montreal return to homeland

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Hi folks,my name is peter and i am 48 years old.My parents emmigrated to canada from england in the mid fifties.they had two daughters,linda and susan who were toddlers.my mom did not want to go,but my dad insisted.they lived in hamilton,ontario and then moved to Montreal.my dad got a well paid job as a steel estimator,basically a salesman for one of the construction companys who were putting in bids to get the contract to build skyscrapers downtown.the marriage broke up and they separated,during that time i was concieved and was born downtown in july 1960.at that time my mom lived in montreal nord.then moved to cote st luke in about 62'.i remember things from then on.my school was Sir Arthur Currie,named after the decorated first world war canadian soldier.my dad disappeared in 1964.My mother returned to england with my sisters and me in,May,1968.i came into the uk on my moms english passport.my mother never formally registered my birth in hospital when i was born,so i never had a birth certificate.but she did have me "baptized" at a catholic church,so when i eventually started to get a canadian paasport 18 months ago the canadian authorities found out i was born there so i di get a canadian passport.
So in june 2008 i booked a return plane flight from gatwick airport uk to montreal trudeau airport.this was my long awaited return to my homeland.i never wanted to leave canada,so was looking forward to the return with much excictment and trepidation.And a fair measure of fear,i have to say.what if i was disappointed?.stiil,i had waited 40 years for this,so here we go!.i arrived at trudeau at 5pm,and it was tipping down with rain,but warm and humid.i caught buses downtown and walked the short distance to my pre-booked hotel,The ywca in rene levesque.unpacked and went out and hit the town!.first impressions were montreal is relaxed and laid back.i was taken aback a little when the barman in the first pub exspected a tip cuz he asked!.but i remembered what i had read from the guide books about tipping.onto more pubs and walkabout till about 3.00am in the morning!!.i was amazed at the main drag,St Catherine.so long,and very cosmopolitian.The other thing i noticed quickly about montreal was i felt safe,even through i had about 150 dollars in my pocket.The paranoia i have developed in inner city england,i mean being on the streets at night,the roaming packs of young males,drunk,high whatever,looking for trouble,Well,i must say their was a pleasant absence of the "Pub Thug" mentality in downtown montreal.Sure, there was the odd beggars here and there,but i never had any aggression from them when i ignored them!.actually,i did give some of them money later on in the visitin return they allowd me to photograph them.photography is what i did quite a lot of in montreal.i hope to post my pictures soon on the blog.i never slept much the first 5 days of being there.never back to the hotel before 2 in the morning,and up and out before 9 the next morning!.OK,back to what i did with my time.I bought a cheap mountain bike from canadian tire Co in St catherine to expore the city.That was great,i cycled up to Cote st Luke to have a look at the flat i remembered from 68', and then on to my old school which is now under a french sounding name,and completely french spoken.The headmaster let me have a look around,and it was as remember it!.then onto a bar nearby until about 2.30am!.
The food in Montreal is good value for money.i did not eat at exspensive restarants,rather the sort of middle of the road places including a lot of fast food joints.however,the size of the portions was always ok,sometimes more than OK,in fact enough for two poeple!.a pleasant suprize after the pathetic servings often in england!.alcohol in bars and pubs was more costly,often on a par with uk prices.the weather was great,hot sunny days most days,clear blue skys.humidity level was a bit of a surprise.it did tip down with rain occasionally,but it did'nt last long,then the sun was out again.
The montreal people on the whole are very friendly.that includes the "french" canadians,the Quebecios as i believe they are known.sometimes when i was asking directions the person i spoke to pretended not to understand me,but i knew they did.some of them believe "english" should not be spoken,only the french.occasionally i found my self getting wound up by this,but then realized the futility of that and quickly saw the funny side!.It is a strange feeling cycling up St catherine at 6 in the morning drunk as a lord shouting-"Viva La France!!" to everybody that i cycled past!.
In fact,i had some very good and meaningful conversations with a lot of poeple,and on the whole i definetley felt accepted by them.after a week or so trawling downtown montreal,i started travelling out the city more to the suburbs,a lot of fun.Nuns Island" was a place i loved.apparently,only nuns used to live there.Funny thing through,i exspected to find loads of catholic monastries there,but not one as far as i know.the little islands of Le st helene and Le notre Dam were good.wonderful in fact,peaceful havens from the hustle and bustle of downtown.quite unusual wildlife havens too.I saw skunks,redwing blacksbirds everwhere with their young,and the weird muskrats,or whatever they are!.they look a bit like small beavers,without the flat tail.i spent a lot of time on those two little islands,probably cus i did have faint memories of them before.my mom took me and my sisters to "Expo 67'" - or man and his world,this was the site of the 1967 world fair.it is all still there,and working,including the lovely landscaped foresty part in the middle!.the other island was good too,it holds the Jacques Villeneuve formula one grand prix racetrace.
This is open to ordinary motorists and cyclist who can go round the track,and it is free.it felt strange cycling round the track that just a few weeks before i had been watching the world formula one racing on british tv.And onto the gay village,i did spend some time there,mainly late/very late evening.i had a few beers in some of the pubs there.it was ok,i did get chatted up a few times,i explained i was straight and i asked what i was doing there?.i said well,you gays come into straightland,why can't we straights come into gayland?!.then we had a laugh about it.like i said.Montreal is quite laid back.The Jazz festival was on of course, and very good it was too.some great performances.i like the fact that it did'nt cost me anything to watch these performances.Also,it is good you can go into a lot of pubs downtown and there will be live assorted bands playing.heavy metal to middle of the road.clothes are reasonably priced in montreal,ever designer clothes.the hostel situation is ok,i spent a weekend in one hostel near St laurent.
Beening back in montreal after forty years was good,and i did remember the place.especially the smells from childhood,the smell of the alleys in the underground city and the metro.not bad smells,just the vague recollection of childhood memories brought back to life.and by the way,you can spend all day in the underground city if you wish,exsploring.there is Everthing down there and it is fun getting lost.The metro,which is the undergound train service,it efficient and clean.it covers most of montreal out to the suburbs.
So in all,i heartily recommend montreal as a fun holiday destination,even for familys.it is like america and europe all rolled up into one,so to speak,plenty to do,in fact so much to do,even i did'nt have enough time there to see everything.by the way,check out the mini mountain called Mount Royal.In the heart of the city,it offers great views.and a definete holiday atmosphere with numerous buskers and bands performing in the surrounding parkland.i intend to return to montreal this summer-autumn.-photo's to follow soon.

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