Just some random stuff… I could make this list even longer, but I’ll keep it to six items!
1. Alleys. The atmosphere in them is so different to the world going on in the main streets.
2. The Canal de Lachine. I especially like the part that goes from Farine Five Roses to around marché Atwater.
3. Rust. Montreal’s got lots of it. I like rusty old buildings because they have a story to tell. Silo no. 5… majestueux!
4. The Victoria Bridge. Not only is it stunning, but I also like the humming sound that car tires make on it.
5. Lebanese food. Don’t give me poutine; give me shawarma.
6. The sound that the metro trains make as they pull out of a station. (But I guess that will disappear when the new trains come. I like our old trains. I’ll be sad to see them go.)
And you? What do you love about Montreal?
1. Depanneurs
2. Snowdon Deli smoked meat
3. Lester’s smoked meat
4. How incredibly sexy everyone seems to get when the weather’s really hot & humid
5. Subsidized garderies (OK, that’s a Quebec thing in general, but it makes Montreal more viable as a “big city” for parents than other Canadian cities)
6. The vibrancy of its decay. Montreal is a perfect cross between Brooklyn and New Orleans in this sense.
Also worth noting, this entire article:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/mon/899245647.html
I love the people, how it’s like a big fun giant festival party in the summer, how beautiful of a city it is even though it looks different in different areas…actually I love everything about Montreal- best city in the world {and yes I’ve been to Paris, NYC, etc.}
Yes to all, I like your list! And if the trains stop singing I’ll be very sad.
I love Montreal because I was born there, because of the many festivals like Juste Pour Rire or the Jazz festival (it’s always so lively there!), because of the Vieux Montreal and the Centre des Sciences, which are always fun no matter your age (I grew particularly fond of the interactive game Snowbirds), because it’s the birthplace of Leonard Cohen (I think…) who is one of the greatest songwriters of all time (he composed Hallelujah!)… There are just too many of them. J’adore Montreal! Elle me manque tellement…
Well, I’m taking the family up to Montreal on vacation this summer. Going to be a real treat for me. It’ll be the first time I’ve been there in over 40 years. Can’t wait to see what’s changed and what’s stayed the same in all that time. BTW, Félix, your blog is super for helping me knock the rust off my Quebec French in preparation for that trip. Spoke it all the time at home as a kid growing up in New England (along side English, of course). But after years of living in other parts of the States where there’s no one to speak it with…well…need a few sprays of a linguistic version of WD40.😉