Butterfly bush has been busy lately, one of six swallowtails probing with its proboscis for that sweet, sweet nectar.
#Butterfly
Arriving for my 30,000 mile service, I forced myself not to drive another two miles and then back. But it was hard.
My embarrassed wife had to literally drag me away from the Montreal antique store selling The Rocking-Horse Winner yelling, “It’s Malabar! It’s Malabar, mother!”
Having traveled with only a (large) carry-on each, I thought my wife would be restrained by space shopping in Montreal. Wrong. An umbrella and travel pillow were left behind for two pairs of John Fluevog shoes, though thankfully not the Star Trek: Strange New World boots at $499 USD.
The most memorable meals in Montreal, poutine—fries, curds, and gravy—and a pancake, the former was a little heavy, the latter a light and fluffy desert—served by a robot!
Some of my favorite pieces at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art were done in the building by visitors.
Part of an earthenware exhibit at the MMFA, a 12th century Persian lustware bowl in a turquoise glaze, floral and arabesque design around a central figure likely of some import. This piece is notable for being one the earliest examples of side-eye memes in the world.
Dog Monkey something bronze from inside the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and beyond the Erskine and American Church, Romanesque Revival architecture more interesting than the MMFA post-modern deconstructionist structure that looks like it was built by a giant child with geometric building blocks.
A century ago a priest of the Notre-Dame Basilica would slowly climb the twisty, windy stairs to the stand under an ornate canopy, high above the nave, his voice ringing out to pews filled with parishioners, but now it’s tourists taking pictures and dust on those steps.
On the way to visit the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, we passed another religious institution, Leonard Cohen memorialized on a giant mural.
