Jazz Festival and Fireworks

My sister is here!  Angela flew in Friday night and will be here until Tuesday.  In order to give her the proper Montreal summer experience we had a full day yesterday.

We started the day at the Jazz Festival around 11:00 a.m.  Unfortunately there was nothing going on.

We walked down to Old Montreal for lunch at 3 Brasseurs and to check out the Saint Jaques Square.  After watching some funny yet dissapointing street performances (the guy kept messing up his tricks) we walked along the water and then headed to Les Glaceurs for ice cream and cupcakes. 

We walked back to the jazz festival and must have just missed the afternoon performances.  With time to spare, Forest ran some errands and Angela and I headed to our sanctuary, the movie theater.  We pulled a double dip and then met up at Guido and Angelinos for dinner.

We went back to the Jazz Festival and this time there were more people and some acrobats.  We even saw two different performances.

For our grand finale we took the metro to Jean Drapeau, hopped a bus and off roaded up a big hill to get seats on the bridge for the international firework festival.  Upon our arrival we were greeted by several large spiders (I was worried about getting bit and becoming the first Spiderwoman) and thousands of moths.  Once the fireworks started I no longer felt like I was on a jungle safari but somewhere magical.

Starting June 25 and continuing every Saturday and some Wednesdays until the end of July, fireworks are set off at La Ronde.  Every week a different country showcases their pyromusical talents for the competition.  This Saturday, July 2, the pyrotechnicians were from the Czech Republic and the theme was a Flower Duet. 

I love fireworks and these were pretty amazing.  There were fireworks I had never seen before and plenty that I had.  The explosions of light and color and the lingering sparks remind me of willow trees with their hanging branches.

Photo courtesy of Forest Isbell

Photo courtesy of Forest Isbell

Photo courtesy of Forest Isbell

We ended the night with the longest bus ride ever (why is there so much traffic in Montreal?) but finally made it home around 1:00 a.m.