April 21, 2024

Montreal Quebec Temple

Like all good temple trips, this one started early. I was on the road to Reagan National Airport at 3:59 AM! The nonstop flight to Montreal leaves at 6 AM. I will fly back tonight at 7 PM!

The spirit is willing, but my French is weak! They called me up to the Air Canada counter because my passport is new and it needed to be signed. An adventure already!

I have to give a shout out to the Montreal bus and transit system. It only cost me $11 to buy an all day pass to ride on the Metro system and on the bus. It took about an hour and a half from the airport, but the bus trip and a couple of metro rides got me right across the street from the temple in great shape.

The Montreal Quebec Temple was the 86th temple dedicated. It was dedicated in June 2000 by President Gordon B. Hinckley.
Shout out to a great temple worker named Francois. He conducted our session and did a fabulous job! Afterwards he showed me some of the stained glass and pointed out that in the bottom corners of the panes, there is a small circle that represents frost on the ground. He also pointed out to me that the floral designs throughout the temple are the flor d’leis. A great guy you can make friends with easily!

Flying into Montreal was fun! I flew Air Canada from Reagan to Montreal on a Bombardier CRJ900. The height inside the cabin is 6’1”; I’m 6’3…Enough said.

The session was in Spanish. Most people there spoke French. A few of us spoke English. What a wonderful world it is! 🌍

Afterwards, I still had a couple of hours to kill, so I went to Montreal’s most popular tourist spot, the Notre Dame Basilica. It is Montreal’s oldest Catholic church, built in 1656!

The stained glass windows depict the history of Montreal.
After taking a few pictures inside the basilica, I hopped back on the metro system, caught the bus, and was back at the airport. Then it was time for lunch!

I went with the chicken salad club sandwich, fries, and a lemonade. It was fabulous! Afterwards, I needed to charge my phone and I didn’t have the plug-in adapter. The manager of Houston Avenue Bar & Grill is Tony Aehelou. What a nice guy! He 1) Told me initially that paying with American cash was OK, 2) Showed me how to charge my phone without plugging it in at the Air Canada terminal, then 3) Went back to the restaurant, found a charging plug, and GAVE it to me! Amazing! What a nice guy. I told him about my radio show and that I was going to talk about him.
I’m now on my Air Canada flight, headed back to Washington Dulles airport, where I will catch the metro down to Washington Reagan Airport, pick up my truck, and head home!