Has there been any progress on the restoration of the Sulpician Seminary? It's so important a building but the work seems to be dragging on forever. There was little apparent progress from December when I was last in Montreal. I thought maybe they had run out of funds.

While most of the buildings on the Place pay their way, the Banque Nationale is dreadful, although the Palais de Justice down the way on Notre Dame gives it a run for the money. While I find it an insensitive addition to an otherwise charming square, it has the good grace to be almost invisible. It's difficult for a thirty story building to make so little impression but it's almost as though it isn't there.

One thing, the original Notre Dame Church didn't burn down. It was dismantled shortly after the new church was completed. The tower remained standing for a while after that. You may be thinking of Notre Dame de Bonsecours on St. Paul which burned and was rebuilt in the 18th century.

There are some bus tour operators that offer 5 cities in 4 days. How do they do it? They offer that type of "sightseeing" that to me, sounds like the exact opposite of what I'd want in a trip.

There was a great article in the Globe and Mail a few years back by Jan Wong who took one of these trips, but it's now behind a pay-wall.

Anyway, here's a small discussion.

http://urbantoronto.ca/showthread.php?t=9006