Once the company meeting had ended by Saturday lunch I had decided to stay overnight till Sunday and spend the day in Montreal. Last year I had moved into my new condo and started a new job in the same week and the meeting was my first weekend in my home so I returned home Saturday right after the meeting to continue unpacking and get settled.

This year since there was no rush I was going to spend a weekend in Montreal and get half a free trip out of it. This was my first proper time back in Montreal since 2006.

We were staying at the Sheraton Laval near the end of the metro line. I had somebody drop me at the metro where I rode the subway downtown. The trains have windows to allow you to look into each other carriage, and they run on rubber not steel wheels.

Once downtown I had to navigate to find my hotel close to the metro station. The roads and pavements were heavy with snow as Montreal gets more than Toronto.

Having dumped my bag I now went into the own town quarter. The temperature was -11 but was comfortable as there was no wind.

As this was low season several of the museums were closed. The town hall was open where you can see the council chambers.

Opposite was Chateau Ramezay. Wiki travel also said this was closed for winter but I was surprised to see it was open. Entrance was $10.

I told the guy "regardez wiki travel montreal. Il dit il est fermee pour l'hiver" (check wiki travel, it says its closed for winter).

I had been to Chateau Ramezay in 2000 so I vaguely remember it and it was good to get out of the cold.

The other place I had planned on going was Pointe A Calliere. This had the excavated remains of the original Montreal settlement. I had stumbled across this back around 2000 and somehow went in the wrong entrance without paying admission.

Since then the facility has expanded to a much larger museum including a neighbouring building across the street. Entrance was $17.40 and included admission to the adjacent museum which had a special exhibit on The Greeks. They had just ended a special exhibition on Marco Polo in the fall.

The excavated remains were not as I remembered as I recall wooden planks. This time it was stone foundations and burial chambers. The underground passages connected under the street to the neighbouring museum with the Greek exhibit.

No photos were allowed it was very crowded and hard to move. I was hoping to walk back to the Cathedral but it closed at 4pm.

As evening approached I headed back to my hotel via Chinatown. This was reminiscent of downtown Daegu in Korea where I lived for three years.

Chinatown has developed since I last visited a decade ago and was bustling even in this cold weather.

It was a nice mini vacation before my next big overseas trip in late spring.