.Montreal.

Montreal is beautiful. My first night in, I stayed with my cousin in an area called Le Plateau. It is a spot that is full of restaurants and shops and it is very close to Montreal's namesake and lonely mountain ("mountain"), Mont. Royal. My first morning here, I woke to wander around and take photos.
~Instantly, I felt transported to another time or place... there's something European in the air here. You can buy beers and wines at any corner store, signs are in french, people are dressed fashionably, and any naked wall is decorated with some extravagant graffiti. And yet, it is so strangely Canadian..!.. especially as this half of Montreal is filled with mostly English speaking humans. I rented a bixi bike my first evening here, and Milen and I rode all around, exploring. First we visited TamTams where I had sat earlier in the day, watching massive drum circles people dancing, and crafts being sold. It is the largest mass collection of of it's kind in the world, and it occurs here every Sunday. When Milen and I visited, we sat to watch local Larpers (live action role-playing),which is basically a bunch of people reenacting medieval sword fights with hand crafted fake shields and swords. Seemingly intense! And very interesting.
~Old Montreal has the oldest buildings and the legislative buildings and some cobblestone streets, but there is so much old architecture here, all over. We hugged the water and rode around a little island Ile Ste-Helene where there are regular afternoon electronic dance party every weekend called Piknik Elektronik. We didn't partake, but we rolled along, passing people snacking and drinking wine and smoking delicious aromas alongside the bank. There are loads of little parks with fountains and benches and little bodies of water. This really is a beautiful city.
~Since then, I've been staying with lovely Michelle and Lashen in their apartment in Saint-Henri. I've been camped up in my little bedroom nook, and today will be moving onwards to see the infamous Maritimes. I'm not sure what the next while will hold for me... as I've been hearing of storms and rain and warnings of 100km/hour winds!! (think of me)(!!) :) xo it will be an adventure