Biosphere

I'd wanted to check out the biosphere since I received my card.  The Biosphere is located on an island and it seemed intimidating to travel to for some reason.  I am really glad I got out there.  The first thing was that Ile St. Helen is beautiful.  I went in the fall and the leaves were spectacular.

There are a few other things on the island most notably La Ronde amusement park, a casino, various nature trails, and the Stewart Museum.  The rest are not CAP eligible.

The biosphere has a stunning collection of outdoor images that lead to the museum.   They are mostly pictures of nature.  You can see one well here.  The little person underneath the image is my daughter.  She is 4 and even she enjoyed the photography. 

The biosphere is actually located inside of a giant sphere.  They have several exhibits and a couple of movie theaters inside.  The goal of the museum is really to educate the public about the environment.  It does a decent job of that.  They had a room called waterworks which was my daughters favorite.  It is a temporary exhibit so be aware that it may disappear at some point.  The waterworks room educates children about water and more specifically water waste, but in a way that is amusing.  My daughter had a wonderful time filling her bucket with hand pumped water to fill a bathtub and she also enjoyed walking on water.  Speaking of which so did I.  Who would have thought this plan of seeing as many museums as possible would have permitted me to walk on water?  The had overflowing toilets, a cities you could build and flood, as well as boats you could capsize.  It was every preschoolers dream come true.

They also had rooms dedicated to identifying bug species, trash art, and energy efficient transportation. My favorite things inside the museum were probably: 1.) climbing up to the top of the sphere where we could see the island.  It was beautiful.  2.) There was a 360 film studio which was really beautiful.  I saw a film about endangered birds that lasted around 15 minutes which was really nice.  It was not quite an IMAX but not quite a regular film. 3.) We also had a lot of fun in water works.

The museum in itself, is not exactly spectacular in my opinion, but it is really well done and located.  I think this museum is a 4/5, but part of the last point came from the outdoor exhibit and it's location.  So if you are not eligible for CAP and if you are on a tight budget, you may just want to go take a walk in the area.  It is a great museum for children and contrary to my inital concerns, it was very easy to travel to.  We went via metro and the museum is perhaps 5 minutes from the metro exit.

Entrance fees for individuals
Adults: $12
Students (18 and older) with ID: $10
Youth (17 and under): FREE*

CAP members : Free

Other fees: Paid parking

Maximum fee (day): $16

Minimum fee (1 hour): $6

Ottawa in the Fall

We decided to take the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend to drive to Ottawa for a day.  Those of you unable to go Ottawa this fall should see this, is amazingly beautiful view of Parliment.

Fort Chambly

Fort Chambly is beautifully located along the waterfront in Chambly Quebec.  It's open to the public Sunday afternoons in the summer.

The inside of the Fort is well mantained.  I suppose it was nice to see the differences between the French and English Forts.  Their toilets were a highlight.  I can't say exactly why but I find toilets facinating.  What would we do without them?  Well the French decided to put theirs right over the river bed.  You can't see running water anymore.  I'm guessing it was a hazard to keep it with running water undernealth but here are the old toilets.  I am sure this was fancy for the time.

They had a really lovely photography exhibit of then and now photographs of what the city looked like before which was really 50-150 years ago and then what it looks like now.  I really enjoyed the exhibit of around 30 photographs.  I like to see how time changes everything and then sometims it does not change a thing.  I think this was my favorite part of the entire thing.

Finally the kids section was ok We got to play dress up which I enjoyed.  Here I am as a French Soldier.

It is beautifully located and historically important.  History buffs should definitely pass by.  The photo exhibit was lovely.  However the children's section left us wanting and there were not nearly as many actors on location as Fort Lennox.  This Fort was also crowded.  I would say this Fort was a 3.5/5 in terms of my experience.  

Final Day Victoria

I looked up my old friend Ulrika who moved to BC from Montreal several years ago.  We went out to Hatley Castle and Fort Rodd together.  It was my favorite outing in Victoria.  Hatley Castle is enormous.  It is owned and used by Royal Roads Miliatary college so you are only able to tour one level of the castle.  The tours are hourly and I had just missed the tour.  So I didn't see the inside.  However I did walk around the estate a bit.  It was really beautiful.  The gardens are not to be missed there.  Its a 5/5.  It is no longer listed on the CAP website so it may not be an active museum anymore.

We then when to Fort Rodd.  Which was also beautiful and a few minutes drive from Hatley Castle.  Fort Rodd is both an old military fort and the location of a nice old light house.  The entry fee is minimal for non CAP members.  The fort is alright, not the most impressive one I have seen in Canada thius far but the view is spectacular.

The thing that stuck out to me about Victoria was really the beauty of being outside.  The museums weren't especially fabulous but why should the be when the skyline looks like this?  My only regret is that I didn't have any vacation time available from work to see more of BC.  Its my dream at the moment to get back to the West and see more of BC and Alberta.

Day 2 Victoria

The Royal BC Museum was much smaller than the Royal Ontario Museum.  It was not as impressive but it had its own unique features that made it worthwhile to me.  The Royal Ontario Museum had thousands of stuffed animals displayed from all over the world.   The Royal BC museum focused on animals that live in BC and made them more life-like.  I felt like I was on the beach in one exhibit or in the woods during another.  It also had a small town inside of it and a lovely section on native cultures.  Their special exhibit on dog sledding through the artic was not exciting at all.  The special exhibit is not included in your CAP entry and personally I would skip the special exhibit.

The Royal BC Museum is right next to the BC Parliment building.

It's also very close to the Emily Carr House ($6.75)

The Emily Carr House was cute and quante and familiarized me with the history of Emily Carr.  I had never heard of her prior to visiting Victoria.  So if I learned anything on this trip, it was who was Emily Carr.   Emily Carr is a famous author and painter, from a wealthy British family.  She lived in the late 1800s to the mid 1900s and her work was heavily inspired by nature and the native people of British Columbia.   The home was filled with Emily's things.  It really looked like some lovely old lady lived there which I enjoyed.  If you want to read more about Emily Carr check out this link.  I would rate this a 3.5/5.  It is not a must see, but it is an informative historic home.


I walked back from the Emily Carr house and decided on stopping by the Pacific Undersea Gardens. It ended up costing around 12.50 with tax, and was recommended to me by a cab driver.  My opinion is that it's a dirty old boat with windows that let you look out onto the Victorian seabed. The neatest thing was probably the crabs.  I had never really watched crabs walk around before.  The rest wasn't amazing.  There was a dive show.  The diver comes around and picks up animals like octopuses and star fish and someone announces information about each one.  I did learn about how starfish eat...which was disgusting and not much different than an octopus. There were kids screaming through out the dive show which made it hard to hear the information.  I have a kid so I understand but this made it less enjoyable to me.  It was also a bit dirty so you didn't see the animals that well.  I might be spoiled by the Montreal Biodome.  This definitely looks like it might be more geared to young kids.  I would take my daughter.  However as an adult  I can't say I enjoyed it nor that I recommend it.  2/5

Day 1 Victoria

I went to Victoria in July.  I actually recieved a work related training grant to get out to Victoria and I extended my stay by two days so I could be a tourist.

Day 1

Craigdarroch Castle - This museum is not a Cultural Access Pass attraction.  It is heavily advertised in Victoria, and it is pretty close to downtown.  I do love castles so I chose to stop by and see the exterior.  It's a very short distance to the art museum.  I won't rate it, as I did not go inside.

The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria was interesting but very small compared to Montreal's Art Museum.  It was a house with a museum built onto it.  Art is laid out in both both areas.  You could distinctly tell when you walked into the historic home and when you were in the modern "built on".  They've maintained the historic home.  The wood work inside of the old home was fabulous.  I wasn't disappointed to have gone, but I did not spend a lot of time there.  I would rate it 3/5.

They had a lovely japanese garden outside.  Which I recommend if you visit.  I had the impression I was interrupting some sort of special event outside (perhaps a marriage) just based on the stares I was getting from a large group of asian people, so I rushed back inside and did not get to take nice photos.

Jardin Botanique

The first thing I should say is the Jardin Botanique is not a Cultural Access Pass attraction so you have to pay full price even if you have a CAP pass.  The price is a high right now because of the price of their special exhibit called the Mosaïcultures Internationales.  The exhibit runs into September.  It costs 27 dollars per adult to enter.  If you have a CAA or AAA card bring it, as it offers a reasonable discount.

The Jardin Botanique is a must see for tourists and Montrealers alike.  The cheapest way to go I think is purchasing any annual pass to one of the three parks owned by the city (biodome, jardin botanique, or the planetarium).  I purchase a biodome pass each year because the biodome is most age appropriate for my daughter.  It costs 35 dollars for a single person and children under 5 are free.  This pass gains me entry to all three parks: The biodome is free all year long, the Jardin Botanique is free in June and the Planetarium is free September.  I think this is the least expensive way to see everything.  Any annual pass works like this, as the museums all have an agreement.  All three museums are worthwhile.

Now the Mosaiccultures exhibit is really something.

The Jardin Botanique is beautiful aside from this special exhibit.  Let me know if you have been to the Jardin Botanique.