Montréal

I feel like I haven’t written up a blog for ages! I strangely missed sharing my stories with you guys. I’ve been crazy busy, and still am (currently typing this up on the train- whilst half asleep). 

I had quite a few exams and coursework due in last week, and as usual, left everything till last minute causing me to fall deep into my usual stress mode (which for me, is a phase of denial and ignorance). In terms of how they went, let’s just not go there…

I would have typed up a blog as soon as my exams finished, but on Saturday morning I left Quebec City to do a bit of travelling- how exciting!

So, my friend and I thought, why not make the most of our reading week, and we decided on a short trip to the city of Montreal and then straight off to another big Canadian city- Toronto! We left on the morning of Saturday to do as much as we could fit in, and I must say, we've done quite well so far.

The given view of downtown from the summit of Mount Royal

Montreal. A gorgeous city, with the right amount of everything. It isn't excessive in what it has, giving it a humble atmosphere, also making and it so special. The city is so diverse and probably offers just about anything to anyone. I feel like anyone could find their place in Montreal and fit in straight away. Some parts of the city were really quite eccentric, with unique street art at every turn. In general, it was really quite different to how I imagined it to be, much smaller than what I had in mind. Perhaps I had bigger expectations of the city (in terms of mass, and city life) as everybody would describe Montreal as ‘another world’, and so of course I had mentally prepared myself for this. I wouldn't say I was disappointed in the slightest, but instead, pleasantly surprised and glad to finally travel here. It was quite interesting to see the similarities between my small town of Quebec and Montreal. However, I did feel as though the mentality there was completely different to that of Quebec City, Montreal is without a doubt a much more multicultural and seemingly more open-minded city. 

The subway was amazingly easy to understand, a weekend is enough time, and I wouldn’t call it a crazily expensive city. I also met up with my friend from King’s, which was lovely! Safe to say, he now thinks of himself as a true Montréalais. 

These are a few places I managed to visit,

Mount Royal Park

St-Josephs Oratory

The Botanical Garden and Insectarium

Olympic stadium

Rue St-Catherine

Eaton Centre

Vieux Montreal

In all honesty, by wandering through the streets, we ended up in some really nice places (sometimes dodgy), but I had, and still have no clue where we were.

View from the Oratory

Whether I could see myself living in Montreal, I’m unsure. I guess it just wasn't love at first sight.

Notre-Dame Basilica in Vieux Montreal

It’s now past 8PM, and I am currently on the train towards Toronto, we are spending 5 days there, but minus one as we are planning to spend a day in Niagara Falls. I already have my rough idea of the city, and am bursting with excitement to do some exploring.

I can’t wait to update you guys!

The Botanical garden

Entrance to the Chinese gardens

The Mediterranean gardens 

Greater Snow Geese watching at the Cap Tourmente

Yesterday I went Greater Snow Geese watching at the Cap Tourmente here in Quebec. Unusual activity? I thought so too, but here in Quebec, I really want to push myself out of my comfort zone and try everything that is open to me- I guess it’s these things that will establish me as a person but also help me grow. Right, enough of the profound talk! 

Guess what, I really enjoyed it.

The Cap Tourmente National Wildlife area is recognised for its exceptional sight of migrating geese

during the seasons of spring and autumn. It is a vast area, covering 24km^s of raw land and offers various hiking trails for all abilities- all guaranteed with picturesque views obviously.

My friends and I had chosen two trails, La Falaise (4.2km) and Le Perriere, (4km) all in all, relatively short hikes. However, despite them being short, La Falaise was in fact quite challenging as it was incredibly up hill. Imagine yourself on a treadmill at low speed but maximum recline. Except without the smooth surface. Oh, and feeling terribly hot and sweaty, but it being too cold to take your big coat off. The previous hikes I had been on were much longer in distance, but didn’t require as much effort in one go. However, I will stay true to myself and say La Forêt Montmorency still holds the title of, most challenging hike- so far. 

We arrived to the viewpoint for the first hike and it was absolutely stunning. A magnificent landscape with the river St Lawrence looking at its finest.

It still takes me a while to realise where I am, and how lucky I am to be appreciating the earth’s natural state. Sometimes, I will be sitting in the middle of nowhere, having my lunch, facing what is no longer valued nor protected in todays world. We (myself included) have become so immune to the natural resources that have been given to us as a gift, and instead chase the artificiality of this world. I often find myself at peace whilst on these trips and perhaps it is the loss of inner peace that could be one explanation out of the hundreds, as to why so much is happening in this world. 
Who knows?

 When I return to London, I know I will most likely return to the repetitive sheepish city life, (that I have become so used to and appreciate) but I will never forget that I have been exposed to how this world had started, and to always appreciate what we have. I am definitely not someone who is against modernity and progress. I cannot deny my love for the materialistic things in life, but sometimes it is good to take a step back and think with a clear mind.

This wasn’t supposed to be a blog in which I took a reflective turn, so I apologise for the slightly, misleading title but I promise it came out naturally!

In the pictures below, you can see some of the colours of the leaves changing, giving us a naturally colourful setting. Thankfully, we were also especially lucky with the weather, the sun was out despite it being so cold. Just the day before, we were treated to a grey sky and pouring rain. Today too, it a beautiful day with a gloomy grey sky and more rain(!)

After having finished the hike, we were lucky enough to observe flocks of snow geese flying in sync. Guides were available to answer questions and also give us a small presentation. We then returned to the warmth, ready to go home. 

If you look closely you will see the flying geese!