Hello From Montreal: Exploring Montreal's History

Every time I go to a new city, the spirit of adventure and discovery heightens my energy level and 6:10 am I was already awake. I read my guidebook for a while and then doze off again, only to be awakened by a major thunderstorm that drenched the city with a downpour. So I got up and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and by 9:30 or so things had calmed down again, just in time for my explorations of the city. The Old Montreal Ghost Tour last night had already given me a bit of an overview of the old historic centre of Montreal and introduced me to some interesting characters. Massage parlor is right for you: massage parlours toronto
Five minutes from my hotel is the Place d’Armes, one of Montreal’s most famous squares. The old part of the city was still quiet, and I enjoyed a peacefull stroll through the cobble-stoned streets. I headed into one of Montreal’s Tourist Information Office, located right at the southwest corner of Rue Notre Dame and Place Jacques Cartier to stock up on maps and ask various questions of the helpful staff.

Old Montreal in the morning has such a European feel to it, with the little cafés just setting up shop and local residents getting ready to walk to work. The calm relaxed atmosphere contrasts quite sharply with the usual frenetic hustle and bustle that we are so used to in our North American metropolitan cities.
After a relaxing walk that allowed me to admire the architecture and the narrow streets and alleyways I returned to Place d’Armes where my Old Montreal Walking Tour, provided by licensed tour guides from Guidatour, would be starting at 11:00 am. The meeting place was just outside the Notre-Dame Cathedral and our two tour leaders were already waiting. Our English-speaking group would be handled by Louis while the French-speaking group was entrusted to another guide, Bruno.

Eleven of us tourists congregated around Louis and in his charming French accented yet perfect English he started to educate us about the history and architecture of Old Montreal, adding a dose of subtle humour. Naturally our tour started with the Basilica of Notre Dame, probably Montreal’s most visited building. Louis took us inside the basilica and we discovered that the C$15 admission ticket for the walking tour actually covers the $4 that the Basilica charges for admission.Independent escort is great to suit your needs? independent escort toronto
 
The Basilica of Notre Dame is a magnificent Gothic revival church, designed ironically by the Protestant Irish-American architect James O’Donnell who had also designed churches in New York City, and built between 1824 and 1829. In addition to a stunning Gothic revival exterior, Notre Dame features a dramatic interior, with a deep blue ceiling that is decorated with golden stars. It is one of the most unusual churches I have seen and its visual impact is stunning.

Louis explained to us that for about Can$2000 you can get married in this church, but obviously there is a waiting list of at least two years. Celebrities like Quebecois singer Celine Dion and hockey great Mario Lemieux got married here. Notre-Dame Basilica was also the location of former prime minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s funeral, Canada's most well-known prime minister. Louis then took us through the side chapel out into the wedding chapel, officially called “La Chapelle Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur” which unfortunately was seriously damaged in a fire in 1978. Much of the woodwork has been reconstructed in a more modern style, but the chapel is still an impressive space.

After our first introduction to Montreal architecture we walked westwards just a few steps on Rue Notre-Dame and had a look at Montreal’s oldest building: the Old Seminary or “Vieux Séminaire Saint-Sulpice”. Built in 1683 by Sulpician priests, this building used to be a manor from which the priests managed their vast land holdings. During the early years of Montreal’s history, the town’s citizens were exposed to frequent attacks by the Iroquois, and the Old Seminary represented a refuge in a place that was still mostly wilderness. The characteristic public clock was installed in 1701 and is among the oldest such timekeepers in all of North America.

We then stopped to admire Place d’Armes, right in front of the Basilica, so called because it used to be a location for military manoeuvres as well as for religious processions. Place d’Armes is a veritable collection of architectural history. The New York Insurance building, dating back to 1888, was the first building to install the newly invented elevator, at the time making it the highest building in all of Montreal. The Hotel Place d’Armes just north, originally five stories high, actually had three stories added once the building was retrofitted with an elevator. For the lookout only for escort businesses? montreal asian escorts
 
The Aldred Building is a fine example of Art Deco skyscraper architecture and for many years it was the highest building in Montreal. Louis quite appropriately referred to the stepped back skysraper design as the wedding cake architectural style. The centre of Place d’Armes is watched over by a statue of Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maissoneuve, who founded Montreal in 1642.

Montreal Nightlife Overview

Taking part in Montreal’s nightlife is not just a way to kill an evening…it’s a one-of-a-kind experience you will never forget. Every year, millions of tourists flock to the second largest city in Canada to experience its culture, cuisine, shopping malls, and unique festivals. For many visitors, the unsurpassed nightlife in Montreal is a major factor in their decision to visit the city. That’s not surprising – people from the four corners of the globe know about Montreal nightlife. The city has a reputation as one of the best locales for nightlife in the world. If you’re wondering exactly what you can expect from Montreal nightlife, read on! For the lookout only for escort businesses? escorts montreal
Clubs

Clubs are an integral part of Montreal nightlife, and there truly is something for every taste. Disco, hits of the 1980s, DJs spinning the hottest dance and trance compilations – Montreal’s unique nightlife lets you experience it all! The minimum drinking age in the U.S. is 21, and young people in the rest of Canada have to be 19 to get into night clubs. In Quebec, however, the minimum age is just 18, so Montreal nightlife is very popular among young partyers. With many after-hours clubs open until 10 a.m., it’s possible to enjoy the nightlife of Montreal until the not-so-wee hours of the morning.

Bars

Bars are another desirable part of nightlife in Montreal, and they’re perfect for those who have outgrown the crowded and noisy dance club scene. The city’s bars are ideal if you just want to sit down and enjoy a drink of fine whiskey or a mug of ale. Watch the game, or just have a conversation in a wonderfully inviting and relaxing atmosphere.Independent escort is great to suit your needs? toronto independent escorts
Specialty Lounges

Nestled among the dance clubs and bars of Montreal, you’ll find lounges that don’t readily fit into any category. When you’re exploring the nightlife in Montreal, stop by the city’s cigar bars or jazz lounges for a unique and unforgettable experience.

Adult Entertainment

There’s a reason Montreal is known as sin cité. There are dozens of strip clubs scattered throughout the city, making them a big part of Montreal nightlife. The entertainment you’ll find in these Montreal nightlife hotspots can range from mild to extremely hot and racy. Many strip clubs have beautiful dancers that perform on stage, but others have daring women that will give full-contact private lap dances. These performances are very hands-on!

Perhaps the only downside of Montreal nightlife is that many clubs have long wait lines to get in. Standing out in the cold during those cold Canadian winter nights isn’t exactly a pleasurable experience. However, a select few patrons of Montreal’s nightlife have the benefit of receiving preferable, or VIP, treatment. They are whisked to the front of long lines at exclusive clubs, are not asked to pay cover charges, and are granted bottle service once inside. They are also free to access VIP lounges and all the pleasures that await them inside these prestigious areas. Whether you’re a VIP, a club hopper, or just want to enjoy a glass of fine wine, Montreal nightlife has something wonderful just for you. Massage parlor is right for you: exotic massage toronto

Hello From Montreal: The Old Montreal Ghost Walking Tour

After an enjoyable dinner at Modavie I was ready to head to my next scheduled activity: a ghost tour of Old Montreal. Old Montreal Ghosts or Les Fantomes de Vieux Montreal was founded about 8 years ago by a local Montrealer, Eric Poulin, who got the idea for a ghost tour on one of his travels to London. Recently he has started to collaborate with Louise Hébert, owner of Guidatour and a very experienced tourism entrepreneur who has won numerous prizes from Quebec Tourism and in 2005 was also honoured as one of Chatelaine Magazine Top Ten Women of the Year. Both entrepreneurs together combined to provide a special experience in Old Montreal.

Old Montreal Ghosts offers a variety of tours: a traditional ghost walk that introduces visitors to the streets, alleyways and piers of Old Montreal, to the locations of many historical events including fires, ghost appearances, political gatherings, hangings, crimes, heroic acts and unexplained facts. The Montreal Historical Crimes Tour makes visitors relive some of Montreal’s most famous crimes through the testimony of victims and criminals.

I was going to partake of the New France Ghost Hunt, with characters dating back to the founding times of Montreal. Another ghost tour focuses on the Port area while a Scavenger Hunt is also offered where competing teams have to find answers to rally questions.

Based on these interesting offerings, I was sure a special experience was waiting for me. So just before 8:30 pm I went to a booth on Jacques Cartier Quay in the Old Port of Montreal to participate in the New France Ghost Hunt. Quebec was part of New France and Montreal’s French regime lasted from 1642, the founding of Montreal, to 1760, when France conceded its overseas territories to Great Britain in 1763 at the end of the Seven Years War. The ghosts we would be meeting tonight would date back to that era.

Two ghost tours were being offered tonight: one in French and one in English. Together with a family from Battle Creek, Michigan, and another family from Boston I was ready to go searching for Montreal’s ghosts. A lady dressed in a late-medieval costume called us together and explained to us how the tour would work. She handed out some critical accessories: a flag of New France as well as a lantern and designated a tour leader who would have to coordinate our efforts.

She gave us maps of Old Montreal that contained 4 stops at each of which we would have to locate the resident ghost and call him or her by chanting “Long live the King of France”. This would make the ghost appear. And off she sent us on our treasure hunt for the ghosts of Old Montreal.

Well, it was a beautiful evening and hundreds of people on the outdoor restaurant patios on Place Jacques Cartier could attest to that. Our first ghost destination was located at Champ-de-Mars, a former parade ground for military manoeuvres, and since 1991 a place where the old fortifications of Montreal have been revealed. We went through our ghost calling ceremony and sure enough, the ghost of a young man appeared, telling us stories of young forbidden love, arson and his early death. He was a rather charming ghost that endeared himself to his audience with his French-Canadian accent and his bright smile. For the lookout only for escort businesses? montreal escort
Our next ghost location was just south of Montreal’s City Hall, in the Place de la Dauversière, a public square next to Place Jacques Cartier that holds several works of public art as well as a statue of one of Montreal’s most famous mayors, Jean Drapeau. Place Jacques Cartier itself at one point held a public market and a statue of British Admiral Nelson overlooks the square, however, the famous admiral interestingly faces away from the port area.

Having arrived at the proper spot, we were able to call up a young female ghost who told us tales of her voyage to North America and her love story with one of the sailors. She was also reaped away by an untimely death and her expressive playful demeanor was fitting for such a young girlish ghost.

Then we crossed Place Jacques Cartier and strolled to Cours Le Royer, a complex of huge warehouses that used to be the property of the religieuses hospitalières (nursing sisters) of Saint-Joseph, an order of nuns who rented out the warehouses to importers to generate revenue for their organization. The complex was built between 1860 and 1871 and features a cobble-stoned alley between the warehouses.

After some searching we found another ghost and went through our ghost calling ritual. A young male ghost talked to us of his journey to the New World and how he came into conflict with the authorities. In gruesome detail he depicted the torture techniques that were used at the time of the French regime. This ghost was the most scary of all and his anger at his fate was palpable. When he was finished telling us his story we started to proceed to search for our fourth and final ghost. As I looked back, this ghost was still standing on the rue Saint-Sulpice and his haunting gaze kept following our group, sending a chill up our spine.
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Are Human Pheromone Products Today's Love Potions

Ever since the beginning of time, mankind has always been fascinated with love potions. So since the discovery of the human pheromone, many laboratories have been marketing synthetic pheromone products as the modern day love potion as pheromones are supposed to be scents that have magical sexual attraction qualities.

So how did this relationship between human pheromone and love potions came about? Well, pheromones are actually a natural chemical compound secreted by insects, animals, and human beings which play an important function in sexual communication. These scents transmit signals about mood, sexual drive and health to the subconscious awareness of the recipient party. The dominant male of a species will produce more of these attractants and by virtue of that attracts more females to mate with. For the lookout only for escort businesses? escort in montreal
More than just being a sexual attractant, pheromones also help animals to mark territories, find mating partners to mate from long distances without actual verbal or visual communication. One such example is that bitches in heat can attract male dogs more than a mile away!

In human beings, the primary male pheromone that attracts women is known as Androstenone. However, unlike animals, the human pheromone is only found in the sweat and is not secreted anywhere else. The funny thing that men do before they go and meet women they like, is that they will first take a shower to unwittingly wash away the natural occurring pheromone in the sweat and then use a cologne unintentionally masking away what is left since the human pheromone is thought to be only detectable by an organ called the Vemeronasal Organ or VNO in the nose. Independent escort is great to suit your needs? escort in toronto
It is for this very reason, scores of laboratories are now producing Androstenone incorporated into masculine fragrances and perfumes, thus enabling the user to apply it to himself at will. Nowadays, you can easily purchase pheromone oil, cologne, perfumes and even pills that are supposed to encourage your body to produce more of its natural pheromones.

Although it is thought that human now secretes too little pheromones to be detected consciously or our detection powers have weakened, many researchers are convinced that our perception of pheromones is still there but on a subconscious level instinctively.

In many experiments, scientists have shown that male human pheromones do trigger off subconscious sexual responses in women. Although natural human pheromones are odorless and are not consciously detectable but because women have a naturally better sense of smell, they can subconsciously pick up male pheromones rather quickly and become instantly sexually attracted to the men emitting the love potion.

At University of Kentucky, researchers discovered that when women are exposed to pictures of men sprayed with male pheromones, they found these men much more attractive than the pictures that were not treated. The researchers then concluded that this phenomenon probably explains why people can often decide as soon as they meet whether they like or dislike the person.

So are human pheromone products the modern day love potions? Try out for yourself and make your own decision. Massage parlor is right for you: erotic massage toronto

Blind Date Dos and Don'ts

Blind dates are thrilling and nerve-wracking at the same time. Here are a few dos and don’ts every guy should keep in mind before they meet someone for the first time:

1. Don’t spend the whole night talking about the couple or person who set you up.
For instance, don’t say: “So Brenda is really hot, huh?” or something that she really isn’t going to want to answer or that doesn’t lead to a conversation about her.

2. Do bring up the person who introduced you or set you up as a way to create a common interest, such as saying something like this :
“Brenda told me you met playing volleyball. Do you play any other sports?”
If you say something else along those lines, it mentions your mutual acquaintance in a way that stimulates further conversation between you. For the lookout only for escort businesses? asian escorts montreal
3. Don’t have her over to your place for dinner on that first blind date. If the date is a dud, you are both stuck and it is awkward and uncomfortable.

4. Do meet at a public place, but not for dinner. Meet for coffee or a drink at a place that isn’t so loud you can’t have a decent conversation and get to know one another.

5. Don’t talk about past relationships on your first date. Don’t tell her how your last girlfriend cheated on you or she was boring so you left her or how you still have a broken heart from your high school sweetheart. Save any of that for much later if you actually get into a relationship with the woman.

6. Do talk about how you are in relationships if it comes up. You might say that you don’t really date much because when you find someone you like she usually becomes your long-term girlfriend or that you really aren’t into dating exclusively because you just aren’t ready to settle down but that isn’t to say the right woman couldn’t change your mind.Independent escort is great to suit your needs? independent escorts in Toronto
7. Don’t brag about how cool you are, how much money you make and what an awesome dude you are. Even though it is your first date and maybe your only chance to impress her, bragging like that is a huge turn off and any woman who responds to that isn’t a woman you want in your life anyway.

8. Do let her get to know how cool you are on her own, over time. What that means is that it’s OK to be a little mysterious about how cool you are. My mother always told me if you’re really cool, you don’t need to tell anyone how cool you are. Little things will let her know what you are really like. And if you hit it off on a deeper level and begin seeing each other, she will learn these things eventually anyway and will be impressed that you have enough self confidence that you didn’t need to brag to her on that first date.

These are some general dos and don’ts for blind dates. Remember a blind date is just that first gut-wrenching meeting with someone you have never met. Chances are someone set you up together for a reason, so follow these rules and take the time to get to know each other and that blind date may become a second and third date and might even lead to true love. Massage parlor is right for you: toronto adult massage