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Greetings from sunny Southern California! We start this week’s journey where I left off last week: Canada. (If you missed it, here’s the link to the newsletter archive).

I was in Montreal checking out the city’s underground, and the Marriott Chateau Champlain Hotel. Although it was below freezing outside, I was able to leave my jacket home because a good portion of the city is underground (there are 21 miles of pedestrian walkways). All I did was take an elevator down from my hotel lobby, and -- voila! Each day, 500,000 people travel through the Montreal underground. Now I was one of them!

METRO
This French city often made me feel like I was in Paris, but never so more than when I rode the Metro. If someone knocked me on my head and I woke up in this Metro, I would’ve bet the house I was in Paris. Every sign -- including all the advertisements in the station and on the subway -- are in French. Not one was in English! It was difficult to comprehend that I was only 45 miles from the U.S. border. The Montreal Metro was built for the 1967 World’s Fair and is special because almost every station has its own style. Each one is designed and decorated differently. The arts are very important in Montreal, and the underground is a good place to start. In fact, the city has the largest underground art collection in the world. A one-way subway ride costs $2.50 CAD (link to metro fares); a 3-day tourist card (link to tourist card) is available for $17 CAD.

OLYMPIC STADIUM
The closest station to the Marriott Chateau Champlain Hotel, Bonaventure (station link), was a short 2-minute walk (underground of course). My first stop on the Metro was Olympic Park, built for the 1976 Summer Olympics. Olympic Park includes a stadium, velodrome, swim center and Olympic Village. Although this year marks the games’ 30th anniversary, the stadium still draws many visitors. Guided tours of the park are available year round for $8 CAD (adults). It was cool to see where the athletes competed, and where the Montreal Expos played baseball (1977-2004). The stadium was built with enough concrete to pave a sidewalk all the way from Montreal to Miami! Now that’s a lot of concrete. The stadium these days looks a little depressing. The Expos have moved to Washington, D.C. (Washington Nationals), and the facility is only used part time for Canadian Football League games, trade shows and events like Monster Trucks.

INDOOR SWIM CENTER
A visit to Olympic Park is still worth a trip, because there a lot more than just the stadium. The swim center is also on the tour. It was the largest indoor swimming center in the world, until Sydney built its for the 2000 Games. I know, who wants to see a swim center? I was expecting something dark and depressing, with no sign of life -- like the stadium. What I found could not have been further from the truth. The swim center was colorful, loud, warm, and alive with people swimming, working out, playing badminton, and other fun games. It’s open to the public, with both yearly memberships and day passes ($4 CAD for adults) available. Here are the rates to swim.

MONTREAL TOWER OBSERVATORY
If you like birds-eye views, be sure to take a trip up the Montréal Tower Observatory. Built in 1986, it’s connected to the Olympic stadium. Reaching the observatory requires a 2-minute funicular ride up the highest inclined tower in the world (175-meter elevation, and 45-degree angle). Fortunately for me (I’m afraid of heights), the tower is closed from the beginning of January until the middle of February while maintenance is done. So I didn’t have to feel guilty about not going up. The price for adults is $14 CAD. For more info and prices.

VELODROME TURNED BIODOME
The city came up with a fantastic idea to turn the velodrome into an educational biodome. The Biodôme is made up of four of the most beautiful ecosystems of the Americas: a lush and humid tropical forest, the Laurentian Forest, the St. Lawrence marine ecosystem, and Polar Worlds of the Arctic and Antarctic. All four ecosystems are under one glass roof. Combined, there are over 4,800 animals, 229 species (both numbers exclude invertebrates), 1,500 plants and 750 plant species. Walking around each setting really made me feel like I was in another land (I mean, lands). The tropical forest felt just Costa Rica – there were even monkeys swinging from trees. Regular admission is $12.75 CAD for adults, but if you plan to see the Olympic tower too, you should buy the "a la carte" package for $21.50 CAD (for adults).

PLACES TO EAT
With over 5,000 restaurants and 80 different types of national and regional cuisine, there are plenty of places to eat in Montreal. The bakeries rival France. One morning I had a European- style breakfast, sampling fresh baked baguettes, croissants and muffins from the Première Moisson bakery (next to the train station).

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL
Did you know Cirque du Soleil was created in Montreal in 1984? Though they have seven amazing shows, there is no guarantee one will always be in town (like they are in Las Vegas). I got lucky. The weekend I was there, they offered a sneak peek of their new show "Delirium." It was held at the 21,000-seat Bell Centre (home of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team). The show was definitely unique, incorporating huge-sceen TVs and a live modern circus act with loud music. To find out where "Delirium" is playing, or get tickets to any other Cirque du Soleil shows, log on to CirqueduSoleil.com.

LOS ANGELES
I was excited to go back to Los Angeles because I knew my dad, his partner Nancy and my sister Georgette were all in town. Georgette came in from Connecticut for only a few nights but my dad and Nancy were escaping the cold for a couple of weeks. We hung out, ate, relaxed, and visited with family. But we found time for touristy things too. One afternoon we went to the Grove, a beautiful outdoor shopping center with all kinds of stores restaurants, and a popular movie theatre. There is also a free trolley that operates every five minutes. More info: TheGroveLA.com.

FARMERS MARKET
The Grove is attached to the Original Los Angeles Farmers Market, where over 70 shops and stalls serve a huge variety of international cuisine. I couldn’t make up my mind what I wanted for lunch, so I ordered from two stalls near each other. First I had the "Sample Plate" (13 bite-size tacos, $13) from Loteria Grill (website, tel# 323-930-2282). Then I ordered "La Napolean" (a banana, strawberry and Nutella-filled crepe, $6.35) from the French Crepe Company (tel.: 323-934-3113). Ummm ummm!

VENICE BEACH
To work off the calories, we rented (rental rates) bikes at Venice Beach. I’m not a big fan of Venice, but my dad and Nancy really wanted to go. It’s too bad Venice is so sketchy, because it’s in a beautiful location. But the place depresses me. It’s dirty, and home to hundreds of derelicts and homeless people. We went on a weekday, when it’s quiet because there are fewer street performers (especially in winter). However, we watched a young girl sucker-punch another woman. Blood spewed everywhere. What’s wrong with these people? I couldn’t wait to get the heck out. Here’s my advice to L.A. visitors: Stay away from Venice Beach. If you want water, go to nearby Manhattan or Hermosa Beach. Just a 15-minute, $20 taxi ride from LAX, they’re perfect if you’ve got a long international connection.

DUKE’S
Further north along the Pacific Coast Highway, Topanga is another beautiful beach. We took a walk there after meeting my good friend Andy for lunch at Duke’s in Malibu. Andy is the one who got married last fall in France (remember?). He lives in Santa Barbara, so Duke’s was a good meeting point. Besides, they have an amazing view of the Pacific Ocean. This is the same company that runs Duke’s in Waikiki, but the food here is not as good as its sister restaurant. Does the fact that it’s in Hawaii make it so much better?. Duke’s Malibu, 21150 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu; tel.: 310-317-0777.

NEXT WEEK
Next week we take to the skies again, and head back to the cold.