A Year Survived, A Year Thrived

Awaiting a Croissant at a Patisserie in Old Montreal

We celebrated our first full year at Woodman's Lee by taking a little drive to Montreal. The pre-9/11 "arm wave" border crossing into Canada is long gone, but we still arrived in less than two hours. 

Sign from the Good 'ol Days

Canada Customs used to control the border, but after 9/11 it was decided that they were insufficiently hostile. So a new agency, the CBSA, was created in a futile attempt to be bad-ass, overstaffed, inefficient and rude, like their like their southern TSA brethren. Eventually the CBSA reverted back to a rather dignified treatment of visitors and today's border crossing is fairly efficient. In no time we were immersed in a defiantly French speaking city, we found our AirBnB apartment and settled in. It was incredibly cold.

Colder than the North Pole and Siberia

It turns out there was a rare pocket of extremely cold air that decided to migrate over us and stay there. But we had a terrific weekend anyway. 

A Brutalist Abomination Towers over the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Montreal is one continuous architectural tragedy. City blocks with beautiful old buildings are shadowed by towering brutalist abominations. Regardless, it's a charming and vibrant city. The Metro (subway) is easy to figure out so a car is unnecessary. We braved the arctic-like cold (an odd weather event made our location the coldest in the northern hemisphere!) and had an extraordinarily good time exploring the terrific restaurants. We walked a lot, especially given the treacherous sidewalks.

The Byzantine Boroughs of Montreal

The city is divided into 19 arrondissements (boroughs). Each arrondissement has its own mayor and ordinances, including those for snow removal. "Bureaucracy", a word coined by a Frenchman, flourishes here. 

Another Pedestrian Takes a Tumble on the Icy Sidewalks

Many sidewalks were downright dangerous, essentially trapping some residents in their homes. Hospital admissions for falls soared in January. 

We parked the car and didn't touch it again until we left, but, given the conditions, driving was safer than walking and using the excellent mass transit system. It's odd that AuSable Forks, buried in the Adirondacks can learn the art of sidewalk clearing. But one of the top ten cosmopolitan cities cannot.

Our Weekend Getaway Apartment in Downtown Montreal

Aside from that, we had such a nice time that we're returning soon. Our 11th floor apartment had everything we needed and it was close to the Metro. On our next visit we'll explore a few more arrondissements, including the little shops and sample the innumerable restaurants.