Bonjour!

 

St James Hotel in Old Montreal

Expectations are not a good thing.  If they are too high, you are always going to be disappointed.  This was the case with Montreal.  There was just something about the city that just didn`t do it for me.  Sure, Old Montreal was quite pretty but now that I am in Quebec City (later blog posts), it doesn`t even compare.  But, I still explored and saw many sights.  On my first night in Montreal, I headed to Chinatown for a cheap and filling dinner, where I felt right at home with the sounds of the Chinese language surrounding me.

Park in Old Montreal

I began each morning with a run along the Port, which is a great way to see a city from a different angle.  On my first day, I wandered the streets of Old Montreal poking my head into the main beautiful art galleries along the way.  In the afternoon, I headed towards Parc Mont Royal for a lazy afternoon with my book.  Along the way, however, I got distracted by a sea of red, blue and white sporting jumpers all heading in the same direction.  It was like a Saturday crowd at the MCG.  Intrigued, I followed.  It turned out that Montreal was playing in the hockey (ice, not field) finals.  I found a cafe where I spent the afternoon drinking tea and watching Montreal lose with the Italian owners of the cafe.

Local art gallery

The Latin Quarter

I was more impressed by Montreal at night time, where I strolled through the streets of the hip and happening Latin Quarter.  The Latin Quarter is a place where you can be who you want to be, and apparently for a lot of people, that means having multiple facial piercings, dirty hair and a mean looking, manky dog accompanying you.  Nevertheless, the Latin Quarter had a great vibe - restaurants, bars cafes everywhere, many with live music.  The streets of Old Montreal were also beautifully lit up at night time.  The French part of Canada is known for its street performers and there were several out and about on the weekend in Montreal, all putting on very entertaining shows for the crowds.

Old Montreal at night time

The thing that I found most disappointing in Montreal was the people.  French Canadians do not have a good reputation amongst their fellow Canadians and I am sorry to report that my experiences have confirmed this.  Many of the people that I encountered in Montreal were rude and unfriendly which seems to send off a negative vibe that infiltrates the city.  But, my expectations were high and those high expectations have made up for it here in Quebec City.  When I return to Montreal on Wednesday night, I will arrive at the train station with much lower expectations and enjoy my last two days of travel.