Canada’s Quebec Province in eastern Canada is like going to France without hopping on a plane to cross the ocean! That’s right, you can drive there! C’est magnifique, non?
Our first stop in this province was Montreal, the second largest city in Canada and the fourth largest French-speaking city in the world! French explorers settled this island off the Saint Laurent River in 1642.
Hmmm, that sounds intimidating. Au contraire, fellow travelers! Most citizens are bilingual and despite its size the old town area of Montreal, which you’re likely there to visit, is fairly easy to navigate given that it’s one of the top 20 cycle-friendly cities in the world. In fact, their bike share stats are unreal – 750 docking stations and 9000 available bikes!
Montreal also boasts the oldest hockey team (the Montreal Canadians) in the NHL and the most Stanley Cup Championships, it has hundreds of steeples (650 on the island and 450 of those date back before 1800), 4 universities, and one of the largest ports in the world handling 26 million tons of cargo annually. This Canadian city excels in finance, gaming, artificial intelligence, film/television, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, textiles and finance.
Here’s how we spent 2.5 days in Montreal
DAY 1 –
We biked across the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, stopping at the St. Helen’s Island and then into Parc Jean Drapeau. We then headed for old town to window shop and see the Notre-Dame Basilica. The large stone European style buildings, the busy sidewalk cafes, and the smell of fresh coffee and/or wine and baked goods, and the French language at each table brought that Paris vibe to North America! We made our way down to Place Jacques-Cartier – a cute square in Old Town with more shops, restaurants and live street music that overlooked the water. Most city streets had a dedicated bike lane that was separated from the cars by plastic posts. Like most major cities that have tough winters, it did seem like Montreal had a fair amount of road construction so that was a little bit challenging at times, but even with all of that, they never forgot about the cyclists and re-routing them as well!
On our return across the bridge there were two mopeds gaining on us in the bike lane so we decided to pull over, take a couple of pictures, and let them pass. It turns out they were also tourists so they pulled over in the same spot, only when the young lady was getting off her moped she accidentally goosed the throttle and her moped lurched forward, nearly hitting us! The moped didn’t hit us. It drove into Doug’s back tire and stopped hard against the bars of the bridge- but what did happen during all this commotion was her iPhone flew from her hand and her phone was catapulted through the bars of the bridge while we watched helplessly as it free-fell into the Saint Laurent River. It was lucky that we’d both put our phones away just as they’d arrived or it might have been one of ours instead! What a hassle that would have been! I felt bad that she’d probably spend most of her day working on obtaining a new phone.
We spent the evening in a driveway in the small suburb of Dorval, courtesy of the “Boondockers Welcome” program that has been acquired by Harvest Hosts.
DAY 2 –
I found a bump on Bailey’s back leg that led to yet another vet visit – her first one outside the US, but we take no pride in this. Since I wanted to keep an eye on her throughout the day we parked the RV at Parc Summerlea. This small park was on a greenway that features a bike path that runs along the water’s edge. There was no point in both of us watching her (and Doug would say no point in my watching her either but that’s another story) so Doug took his bike out for an exploration. The bike path connected with the Lachine Canal Bike Path which is a wonderful greenspace and follows the canal for 13.5km through an area that’s rapidly being converted from its historical industrial use to a vibrant mixed-use urban corridor.
Bailey and I hung back. We walked the park, enjoyed the geese, the sculptures in the park, the waterfront, and watching people from all over the city enjoy the outdoor space – kids playing hide and seek, people walking dogs, students reading under trees, couples on bikes, and roller skating teens. It was great to see people in a big city really appreciating the beauty and convenience of these outdoor spaces with such Joie de vivre!
We were back at our Boondockers Welcome driveway for one more night.
DAY 3 –
No trip to Montreal would be complete without a drive to Parc du Mont-Royal for incredible views of the city that is named after this mountain. We also drove along Route 138 past La Fontaine Park which is surrounded by some unique homes.
Montreal. It was love at first sight. We’d only been there two full days, but it checked so many items on our retirement list that it was hard to leave. It was dynamic, diverse, hip, cultured and diverse but with old world charm and romance. It was way too far family and friends, we don’t speak French, and we know that beyond summer’s brilliance lies 20 miles of tunnels built for underground mole-like living in the winter…so maybe it was more of a summer fling than true love, but that didn’t make it any less heartbreaking to drive away.
