I love Montreal summers!

Ah, Montreal.

The city that I call home when I travel.

We're back in Montreal for the summer, and we're loving it!

While Dave and I were running a "chase point" or checkpoint for the Montreal City Chase, we were distracted by a man wearing a clown wig riding on a kid's scooter, chased by a blue bus full of drunk guys, two of which were hanging out of the overhead emergency exit, throwing water balloons at the clown. Meanwhile, the cockroaches and the snakes at our checkpoint wanted to know what the commotion was about.

As teams raced around Montreal completing ridiculous challenges such as eating crickets and carrying water buckets on their heads for the City Chase event, sets of twins paraded for the Two of a Kind parade at the Just For Laughs Festival.

As Steph and us fellow apartment painters took a break from painting her new apartment on Moving Day (known as Canada Day in the rest of Canada), we were approached by one of the "crazies" of Square St Louis, who proceeded to rant about being arrested for peeing in the park even though there are no public toilets in the area, and invited us to swim in the fountain with him.

We meet up with an Aussie from the same hometown as Dave to watch the Eurocup final. As we watch the game, Mick introduces us to Anthony, who introduces us to Chris, who invites us to a party the next night and gives me a job reference! Montreal's full of the "friend-of-a-friend" connections!

A woman dressed in colonial clothes followed by a video camera stops me to say, "Why, if it isn't le Marquis de Montcalm, how are you? You know me, it's Wolfe!". Using the tiny bit of history of the French and Indian War that I can recall, I try my best to improv the scene and quickly don a hat and a colonial coat for the camera. We discuss our deaths, Paul McCartney having a concert on our battlefield, and how monuments and streets have been named after us. After a bit of canter, I give back the hat and coat and we continue on our separate ways.

Trying to pick a bar on my birthday, we find the street blocked off by a herd of giraffes and a giant grasshopper. Should've known, it's the Just For Laughs festival!

Watching the crowd at the Sunday Tam Tam's, on the east side of Mont Royal on Parc Avenue, I notice an odd trio playing their drums. The first has dreadlocks and is decked out in African colours. The next guy sports a sideways cap, a large-oversized sports shirt and baggy shorts. The third has no shirt but enough tattoos to make up for it. They may not fit the stereotype of the hippie drummers, but the crowds dig their tam tam skills.

A man walks by a new fancy restaurant and decides to stop in. Thing is, he's decked out in a black bra, a mesh shirt, huge sunglasses and a diaper. The rest of the bachelor party follows him to the bar.
It's Montreal in summer. One should expect such sights!

Other reasons I love Montreal in summer:

The contrast from Montreal winters! There aren't too many places that can claim -40° to +40° temperature swings from winter to summer, (ok, there are a few in Canada), but understanding Montreal in winter really puts summer into context. Especially this year, after Montreal dealt with a record snowfall year. The city bursts to life in summer!

Free music on the streets for Jazz Fest. Fireworks over the Jaques Cartier Bridge. The bums who are more bilingual than I am. Free theatre performances all over the city, all summer long (Shakespeare in the park, anyone?). Free movies at Place des Arts for the World Film Festival. The new bike lanes and bike parking areas in the Plateau. The architecture in the Plateau, and the mix of architecture throughout the rest of the city.

How quiet the busiest streets are at 8am on a Sunday morning (everyone partied too hard the night before?).
Living in a city that's big enough to have niche markets and the corresponding bars, shops and communities, but small enough to know people walking down the street.

The markets. The street festivals and sidewalk sales. How some of the busiest streets become pedestrian-only for weeks at a time. The parades. The numerous parks to play frisbee in. The squirrels in those parks who are still wild enough to be shy, but know that we've got goodies to nibble on!
The church bells. I'm not religious, but I don't believe there are too many North American cities where you hear church bells every Sunday (and randomly throughout the week). It adds to the European feel I guess.
The cafe culture, and the restaurants that open up their windows and doors to let in the warm weather.

And I love sitting on a terrace at night having a drink with friends, discussing everything from politics to coffee to festivals to travel.

I love Montreal in summer, and I'm glad to be back.

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