Where has fall gone?

Greetings from Montreal! So, I haven't updated in a while mainly because I've been quite busy, but with fun things (sometimes)! Classes have kept me quite busy up here at McGill -- weekly homework assignments keep the days and evenings busy, along with various work/projects along the side. Research-wise, no major steps forward yet, mainly due to the busy class schedule and our attempts at trying to figure out where we want to steer the project. It looks like it will likely have something to do with cloud modeling though, so I'm happy about that! On the friend front, I've been meeting lots of nice folks in the department and have made several friends with whom I'm looking forward to enjoying the next few years! For obvious reasons I'm missing my PSU friends, but it's nice to have a new beginning up North at the same time. However, with luck Jared will be visiting for U.S. Thanksgiving (yeah I have to say it that way up here haha), which will be a very fun time!

As for my adventures, I've taken a few when I can, and there is a lot to see in the city! Usually it involves me riding my bike onto campus on Sunday's and deciding that I don't feel like working yet, so I'll ride off somewhere. Also, back in late-September they opened up some of the museums and other locations for free to international students, which was great!

The first stop on 'freebie' weekend was the botanical gardens, which host a Chinese lantern festival each fall. The gardens within themselves are very nice (although I still think I like Longwood Gardens better!), but the lanterns were awesome. I also love the Olympic Stadium, which is right next to the gardens, so I got to see two awesome parts of the city!

The Olympic Stadium with the Rings

In the Japanese Garden area

Close to Sunset by the Arboretum

Storks in near the entrance to the Lantern Festival!

One of their centerpieces -- a big dragon in the water

A big tower character outside the other entrance

Looking toward the pond and big building, with the stadium town in the backdrop

The house up on the hill, with some of the pond

The house up on the hill, with the main pond lanterns

The following day I was able to head down to two of the museums in the Old Port, the Montreal history museum and the archeology museum. It was cool to learn about the history of the city, and the archeology museum is very cool, as it takes you through the dig site of the original settlement of Montreal. The following day was unfortunately a bit dreary, but I still managed to make my way out to the biosphere to see what it had to offer. The biosphere was originally the US exhibition at the '67 expo, and the sphere still stands (despite it's outer shell melting in a fire in the 70's). Today it is the location of a museum for Environment Canada. Though the museum is geared toward the kid crowd, I still had a fun time exploring around, and of course found the sphere awesome.

Creations outside the Biosphere -- made me think of Grandma's Museum :-)

Inside the Biosphere!

And from the outside!

The Old Port on a nicer day :-)

After the 'freebie' weekend, I've taken bike rides out to the two islands in the middle of the river, as well as a few times down to the Old Port. I really like the islands, and there is a lot to see (not to mention that it's a nice bike ride)! Both are rich in history from the '67 expo, and one also has a race track that you can ride your bike on, not to mention the Olympic Rowing Basin. The first time out there was more of an exploration, finding all sorts of fun gardens, statues, and various other fun things.

Crossing the Bridge

The Olympic Basin

L'Homme -- a statue from the '67 expo

The Biosphere with full fall colors

Funny little statue -- all covered in garden equipment

I rode my bike down to the islands again on Sunday, and was pleasantly surprised to find the finals of the Canadian Collegiate Crew Championships going, which was blast to watch. Also, with the basin, you can ride your bike along-side the races, which gives a completely different perspective on the race! Fun times indeed!

The Clock Tower in Old Montreal Port

Late-fall colors in the Old Port

Off go the Women's 4 Finals -- Go McGill!

Last race of the day -- Men's heavyweight 8's!

Big lead at the 1km mark -- which they didn't give up

So, overall, things are busy here in Montreal, but I'm still finding some fun things to do in my spare time. Winter will be here soon -- we've already had a little bit of snow, and with it will come the free museum season (I need something to do when it's cold out!). Until then, hopefully I can get out on my bike to see a few more parts of the city before I have to call it a year! Keep on checking in for details -- I'll provide them when I get the opportunity! Otherwise, check out my photo albums at http://picasaweb.google.com/rockygolf87.