Montreal

Apparently after landing back in Toronto I suddenly had the travelling blues so 2 days later decided to visit Montreal

There is an app here called ‘poparide’ where basically people driving between cities will rent you a spot in the car. It’s kind of like Uber, you can both get ratings etc. So at 11am I messaged a guy called Bhavesh and after meeting him at a random gas station we were on our way. Bhavesh is originally from India but has lived in Montreal for 4 years, it was only me on this trip with him so we chatted most the way (all 5.5 hours of it) We even stopped in Napanee for a little pub lunch on the way. He dropped me right to my hostel (so sweet of him) and because IM SUCH GREAT COMPANY, he didn’t even charge me!! So yes, I could have potentially been kidnapped BUT I actually ended up with a free ride, so who’s laughing now.

I expected the people in Montreal to be 50% French speaking and 50% English, that is in-fact incorrect, it’s more 80/20 French! I met a German guy in Calgary who is travelling/working his way around Canada (Jannis), he happened to also be in Montreal so we teamed up and saw the city together. The evening I arrived we met up and went on ‘the big wheel’ (a mini London eye) with amazing views, I thought $30 was expensive until the 4th loop around when I decided I’d definitely got my moneys worth and now needed a wee.

The day after arriving Jannis and I decided to go to Montreal’s botanical gardens, we saw the Olympic stadium on our way and whilst searching for our countries flags I heard Jannis refer to my home flag as ‘the Union Jack’. I’d like to clear up that it’s only a Union Jack if flown on the bows of a ship, otherwise it’s a Union Flag (just another fun fact for you, I have plenty). Anyway, the gardens were B E A U T I F U L and we spent the majority of the day wandering around them. We said we’d each have a ‘quick nap’ before heading to the hostel bar but I accidentally fell asleep until the morning #rocknroll.

The next couple of days went by in a flash, not much exciting stuff to tell but I did decide to extend my stay by one more night and I’m glad I did. I spent my final night watching the sunset over the Montreal skyline followed by some fireworks (very random on a Thursday evening in July).

On my final morning I headed to Namur Metro to meet my Poparide Mark and fellow travellers to head back to Toronto. Mark had a very fancy Chrysler Pacifica, complete with leather seats and charging ports. An upgrade from the Mercedes Sedan I arrived in, but I actually had to pay for this journey so that sucks (still cheaper then travelling by bus, train or plane though). A few hours in we stopped for a 30 minute lunch, the others weren’t very chatty so I listened to music and wrote some of this blog. Mark dropped us all at the subway and I was home in 10 minutes. Poparide is genius, I love it.

So my review of Montreal, overall I loved it, old town had a very European vibe to it, likely due to its French routes. I think speaking French would have made the whole trip much better as when you speak in English they give you this disgusted look! BUT every time I attempted to be polite and start with ‘bonjourr’ they’d respond in French and I’d be lost, it’s a lose lose situation. I would recommend visiting if you’re ever over this way, and I’m gutted I didn’t have time to visit Quebec City itself (where they only speak French), but I’ll add it to the list for another trip.

Now I’m back at my apartment in Toronto and ready to chill out for a few days. Don’t worry, I’m off gallivanting around Vancouver island in 8 days so more updates incoming.

Em x