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Roy Dupuis'
Montreal
As Michael, a "bad boy with a mission," he's a trainer who escapes bombs,
bullets, car wrecks ,and emotional commitments on USA Network's series
La Femme Nikita, which has been described as a "contemporary Girl from
U.N.C.L.E., featuring a corral of elite covert agents." Michael is a
trainer who can kill, if required, without ever losing his dark-eyed,
brooding cool. But in real life, Roy Dupuis, Canada's young superstar,
wanted to be a scientist ... until he saw the movie Molière. The
next day, he dropped physics for theater and began his rise on the
Canadian stage and the American screen. Next, he'll appear with Marlon
Brando in the film Easy Money << correction: this should be Free
Money>>. As a respite between films, his television series, and
Canadian fans who mob him on the street, Dupuis kicks back in an 1840
farmhouse outside Montreal, where he says he cooks, looks at the stars,
reads about philosophers, and contemplates his expanding world. Here are
the Montreal hot spots where you might find him.
Friday
Lodging
"There are a lot of interesting hotels in Montreal. The
Inter-Continental is new and huge. It's in Old Montreal in the heart
of Rue St-[Antoine]. I'm from a small village in northern Quebec, so I
like smaller hotels. There are a lot of auberges in Old Montreal --
very typical of the region."
Dinner
"Montreal has this European feel to it, but it is also very American.
Plateau Mont-Royal is a neighborhood near the old town. You can shop for
anything there. A famous French bistro there is called L'Express.
Everybody knows this place. It's been there a long time. They have steaks,
French fries, seafood pastas, and mousse of [fowl]. Le Latini is
the best Italian restaurant in town. It's expensive because they import
everything. They have their own fish brought in for them. It's good and
fresh."
Nightlife
"Passeport has a disc jockey. They play whatever is new and a
little bit underground. It's in the Plateau Mont-Royal. So is the
Metropolis, [a concert hall] that used to be an old theater. The
Continental is [a restaurant] in the heart of Rue St-Denis, the main
street of the Plateau."
Saturday
Breakfast
"Beauty's is a Jewish [delicatessen] with big breakfasts -- chopped
liver, fresh orange juice, big salads, and spinach omelets. Everything is
very generous and fresh. It's like an old diner."
Sights
"Montreal is an island, surrounded by the St. Lawrence River. It's a city
you can walk. Mont-Royal Park is in the middle of the city.
Attached to it is the Mont-Royal Cemetery. Rue Ste-Catherine is the
biggest and most lively street in southern Montreal. To the west is the
English side ... very rich and very beautiful. There are more than a
couple of beautiful [churches] in Montreal. The most famous one is
Notre-Dame Basilica. St. Joseph's Oratory is on the mountain.
It's kind of a domed church like the Vatican. Right in front of Notre-Dame
is the Bank of Montreal, which is in a building that's a replica of
the Pantheon. My favorite part of Montreal is down Boulevard St-Laurent,
just before you go up the hill to Old Montreal: There is the Prevoyance
Building, [designed in the style of] the Empire State Building."
Lunch
"Montreal is renowned for bagels and smoked meat. The best smoked meat is
at Schwartz's Deli or Dunn's. Just ask for the smoked meat.
They just make one kind. You can get the best bagels at Fairmount
Bagels."
Shopping
"Rue St-Denis is the main street of the Plateau and it has a lot of
specialty stores. You can shop all the way down to the St. Lawrence River.
There's one store I really like called [Le Valet d'Coeur]. It's a
game store. It has the oldest games you can find and more modern games -
games you didn't know existed. Right next door is Champigny, the
largest French bookstore in North America. Another major street for
shopping is Ste-Catherine, where you'll find major shops like Eaton
and La Baie."
Dinner
"FondueMentale has all kinds of meat. You can have wild [game]
fondue. Of course, there are all kinds of cheese fondue. FondueMentale is
in an old house. It is small and warm and very romantic. Mikado is
another one of my favorites. It's a good sushi restaurant."
Nightlife
"Montreal is renowned for its nightlife. It's amazing. A lot of people
fall in love in Montreal - you've got to watch yourself. The Place des
Arts is where you go to see concerts like the Montreal Symphony
Orchestra. There's another theater attached to it called Théâtre
Jean-Duceppe. And there's Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, which is a
very old theater and company."
Sunday
Breakfast
"The Queen Elizabeth Hotel has a huge brunch on Sunday, as does
Le Château Champlain. There's also Brûlerie St-Denis, where
they [roast] their own coffee. It's a cafe with glass in the front. You
see the big machine that [roasts the coffee]. There are small tables and
you can have croissants and pastries."
Excursions
"Quebec City is beautiful. Farther north is Charlevoix.
There are a lot of Americans who have houses in Baie-St-Paul or
Tadoussac. I touched a blue whale in the St. Lawrence River once. You
can hire people in Tadoussac [300 miles up the St. Lawrence River from
Montreal] to take you to see the whales."
One Great Day
“When I was sixteen or seventeen, I was living in Laval, which is the
island beside the city. One night my friends and I drove our bicycles all
the way to the top of Mont-Royal at 3 or 4 a.m. On top of Mont-Royal
there’s this huge antenna – I mean huge. It’s at least 300 feet high. I
had seen this antenna many times and said one day I would climb it. And so
I did. I climbed to the top of it. I watched the sun come up from up
there. It was beautiful. There’s no place in Montreal higher than
Mont-Royal. I could see the whole city and its surroundings. Of course, it
was dangerous, but it was fun. That’s the kind of thing you do when you’re
sixteen. I couldn’t hear my friends. I think they were shouting, ‘Get
down!’” |