One Last Look

Ste. Catherine's

In the last few days of my stay in Montreal a lot of my time was taken up in running around trying to find a place to print out my shipping documents; then a sweaty, grimy afternoon spent in a parking garage packing up my bicycle; finishing with a maddeningly itchy case of bedbug rash. Usually when I travel, near the end of the trip I just want to rush home to my cat, but this time I was trying to forget that I'd be returning to an empty apartment. So I had to make an effort to shake off my bad moods and enjoy the last two days of my stay.

What else can I say to sum up my travels? I want to go back. My only regrets are that I didn't prepare better, study my French, and plan a solo tour between the cities.

Next time.

I took my bicycle for one final spin to the old waterfront neighborhood of Montreal before I shipped it back home, then I wore myself out on walking tours. I spent several hours at the Redpath Museum at McGill University, which has a whole floor of displays about the geological and natural history of Quebec, and an interesting assortment of fossil dinosaurs, animals and plants, as well as human artifacts from Egypt, Africa and elsewhere. And I walked and window-shopped at random on the upscale commercial streets and quiet residential neighborhoods of the Plateau.

Nice spot for lunch across from the Visitors Info Center

At construction sites there are always signs saying "RUE BARRÉ" which are to be avoided, but there is an actual rue Barré near the waterfront.

Many neighborhoods also have folk-artsy signs with colloquial sayings, warning about speed limits, street crime or other local quality-of-life issues. "Tout doux dans ma rue" means "every thing's cool on my street."

Bike rack at McGill University

Cool places to rest sore feet