In Montreal

Bonjour...y'all...y'all!

We are in Montreal. We will be here for a while. I have taken a few pictures.  It has been pretty exciting.  Wilson had a rough trip from Myrtle Beach. As you can see, he has bounced back.

This is Atwater Metro station.  Pretty quiet.  It's not usually like this.

clean...heh?

Time to head downtown. a metro shows up about every 12 minutes on weekends, more often during the week.

Looking downtown from our building.  Montreal has no really tall skyscrapers.  No building can be higher than Mount Royal, which is in the middle of the city,

Lachine Canal bike trail. bikes are big in Montreal. You can rent a bike through Bixi.

Students in Montreal have been protesting for 100 days.  Last night they marched by our apartment.  I would guess there was at least 10,000 marchers.  It took about 20 minutes for them all to pass by. This pic was taken from near the top of our building. 

note: There are bike lanes on most of the streets.

Montreal notes

The people of Montreal are very friendly folks.  If you speak English and you try to sprinkle in a little French, they really appreciate the effort.  If you act like "The Ugly American" they don't care for that very much.  This is Quebec.  Most people speak French.  Speaking louder to them does not make them understand any better.The area we live is an area where a lot of people are bilingual. They can switch languages on a dime.  Don't expect that outside of Montreal. 

Montreal is an island.

Milk is in bags in Quebec.

Creton is tasty.

A lot of graffiti in Montreal.

I haven't eaten any of the French stuff called Pontoon...? ...putain?...pantaloon?..putang?

wait a minute, I'll ask my wife........!!!!

IT'S POUTINE!!!! 

It is the equivalent to Quebec that grits is to South Carolina.

Money?...only 1$ and 2$ coins (Loonies and toonies) and yes, the dollar sign is after the amount.

Quebecois is very much alive.  In fact, one of the main streets of Montreal, Rene Levesque changes to an English name after Avenue Atwater.  It is then Dorchester. This did not please the French Quebecois.

St. Hubert Chicken is the best.

I have walked a lot since arriving here.  Our apartment has a walkscore of 100. (perfect) on Padmapper. 

I can look out my window and see the Metro station and a large 3 story shopping mall across the street.  Cabot Park is close by, as is a library. Great location.

Adios everyone....ummm...That didn't sound right.

Bonjour.