Arriving in Montreal, the first thing that struck us was how French it was. We knew it was a large French area, but naively we hadn’t really considered how French it would be. We often forgot we were in Canada as we could very well have been walking down a Parisian street. They even add a little ohlala French fancy to their Starbucks stores.
We were lucky to be staying with two of our wonderful friends and fellow teachers from our time at teacher training college. After having navigated the Montreal transport system and encountered the rudeness of some of the French-Canadians (although we have not let them influence our thinking that all French Canadians are like that) we arrived at SD and CS’s (not Toronto CS – this whole keeping people anonymous thing could potentially get confusing…) Our excellent hosts had wine, grapes and other nibbles on hand to which we were most grateful. We later discovered CS had inadvertently spent $8 for these grapes – well worth the money we say! Thanks CS – they were delicious! It so happened to be that we had arrived on a pub quiz night at the local Scottish bar so after a few glasses of vino and nibbles we headed out. The bar was manned by kilted staff and the food delicious. CS and our very own S shared a huge platter of wings whilst A opted for fish and chips whilst SD had a BLT sandwich. Our effort in the pub quiz was something to be desired and we left not wanting to know where we had been placed…
Our first full day in Montreal was spent checking out the old harbour and port and the Old Montreal area which was beautiful and scenic. Again, the cobbled streets and ‘old feel’ of Montreal reminded us of continental Europe.
We were temporarily sidetracked by a family of adorable ducklings paddling about the lilies which amused us for around 15 minutes.
The historical aspect of the area was a joy for us but we would have appreciated the historical information plaques and signs to have been in both French and English so we could read them. Apologies if this offends anyone but we had assumed, rightly or wrongly, that a bilingual country would have both French and English signs… We are not experts on the intricacies of Canada’s provinces but we promised we’d blog about places as we found them. However, this did not detract at all from the wonderful day we had experienced. It was about to get better!
We had been tipped off that Montreal is a city of festivals and that if we headed to check that out we would be greeted by entertainment galore and an abundance of food trucks. So after our morning and early afternoon of culture off we set. We were not disappointed. The festival was alive and kicking and the smells emanating from the trucks was salivating. It was just poor luck we had eaten and weren’t hungry. That night, CS and SD made us delicious BBQ chicken with salad and roast potatoes and we chilled and chatted till the small hours over red wine and beer.
Next day, our last full day in Montreal, consisted of a hike up Mount Royal. This is where the city of Montreal took its name. We stopped off at a food shop to get some picnic stuff – raspberries, cheese, prosciutto, and crisps. It was delicious. It was so nice to chill out in the sun, admire the skyline and city of Montreal below and have a very relaxing afternoon. And that was us only half way up. We reached the summit to witness breathaking views of the city. See the photos below for a visual!
Let’s not forget the typical tourist poses!
That evening we had arranged to meet with SD and CS to head on over to Montreal’s gay village. Our meeting place was Christ Church Anglican Cathedral which was easy to find and close by where we all were. As S and A waited for CS and SD we were entertained by a drunken homeless man who was shouting and rambling in French to any passersby who took his liking. His facial expressions and admiration of the ladies was enough to help us figure out what he was saying. Montreal’s gay village is decorated by hundreds of pink baubles and every bar and restaurant seemed to have a terrace which was great for two reasons: you could continue to enjoy the sun as we drank and ate and it provided ample opportunity for people watching.
What was pleasantly surprising, compared to Edinburgh’s ‘Pink Triangle’, was the number of older gay couples that were around. Gay culture can be very youth orientated so this was nice to see. After reliving old times we called it a night and headed home to get some rest before our trip back to the US the next day. Next stop was Burlington, Vermont. A place neither of us had been and knew nothing about. We were excited with anticipation in what awaited us!
Much love,
S&A
la-ny2012 