Adventures of the Metro

I prefer to walk when I travel to a new city but lately, if it's far enough away, I'll use public transportation.  I decided Thursday and Friday would be my train days. I was able to use it pretty easily, with the exception of not knowing where to put my card on the machine to reload it with more fare money. The man behind the glass helped me. It did give me an opportunity to say "I don't know how to speak French" in French, a line I learned when Tim and I went to Paris. You would think I would use that line all the time, since I, in all situations, do not speak French. Nope. I have taken to say "bonjour" and then ask if English is okay, or just break into a simplified English. More on this later. 

I took the train to the Botanical Gardens. Definitely some great gardens.

The Chinese garden

Fountains

Big lily pads

Japanese garden

Indigenous people's story and works

Various other cute and pretty things

It just so happened that the old Olympic Stadium was across the street and I was going to go up to the lookout, but it was temporarily closed. There is a great skate park there. 

In case any of you are wondering how my blister is doing, it continues to be large and in charge.

You might ask yourself "Is that the last picture she took of her gross foot?" It is not.

I really can't understate that I managed to find an Air B&B in great location. There is a food hall down the block, making dinner very accessible. I had pizza again.

And this is how my project was going at that point:

Okay, Friday.

I took the Metro to Fairmount Bagels, considered one of the quintessential bagel places in Montreal. For the second time now, I have gone to one of these Montreal food gems, seen a line and realized that there are more than one line because there are other popular eateries on the same block. In this case, the place next to it was selling gnocchi, to go.

So I got two bagels, one of which I just ate while writing this. The other one I ate sitting on a bench, with a tiny Philadelphia cheese cheese. The bagel was fresh. There seems to be a debate about if Montreal bagels are better then NY bagels. They are not. This was good and definitely better fresh, but I would take a good NY bagel over this one. Still, I came, I saw, I ate bagels. Mission complete.

Oh, and contrary to my promise to myself I would keep my spending down, I did walk straight into this yarn store which I found by accident. I could have spent A LOT of money here. I decided to get three colors, rather then enough yarn in one color to make something like a sweater. So now I will figure out what to make with singular skeins of yarn.

The main reason I went on the Metro was to go to the Jean-Talon Market, in Little Italy. You can tell you entered Little Italy because suddenly all the signage is red, white, and green.

I bought maple tea and drank a protein shake. I browsed a lot and took the Metro back to my Air B&B, where I finished these.

I would take a picture wearing them but I'd need another hand.

I went to the Chinese bakery to get a pork bun and walked back to Old Montreal searching for souvenirs. I was told by two merchants that I said "bonjour" so well they thought they could speak to me in French. Really, a lot of people speak to me in French. There is probably no way to know looking at me I don't speak French. I spoke to a lovely young woman who sold me something I got for my parents. I found out she was born and raised in Montreal but was starting school to study finance and economics in Buffalo, NY. She told me she also got into LIU which she then had to inform me is in Brooklyn, not Long Island.

I then went back to the Food Hall and picked up a falafel wrap.

Between Vancouver and Montreal, Montreal is supposed to be less expensive. It might be due to the fact that I'm in touristy areas, but I was not expecting to spend this much on food. The Canadian dollar is .73 of the USD. But their sales tax is 9.975%. Because their prices look similar to SF, I am likely spending less than I think I am. I have not been doing the math. But I would not say it's an inexpensive city. 

I have two days left. I tend to leave myself two extra days to do whatever, although this trip has been more leisurely than my usual pace. I had planned it this way. I might hit another museum today. It is going to rain today and tomorrow although right now it's dry. Oh, and when I just went out to get coffee, they were setting up for some event which involved food truck and (I think) classical music. I should probably look that up.

You win some, you lose some

 I was going to write this last night but my Photos app informed me that my macbook needed to rest and would not be uploading my photos until it was good and ready.

But you'll be happy to know I write this while eating a bacon egg and cheese sandwich and drinking coffee that got dispensed from a large vessel, into a 20 ounce paper cup, like we do in civilization. Up until now,  I've been drinking cappuccinos which has less coffee than I typically want in my coffee.

On Tuesday, I went to the Musee d'Art Contemporain, which is around the corner from where I'm staying, where it is under construction until 2028 (not the 2025 my guide book said.) They have a smaller space at the Place Ville-Marie, where they got more of this guy:

And this big-ass ring:

The collection was comprised of a lot of video format stuff, although one was of these lovely bird drawn on packing boxes, meant to depict which bird populations are endangered.

I was very proud of myself that, of all the hawk-looking birds, I was able to accurately pick out the red tail hawk,

which I'm pretty sure makes me some kind of bird genius. (Not really, they are just all over SF and the Bay Area.)

After I got out, Tim texted offering free advice from a friend of his who is familiar with Montreal. I, of course, asked about food. He gave me one place to get poutine and two for bagels. So rather than go to a park, which it turns out is just a sitting area also around the corner from my Air B&B, I walked about 45 minutes to La Banquise. All the places his friend recommended ended up being in my guide book. Who else knew about this place? All the people waiting on line:

It wasn't too bad and it gave me time to apply sunblock. Anyway, in comparison to the prior poutine of Monday, these fries were soggy and bland, but acting as a vehicle for far superior poutine components. 

The gravy had a much better flavor and the cheese curds were cheddar-er. Good stuff, and less expensive. And, as usually happens when I go to random places for random reasons, I walked through an interesting neighborhood, on Rue St. Denis, and bought some beautiful glasses from an import shop. They are wrapped up so I can't show them. 

Side note: I have yet to touch Canadian money. My credit card bill is going to be interesting.

Above is a picture of my current knitting project. Guess what it is!

Also, these are my feet, in my Fluevog sandals, which worked better than I had hoped. And by "better," I mean I have not left anymore blood stains on them. More on that later.

On to Wednesday!

I walked to Crescent Street, which is known for it's architecture and it's mural of Leonard Cohen.

I tried to go to Galeries d'Art Contemporain du Belgo, which is not exactly a museum but spaces where artists can show their work in different rooms. I got there, and I got to the third floor of this creepy building. I didn't see any art, although I was half expecting those twins from the Shining to show up and silently usher me into a back room to show me a Jackson Pollock,

I decided I was artistic enough, and walked back to my hood, where I continued to say hello to this guy.

In the mall:

In the art space:

above a restaurant:

I went home to hang out for a bit and check on the blister that I felt forming on my heel the entire day. And decided to put my sneakers back on.

I went back to Old Montreal, ate a salad because my diet has been pretty carb-heavy these days. I walked around, got caught in a thunderstorm.

Said hello to these ladies:

Then I went to Basilique Notre Dame for L'experience AURA, which I reserved tickets for ahead of time. We were not permitted to take pictures during it, but it's a light show projected onto the alter and ceiling. This is what it looked like beforehand and after.

Beautiful... very churchy. 

I walked through Chinatown after, made a mental note that I have to get dim sum at sum point (see what I did there???) I came across a group of elders dancing. 

Okay, that is the full update. Today the plan is to go to the Botanical Garden, which I will do on the metro. 

Are we just not going to talk about this?

Despite the fact that the Air Canada people made me check my bag when I am pretty sure it would have fit in those very ample overhead bins, the flight was without incident. I think it was quicker than flying to NY, which doesn't really make sense to me, not that I actually researched the milage or anything. I watched BLINDED BY THE LIGHT which is about a Pakistani teenager growing up in England and finding solace in Bruce Springsteen's music. The guy really exists; the movie ends with pictures of him and "The Boss" meeting over the years. 

(I am currently in a cafe close to my Air B&B, and in classic non-American fashion, the coffees are tiny and the breakfasts have cheese in them. I'm eating a rather complicated "grilled cheese" with my americano, because they ran out of croissants. It's got onions in it. I'm eating cooked onions before 10am, which my body thinks is 7am. Don't just me. It's yummy.) 

I can't complain; the process to get my bag was painless and even with the long wait for a taxi, I was at my Air B&B earlier than expected. And then I had trouble getting in. So I've been sleeping on the street. Just kidding.

Let's see if after five years I remember how to insert pictures. The internet agrees with me; moving these around is a pain in the ass. Anyway, this is where I'm staying:

It was advertised a one-bedroom. It's essentially a studio with a well-placed wall and a curtain, that I don't use, to separate the "bedroom." That's okay. The woman who owns it has been very responsive, she doesn't have a binder of instructions for me, it's very well located, and clean. One MAJOR problem (and I'll try to get a picture of this discretely later) is that it is on a short street between two short side streets that are both occupied by people who appear to be struggling a lot. There is a very present homeless population here (I know I'm supposed to say "unhoused" but I'm not going to do it until someone gives me a good reason to.) I can't say what the exact deal is with the people who are yelling and screaming outside my third-floor window at night, nor do I know why this particular street necessitates this behavior, but I can say it has affected my sleep and woken me up. Honestly, it's ok, I'm on vacation. But if I lived here it would be troubling. The first night the yelling was in English, I speculate because there is no good French translation for "mother fucker," but last night I was treated to bilingual vitriol. I just looked it up and "mother fucker" in French is "putain de mere," which I must admit, has a certain appeal.  But it proves a point, which I will get to later. 

My first night was pretty uneventful. I found a food court around the block and got some kind of poke-bowl-type thing and noticed this:

So this place feels pretty familiar :)

Yesterday was my first full day here. I started off at this cafe, where I got a cappuccino, roughly the size of a dixie cup, and a bagel with cream cheese. For those of you who do not know, bagels are a thing in Montreal. I don't know if this was a "good" one but it had cream cheese on it so it was good enough. I do plan to sample a purposefully-good bagel before I leave here. 

I walked to Old Montreal which is a 10 minute walk away.  Very touristy and cute, cobble stone streets, water, adorable gift shops with the work of local artisans. I did not buy anything because getting excited and dropping a bunch of money day-one is a rookie move. 

I stopped in a little store for tourist info and got some FREE maps and had a nice young man help me look up train tickets to Quebec City. I have officially decided I won't be going. It's a lovely 3-hour train ride; I had considered making it a day trip. But it's going to be over $250 Canadian which is over $200 USD. So no. 

Speaking of nice young men....

Oh another thing.... I have not used cash since I got here. I tried to use the ATM in the airport and my card got declined. Don't worry, the card is fine (some of you know I recently canceled all my cards after two went missing from my wallet at work.) Anyway, I've charged everything.

Okay, nice young whoever it is: the people here are very nice. I had heard mixed reviews about the good people of Montreal, related to their French sensibility (side note, I once spent two days in Paris and, contrary to stereotype, found the people there not-rude.) I am almost uncomfortable with how nice people here are; perhaps because I always feel a little guilty when I travel to another country and they speak better English than I do, which they are happy to do to accommodate my monoglot self. Although I'm pretty sure they are raised bilingual here. Still, everyone I have encountered has been really sweet and helpful. 

This apartment building is famous, because it's weird.

Okay, now onto the point I wanted to make. I am somewhat offended that no one talks about the fact that "poutine" sounds like a euphemism for "vulva." As far as I'm concerned this the elephant in the living room of Montreal. I ate this. I am not sure if this was good poutine. My stance on the subject has always been (and by "always" I mean the last couple of months after I booked this trip) that the gravy is the deciding factor on how the poutine would be received. Fries = good, cheese curd = good, gravy = ?. This gravy was seasoned with something (sage? rosemary? if my mother was here, she'd know) a little too strongly for me. I mean, don't get me wrong, I ate the whole thing. But I will have to sample more to see how representational this poutine is of all poutine. 

I am still trying to negotiate the whole eating thing. Yesterday I went to the grocery store and bought three large bottles of water, five nectarines. I have four mini clif bars from home. The food here is not that cheap. Last year Nicole and I went to Berlin and we got huge wraps for six euros. That is not the case here, although the exchange rate to USD does help. Good thing I'm not taking that trip to Quebec City. But it does mean I have to go out to eat. I also have this habit of thinking it's complicated to find food, when the block behind my Air B&B is a long strip of businesses, including restaurants. Still, yesterday I went to a pizza place in my guide book and then ate ice cream, mostly for the extra calories to get me through the night. The pizza was better then it looked.

Also, these pink guys are all over that street. 

Last night I finished a book. I have three other novels with me; they're short but it's safe to say I am not going to get to all of them. I have also been knitting a gift for my trainer while I listen to podcasts. 

Right now, I'm drinking my second coffee (this time a cappuccino) in this cafe, before I return my laptop to my Air B&B and go back out to a modern art museum and some park-type-place nearby. I'm staying in the downtown area and I don't know if I'll attempt the public transit system, or just do everything on foot. I won't have to figure that out today. 

Oh, and I'm also near Chinatown. 

Reaching the end :(

I am writing this post rather than work on submissions because I find submitting unpleasant. I am aware that this just means I'll be doing it later, likely tomorrow, after I return home, and am sleep deprived.
After breakfast, after it stopped pouring, I went to one of the Eslite book stores.

This one is a few floors, although the main bookstore is on the second floor and is open 24hours. The other floors contain other merchants, but also a stationery section with tons of journals, pens and... stationery. I immediately picked out two more journals, which is why I went. I waited until 11am to see what they had downstairs, but everything either did not meet my journal requirements or was expensive. So the two Eslite 30th Anniversary journals it is.
Their cafe was also very expensive so I went to the Starbucks downstairs and wrote for a while.
As planned, I went back to Herban Kitchen and Bar for lunch/brunch and was pleased when I realized it was two blocks away from the store. The restaurant is very cute. I ordered Moussaka. It was yummy.

For whatever reason, I got a stomach ache almost immediately. But I planned to return to the Ximen area (where my first hotel was) to get another pair of those earring and some kind of food item to bring to work on Monday. The stomach ache was off and one and I was determined to get the remainder of my shopping done.
After that, I came back to this neighborhood, grabbed one last souvenir and walked back here to my hotel. By this time, I was pretty uncomfortable.
So here I am. I have been in my hotel room for about three hours now, checking my Duotrope email for presses to submit to, listening to my friend Jason's podcast, knitting and periodically checking the movie channels to see if they put on anything good. (They have not.)

I am going to venture out in the rain now to get more take out from Ooh Cha Cha, and return and remain in my room doing much of the same. I have faith I'll fit everything I bought in my luggage; maybe my coworkers will be eating squashed mochi on Monday. My alarm goes off at 5:30am.
It's been a good trip. I'm glad I got a couple of day trips in and that I got to feel grounded in Taipei.
Thanks for reading. I'll see you soon, on the other hemisphere.