We all know that Canada is that large landmass to the north of the United States, but I really didn't know very much about the geography of the country. I was a little surprised to find that Montreal is just over the border from New York state, and that it's not at all difficult to get to. On the other hand, New York is quite a large state and New York City is at the extreme southern end, so renting a car and driving, while possible, would have been a little tedious.

That left air or rail travel as options, and since I have long retained some vestiges of my childhood interest in trains I chose Amtrak's "Adirondack". This turned out to be an engine and four coaches and 400 miles of slow, winding track, with a 45-minute stop in the middle of nowhere to complete immigration and customs formalities. But it was cheap ($124 round trip), convenient (I live close to Penn. Station) and much of the time, very scenic.

Grant and Marcus incorporated their trip to Montreal into their fall colors tour of New England. They drove up from Boston (making a few stops on the way) so we had the use of a car for sightseeing in Montreal.

We went to the top of Mont-Royal - the highest point in the city - but the view wasn't very clear in all directions. We could see the Olympic Stadium and some of the bridges, but the city itself was not visible because of the trees and the position of the road.

Marcus and Grant on Mont-Royal, Montréal. The Olympic Stadium with its angled tower is just visible between them in the distance.

Stade Olympique from Mont-Royal, Montréal.

Fall colors on Mont-Royal, Montréal.

We later drove over to the Olympic Stadium - the venue for the Black & Blue Party later that day. The stadium was built for the 1976 Olympic Games, and it still looks very futuristic nearly 30 years later.

Stade Olympique close up.

Fall leaves near Stade Olympique.