Travel

Traveling is a luxury we should all experience a minimum of once a year. There is no better education than experiencing and taking part in foreign cultures, especially for children. It’s empowering to adapt to a world you are not familiar with, learn to communicate with people who speak a language you don’t understand and most importantly cultural sensitivity.

I am currently on vacation with my children (hubby had to work) and we are in Montreal, Canada. I absolutely love this city with its historic architecture and its summers full of fun of activities. Certain parts of it remind me of NYC with its packed buildings, retail stores and restaurants all inching for space. Other parts remind me of Europe with their hundreds of year old buildings and strict rules about preserving their architectural history. I lived here when I was younger but did not really appreciate it until I became an adult and saw everything the city offers to its residents and tourist. Below are the 25 reasons I love this city.

1) The Art:

The city takes it’s art seriously and wants everyone regardless of income to participate in it. There are pieces of art peppered throughout the city that are as much a part of the city as the buildings. I continue to discover new one’s each time I visit. When I was young, I use to believe this sculpture was of a person scared that the sky was falling on their head.

2) Phenomenal public transit system:

No one needs a car in Montreal. The Metro and bus system are seamless and go to every corner of the city. 15 minutes at the latest and the next bus or metro has arrived. The city has modernized their system since I last visited as the they now have digital signage at each station to let you know how many minutes until the next train arrives. I also love that each metro stop was designed by a different architect so each has a distinct look. Another way the city subtly surround you with art.

3) The stairs:

The stairs of the street lined duplex and triplex of the city have always stood out aesthetically and appear to be specific to Montreal. Where many cities chose to have a cookie cutter residential streets, Montreal decided to place it’s staircases on the outside to allow more real estate inside for residents. The stairs also needed to be a certain distance away from the street which is why many are curvy. The individuality of each when the opportunity was there to have them all look the same, that’s belongs to the architects and contractors of the city. They are magnificent to look at in the warmer months and terrifying to use in the winter.

4) The Neighborhood Food Gardens:

The city is made up of neighborhoods referred to as “arrondissement” and many of them are assigned large plots of land to be used as community food gardens. These gardens are not only inspiring to look at with all it’s multi colored fruit and vegetables as far as the eyes can see but as I have become more health conscious for myself and my family I now see this as a way to give everyone access to healthy food. One of my friends when I was younger would invite me to dinner by having her meet her at her plant area with her mom and making us delicious fruit and vegetable salads while she grilled chicken on small charcoal grill. This is where I began to love eating tomatoes, something my mom could not convince me to eat at the time. To further encourage the use of these food gardens, the city provides soil and the Saint Michel environmental complex also offers free mulch to residents (as long as they bring their own bucket and shovel).

5) The real Fresh Market:

I eat more fruits and vegetables while I am in Montreal. There is such an abundance of it and it is as such a good price that I can’t help myself. I like trying new fruits and vegetable every time I am in a market in hopes of discovering something nutritious I can enjoy.

6. Movie Production:

There are more than 50 film studios in Montreal which means at any given point there is movie being filmed. My sister is an actress so when she is not doing theater work she plays as an extra on them and I am always looking for her in the background of films. The latest X-men movie is wrapping up from what I heard so hoping to see some of the crew in the streets.

7. The Clothing lines:

Even though most household I have visited have both a washing machine and dryer, the consensus appears to be to air dry clothes outside during warm weather. I had forgotten the wonderful smell of summer and flowers it adds to my clothes. It’s also a great way to save on energy.

8. Parks, Parks, Parks

The city is full of parks. Some open and others wild. The city gardeners do a great job of making each one look picturesque. There is nothing I love more in the summer than taking a stroll with my family in a park. The kids can run free or blow bubbles while adults have little pic-nik’s or start spontaneous soccer games.

9. City of 100 bell towers:

Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal, Saint Patricks’s Basilica, Saint Joseph’s oratory… There are breath taking churches all over the city which stand equal to the one’s in Europe in my opinion. Some of the churches are no longer in use and since the city is not allowed to destroy them they have been repurposed in apartments.

10. Bicycling is encouraged:

You can find bike rental stations all over the city. You can even use your metro card to rent them. Major streets have dedicated bike lanes for the safety of the cyclist as well as metal posts with loops to secure your bike to while you are running errands.

11.The Festivals

The summers are full of festivals all over the city. The “Just for laughs” comedy festival, the Montreal World film festival, the Montreal international jazz festival… Each one of those make the trip to the city worth it and bring in international artists.

12. Recycling is encouraged by the city

Recycling stations are also starting to pop up all around downtown. Their existence makes me make smarter decision about what I do with my thrash. Every grocery store I have walked into also charges 5 cents per bag so I have become better I remembering to bring my own bags while shopping as a principle.

13. Downtown (Saint Catherine)

This portion of the city is where a lot of the tourist go. There are shops lined along the street for miles and artist playing at street corners for change. I find it to be the best place to find jeans shop that fit my figure which is not an easy task.

14. Chinatown

There are lots of neighborhood dedicated to specific to a country or culture but none has a better entrance than the paifang of Chinatown. It goes without saying the asian restaurants are a gastronomic experince but what I especially enjoy are the food markets with foods I don’t usually find at local grocery stores. I’ve yet to try their acupuncturists but I am intrigued.

15. Quartier des Spectacles

This area is dedicated specifically for the arts and hosts many free concerts and outdoor movies. The city sponsors these events to enable everyone to have access to the arts. On slow days, I like to watch people play the life size chess boards in the streets

16. Cirque du Soleil

It originates from Montreal and is always worth going to see if you are interested in watching humans do things you did not think the human body was capable of doing. Any new shows they develop is usually first presented to the Montreal crowd first.

17. The Wild Gardens

All over the city are wild gardens in people’s front yard. They grow mostly free and require little maintenance but beautify’s the space. I prefer their chaos to the perfectly planted gardens. The city sometimes host garden contest to encourage everyone to plant.

19. La Ville Souterraine

The underground city is perfection in the middle of winter. It’s a series of shops, malls, commercial buildings, universities, subway stops, hotels and performing arts area that you can access without having to go outside. If you are lucky enough to stay at one of the hotels connected to the city you don’t even need to bring your coat with you. A large portion is underground but some is at ground level which allows natural light to enter.

20. Milk

Like the rest of the world, Canada is on the metric system so they sell their milk by the liter not by the gallon. I have always liked the liter plastic bags the milk is sold in and I am a supporter of food being sold in smaller quantities in general. It prevents over buying and over eating. It also takes less real estate in the recycling bin.