a bit dodgy but actually the food was excellent and really tasty and it was out best value meal to date here in Montréal.

So that's it then, tomorrow we leave Canada, its scary to think that we are going to be on a train for 11hours plus tomorrow, we could fly from London to Los Angeles in that time. but it will be an experience good or bad that we wont forget in a rush.

Earlyish night tonight as tomorrow is going to be a very very long day indeed.

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