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Published: August 6th 2007
How do you sum up 8 months of your life in one go? How do you properly convey all the unique and wonderful experiences in some lines of text? The short and sweet answer is that of course you cannot, I cannot even come close to sharing all the little moments, all the vast, varied, happy times, all the big moments or all the endless activities which make up not only a great exchange but also a completely life changing experience. I know that when I look back at my time in Montreal in 10, 20 years time I will quietly smile to myself, think of one of the myriad of happy memories and just be glad that I went to the effort to organise the whole thing and then actually took the next step and got on a plane knowing almost nothing about the city to which I was coming.
A good traveller has no fixed plans is not intent on arriving.- Lao Tzu
It is so hard to judge how one changes over the course of a year, I don’t feel different, maybe I am slightly more mature and more able to deal with change knowing I can come out OK on the other side.
Really though it has
Montreal
In the cold, cold winterbeen the most amazing, life-changing, super-duper, wouldn’t trade it for anything time, 8 months in one of the coolest cities in the world. Montreal is easily one of the best cities in which I have spent time, the French and Anglo cultures mix perfectly and complement each other to a T. So now without further ado the coolest places in this fair city, in no particular order.
When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money. - Susan Heller
Highlights of Montreal
1) Mont Royal: Montreal’s escape from the urban jungle. Green beyond words in the summer and a winter playground during the freezing months this park is absolutely brilliant the whole year. It offers some stunning views of downtown, go up on a nice day and bask in the suns golden rays, it is the best place in the city to see the fall colours as well. In the winter on the far side lots of tubing runs are set up for those willing to hurl themselves down a frozen, icy hill. Ace.
2)
Schwartz's: the mere thought of the smoked meat causes my saliva production to increase over 500%!;(MISSING) this has been proven by scientists. Line up if you want to sit inside (you
Downtown Montreal
Taken from Mont Royal do) and get crammed in like cattle, order either a platter or a sandwich and prepare to be blown away. I don’t know how they do it but I know that I love it. Schwartz’s: curing vegetarians since 1928.
3) Vieux-Montreal: the old port is not surprisingly situated next to the St Lawrence river and really lights up during the cold winter months when you can skate on the river and generally frolic and get cold =) With its old cobbled streets and beautiful stone architecture its really is like stepping back in time and points to the city’s early European history, that and the French that everyone speaks. La Nuit Blanche is the ideal time to go when the place is still pumping till dawn.
4) The Women: seriously stop what you are doing and come here; there must be something in the water. The first day I was here all those months ago I fell in love about 3 times!
5) Summer: after spending the majority of the year as a frozen wasteland, Montreal really lets rip during the summer months when the sun is warm and the trees green, Grand Prix, Comedy Festival, Jazz
Festival, the best parties and coolest people. Need I say more I wish I was staying.
6) The Seasons: Having never lived in a place with such pronounced and extreme seasons it was definitely experience watching the slow progression of nature as she makes her yearly cycle through the seasons. From the luscious green of summer through the radiant colours and hues of fall and into the cold and white of winter and finally back again to the green as the trees and flowers burst forth in a stunning display of rebirth. This is an amazingly beautiful city.
7) The Restaurants: Montreal has hundreds, good food is never far away and most of it is reasonably priced and most places are BYO, hurray.
If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay at home. - James Michener
Having just realised you cannot compartmentalise the entire city I’ve stopped with the list. I think my passion for Montreal can be put down to the great people I knew and the amazing vibe of the city which is impossible to describe, the clubs, the pubs and all the little places to eat just make it a wonderfully vibrant and alive city. Perth take notes. Come here you will love it, I
know I have.
I have also had the distinct pleasure of visiting some of the coolest places on the planet, the incomparable New York, relaxed Boston, stunning Niagara, cold Quebec City, the Maritimes and New England and all the little places in between. It’s been great and has kept the travel bug well itched.
I have learnt to snowboard, my new and all consuming passion. The pleasure and joy it gives me gliding down a mountain with trees either side of me and a beautiful white valley spread out below me is something I will forever treasure and will definitely do again. In fact before I get home I am snowboarding with some friends in New Zealand which should be a highlight. Stay tuned.
The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page. - St. Augustine
I have lived with some of the coolest people I have ever met, Ari, Can (pronounced John), Hannes, Helena, Berengere and Ana. We're had some really, really good times together and numerous sangria parties. It's been emotional.
Sitting here writing this I am getting a little sad and I have realised that I am doing a piss poor job of describing my 8 months here so I think I will
just end with some final thoughts.
Its been the best time of my life and the memories will last a life time and to paraphrase what I wrote in another blog, exchange has broadened my mind and let me experience places and situations to which I would never have been exposed to had I not taken that leap of faith and spread my wings and escaped the safety of the nest.
For the next 3 months I will be travelling through Vancouver, California, Hawaii and New Zealand. It's gonna be a great summer.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain
Au revoir Montreal
Next time Vancouver.
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The "Twins" photo is slighlty disturbing
Understatement of the century now immortalised on travelblog - "I am doing a piss poor job of describing my 8 months here". But yes i understand, it is quite impossible to sum up 8months in one's life, especially 8months on exchange where the experience is seemingly unparalleled. I totally agree on the Changing Seasons point, the seasonsal colours in those places near the Arctic are something to remember. Aaahh exchange, good times.