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| Best laid plans (...) often go awry |
At some point in the past couple years, I realized what my single biggest regret would be if I died today (which is, of course, now in the past): I had never been to Montréal. That admission to myself sparked the determination that I needed to prioritize the trip. At the end of last year, I secured my passport (which had been the excuse I used to postpone planning it for several years) and I started pricing the trip. Before leaving, I made a short list of "must-see" landmarks that I did not want to miss, including the Bell Centre, Tricolore Sports, Notre-Dame Basilica, Montreal Children's Hospital (specifically, the P.K. Atrium), and the Forum.
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| Corridors in the Forum |
Touring the Bell Centre involved the easiest planning as it was a primary destination spot downtown. Next on the list was Montreal Children's Hospital. I used my GPS to arrive and I paid for 45 minutes of parking since I figured, in the most optimistic of circumstances, that would be sufficient time. Unfortunately, I was greeted by a sign directing me to the hospital's new location. Slightly disappointed, I looked for a Tim Hortons because "when in Rome." To my surprise and delight, there was a Copper Branch location at the corner of Lambert Closse and Sainte-Catherine. I reviewed their menu because I had plans with a friend to meet her at a Copper Branch later in my trip and I purchased her a gift card to send her on her birthday, which was several months later but it was my best opportunity to get one.
Just down the road, I saw there was a Tim Hortons as well, so the seemingly unnecessary stop had started panning out very well. (As a quick side note, I went to pay for my Timmies and realized that I had left my credit card at Copper Branch, but the employee had already set it aside for my imminent return so retrieving it could not have been quicker.)
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| Centre Ice |
This Tim Hortons location seemed like it was connected to a mall, so I wanted to look around. It was a good place for me since it was heavily enshrined with the Montréal Canadiens. Even more so than the rest of the city.
At that point, my mind started putting more pieces of the puzzle together. I knew the Forum was located on the corner of Rue Sainte-Catherine and Atwater, so a hockey-themed mall made me wonder whether or not I had inadvertently stumbled into the Forum! Taking a full look inside, and it was obvious that this was in fact the historic location where the Habs had hoisted the Stanley Cup on 22 occasions and housed its banners.
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| Sitting in Section 210 |
The location had centre ice marked for a face-off, as well as the original seating from Section 210. I used it as a photo opportunity, and I overheard a couple guys laughing at us (I was not the only photog there in action). The guys were friendly enough, so I shared my story of being a long-time fan of the team by way of Oklahoma and Arizona. They shared with me some of their experiences at the original Forum. As I sat down on the steps (since I was a couple rows above them) to continue the discussion, a security guard warned me that we were not allowed to sit there. One of the guys then joked, "Yeah, see that is a rule left over from the days of the Forum, and the security guards then would have done the exact same thing. So, I think that is about as close to the true Forum experience as you can get in this day and age!"
