Montreal 2011 Day 4

Saturday, June 11, 2011
Finally, we are headed to the track today for Qualifying. After breakfast at the hotel, we head for the track, passing by the St. James and the Bugatti is still there. It's Saturday, so the usual business traffic is gone, but you can tell something is happening because the Metro is very busy.

The closer we get, the more people we run into. Getting off the Metro, a mass of people are trying to get through the Metro exit. Out into the sunshine, and you hear the cars in Practice 3, disco music booming, and people selling souvenirs. Crossing the bridge heading to the track, we get more and more excited. When we get across the bridge, the track is about 25 feet away and I rush up to the fence take a peak. A car is just passing by and puts on the brakes for the hairpin. It's just right there on the other side of the fence. What a noise! I quickly fumble for my earplugs. Wow!

We make our way to our seats and Practice 3 comes to an end. There are two guys sitting on our numbers, so we park our seat pads next to them. When Practice 3 ends, they get up and leave, so we scoot our pads over and park it. So no one takes our seats, Frank goes out alone to find lunch. He comes back with hot dogs. I can't eat the bun, so it's a naked wienie for me. Blech. We still have some time, so I go out to forage and find a poutine stand. Poutine is a beloved dish in Montreal and consists of french fries, gravy, and cheese curds. I figured Frank was partially full from the hot dog, so I just get us some fries. Bless Montreal because they still fry their potatoes in lard. Boy were they yummy. Frank grabs a beer and then I remember that beer has gluten. Brother. Water for me.

Qualifying Begins!

Ferrari Flags Flying

Safety Car Takes a Lap

Here They Come!

Cover Your Ears!

Frank is a Happy Man

Here They Come Again!



Qualifying is over too soon. Vettel had the pole. Darn. We join the mass of people headed back to the Metro. This will be twice as bad on Sunday for the race. The Metro workers have this so well organized. They are passing out tickets and the turnstile is open. We all make it to the trains without any incidents.

Metro After Qualifying

As we approach our hotel, we notice that the street is blocked off with police cars. In front of the St. James is a clue.

I ask the doorman of our hotel if he knows what is going on. He told us they were going to unveil the new Ferrari at 6 pm and the drivers would be there. Holy Cow. We rest for awhile and then get gussied up for our evening out. At 5 pm, we head to the hotel lobby bar for a cocktail and to listen to the Brazilian trio playing there. My beloved martini is made by a different bartender who puts a lychee nut in it instead of my usual 3 olives. Nasty. The Brazilian trio is pretty good!

Sitting in the Bar

I keep running outside to look down the street to see what is happening. I cannot contain myself and we head down to the St. James, which is just a half a block away. There is press hanging around and we patiently wait, but we do not recognize anyone they are photographing. (We find out later that Bradley Cooper attended the party.)

Finally, a little after 6 the security team unveils the car. A four-seater Ferrari. Just what you need to drive the kiddies to school.

I want to get a picture of the car, but this couple is blocking my shot. They finally move aside and I snap away. Monday, I find out that this couple also blocked me from getting my full picture in the paper. Just the top of my head is showing.

We continue to wait around to see what is going on and snap some more photos. Every once in a while, the guards open the barrier and let a Ferrari in to park on the street. Other expensive cars pull up and drop off dressed up ladies, but they have to park elsewhere if they are not driving a Ferrari.

Frank and the Car

Sue and the Car

Lucky Ferrari Drivers Who Get To Park Near the Hotel

A gray Ferrari pulls up to the barrier and the guards let it through. Frank is caught off guard and the car almost runs over his foot. A guy next to us shouts "It's Massa!" Everyone rushes over to the car, which gets to park right near the tent. Massa gets out, signs some autographs, gets his backpack out of the trunk, and walks into the hotel.

Massa - As Close as I Could Get

Massa's Car

We continue to wait for Alonso, but he never shows. I record every red Ferrari the comes into the barrier and it's never him.



It started to rain a little bit and we waited long enough. Let's go eat. We head out to Bonaparte, which is another restaurant the Spanish bartender recommended. It's in Old Montreal and very quaint. We were seated in a cozy corner by the window. For starters, I had the Lobster bisque enhanced with ginger, which was very good and apropos considering it had started to rain. I had the very disappointing Scallop delight with truffle oil and mushroom fricassee, and Frank had Roasted rack of lamb with port wine jus and Niçoise style ratatouille. He won again. I'd had enough cheese, so we ordered the souffle!

My Grand Marnier Souffle

 We old folk head back to our room to rest up for the race. Meanwhile, the rest of Montreal parties on. Rhianna was in concert at the Bell Center and then later went to a club. The festivals on Rue Crescent and Rue Peel were going and the clubs around town were packed. We read all about the parties in the paper on Monday while we waited for our flight and I found a lot of video on YouTube when we got home. Oh to be young again.

MONTREAL GRANDPRIX 2011 from michael tamzil on Vimeo.


Scion Flash Mob - Montreal F1 - June 11th 2011 from Phlik Marketing on Vimeo.