For the third time in as many months and places I shall say "bonjour." As a destination unplanned, I was in for a surreal shock. Last night I arrived at Auberge Saint-Paul late, depleted, and exhausted with a bottle of wine ready. Only then was I told I could book a stay last night yet were full tonight. With so many sleepless nights on this journey already I wasn't ready to move from hostel to hostel with all my gear. In the heart of Montreal's Old Port, the hostel is very conveniently located. The Bonsecours Market is directly outside.
Last night I chatted to a young man named Hashim as he cooked an exotic dish; he agreed to cook for me tonight when I pitched the idea of sharing some wine with him. He lives in England yet is journeying round Canada for awhile.
This morning I went out for a coffee and a few geocaches, though I was surprisingly having some trouble with Montreal caches and the rain wasn't helping either. You can't spend only two or three days in a city and say you know the place, but I had to enjoy it whilst I could. I opted for a walk round Montreal's gay quarter. With the rainbow flag fluttering in the sunlight, I stumbled upon a bike shop comically named "Bikurious." I'm by no means bi-curious but as a cyclist, I'm always curious about bikes.
A couple of violins outside a front door would intrigue me. Why?
Quebec is the birthplace of Trivial Pursuit, so here's an interesting piece of trivia: out of the 50 US states and 10 Canadian provinces, Quebec is the only one with a "Q" in its name. Here's yet another interesting statue with ivy.
Ah, the things you discover on a casual stroll. These days, travel for me is less about seeing must-see sights and more about actually being in a place. There's always that feeling of euphoria. As I stood in line for a coffee, I had to get this "Mini-me" photo.
The weather was nice today yet Montreal receives a lot of snow in winter, therefore I wouldn't want to have a casual stroll here in January. Residents of Montreal are said to shovel more snow than that of any other major city in North America. If I were travelling the world chasing the Formula 1 Grand Prix, I'd be in the right place because the Canadian version is being held in Montreal next week. When I returned this afternoon I was told somone checked out early and that I didn't have to find another hostel. This journey has seen a lot of sleepless nights and moving round, so I wasn't ready to lug all of my gear to another hostel. Hashim cooked up a great feed tonight.
After a good feed I went out for a view of the St. Lawrence and a walk up the clock tower.
Montreal is actually on the island of Ile de Montreal in the middle of the river. I'd later go in search of more geocaches and would find a couple of really tricky ones.
Tomorrow I'm hitchhiking through the Quebec countryside and back to the USA (the US regime). Since I've been to New York, I'll be hitchhiking down through Vermont. With another great journey winding down to its final days, I washed down my day with a few glasses of French wine. A Brit named Natalie would really enjoy some of my comedy.
Though I only spent a couple of nights in Montreal, I really enjoyed my time and it sure didn't disappoint. Another city that requires more time and a bit of French. Next up, Vermont and then back to my mother's house.
