It seems this piano was left on the footpath for throwaway rubbish collection day. As this young fellow played with great emotion he stopped those passing by.
I was wrong about the piano – it’s been on the street for weeks and many have played it – including famous musicians.
Our airbnb unit is on the third floor – and the stairs are steep and narrow. We had a mini-drama when Glenys dropped a bag and broke a bottle of Salt from the Himalayas given to her by the Indian in Albany. Then we thought we’d left one bag out on the street and it had been taken. Panic! Found it behind the open door. We walked all our luggage over from the hotel to here – about five blocks away.
In Chicago my head was always tilted back taking in the skyscrapers; in Montreal I’m marvelling at the greenness of the grass and the darkness of the shade.
Monday
Caught the wrong bus this afternoon but we saw sights of Montreal we otherwise would not have known existed; very rich houses, a Jewish hospital, and Jewish schoolboys dressed in black with forelocks and tall hats. There is an etiquette on the buses we don’t see in Brisbane: drivers letting on passengers when there’s a red light, and most stops being near intersections – avoiding dual stops. We got on board not knowing you had to have a prepaid ticket. The driver asked if we were tourists and printed two all-day passes for us. I asked, “Are they free for visitors?”. No, she replied.
Downtown is all in French and the people certainly look French. We bought a panini to share and were asked if we wanted salad or soup. Not knowing either was included in the price we got very confused when they kept insisting we had to choose.
Tuesday
Walked downtown from our hotel and then along never-ending Ave St Catherine looking for a non-franchise coffee shop; we didn’t find one. Once Montreal must have been very religious for there are elaborate churches and cathedrals everywhere and all the streets seem to be named after saints. It’s a busy city. We walked past the Apple store and were surprised to see a fenced off area outside where customers had to queue and wait their turn to enter.
Hannah met us mid-afternoon and took us to the art gallery. Napoleon was the subject of one of the exhibitions. Later I got to ride Hannah’s bike part of the way back to her place. Quite a hair-raising experience because pedestrians and cyclists share the same path and there seems to be no set side to use. Often I looked up to see driverless cars heading straight for me. Of course they were just sitting on the LHS and invisible behind the smoky windscreens. We have walked heaps today and my feet are not yet adjusted to these new shoes.
Last night Hannah made pizzas with ingredients bought from the untidiest and most congested supermarket you’ll ever see; but great prices and produce from all over the world. We loved it last time we were here and it’s not changed. Tomorrow we are supposed to move to our airbnb unit which is just around the corner from Hannah’s, and go for that drive into the country with Justin and Hannah’s business partner, Shayl.
We arrived here on Saturday night to spicy nachos at Hannah’s. We are staying at a nearby hotel because we don’t want to disrupt her share mates. By accident, what we call providence, it’s located very close to Hannah’s and alongside the beautiful plateau gardens.
Yesterday morning we were able to find a church about 20 minutes away but it took us 40 minutes to find it because we were walking in the wrong direction. It was an old-fashioned service but the preaching was sound and it was evident the pastor has a burning passion to reach out to others – especially Armenians. There was an Aussie from Sydney there too, he’s married to a girl from Quebec.
Later we lined up in the longest queue I’ve ever seen for coffee and the two guys making and selling it were phenomenal serving four or more all at once. It was worth it and was the reason why so many were willing to wait.
It was a mainly sunny day but with a chilling wind coming from the NW. The streets were full of people for the marathon and for the annual fix-your-bicycle-for-free day. On closed off streets there were guys helping each to repair bikes.
We’ve been here before but my first impression this time is “so many trees and bikes” and the green of the grass in contrast to the shade is stunning.
Late in the afternoon we got to meet Justin, Hannah’s boyfriend. It’s easy to understand why she likes him; and they both have the same sense of humour. There was no uneasiness, and Glenys was quick to raise the ‘M’ word. Hannah was away from the table at that stage but Justin was unflummoxed.
He has offered to drive us into the country one day this week. I’m looking forward to seeing what Canada has to match the wonders of America. The extraordinary forests of the Adirondacks suddenly disappear once you cross into Canada to endless colourless plains.
Montreal we’ve learned is the second biggest French-speaking city in the world and the largest inland port. It will be good to be here to see more of Hannah, to explore, and to take a rest from travelling for more than a week.
Glenys & Hannah
You pronounce that funny name: add-a-ron-dack. It’s the name of this train and this region in NW New York state. It’s very scenic – on every side there is so much to marvel at. What Australia lacks is what this part of America has lots of: water – rivers and lakes as far as you can see. Along the edges are houses – some poor and run-down, others very grande. When there is cultivated land it’s Irish green. Apparently the last hurricane poured out its load over this region after passing by New Orleans.
Right now we’re watching a most spectacular sunset that looks like the horizon is on fire or some distant city is burning. This is Canada at long last. The border patrol took ages to go through all the carriages and check us all out. Hannah and I have been texting each other for the last half hour – we’ll be eating dinner at her place tonight.
Last night we stayed at an Ecolodge Motel owned and operated by a friendly Indian couple – not Native American Indians; Indian Indians. He helped us with the laundry and directed us to a nearby Chinese restaurant. We both slept right through the night – a first for both of us. She drove us to the station this morning.
I’ve finished my book – Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. It is heart-wrenchingly brilliant and I got so much more out of it this time because I’ve read Home – the sequel. You must read them. They are set in a fictitious town in one of the regions we passed through. In a nutshell they are both about forgiveness and missed opportunities.
This train is called that because it skirts along the southern shores of the Great Lakes. We didn’t get to Europe but we’ve been to Syracuse and Rome – towns on this route. Both are noted for traditional Italian food. You learn so much when you’re in a train and you have guide books at hand. We’ve now been to these states: California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and now we’re in the train in the state of New York heading for the capital Albany. We have to stop here overnight to wait for the Adirondack – the train that us takes to Montreal.
While in Chicago we attended an Apple workshop on iCloud so now we’ve been looking at a sideshow on PhotoStream of all the photos taken so far on this trip. Great for reminding us of what we’ve seen and done.
The lady at the on-board cafe is the best one we’ve had so far -unflappable, very well organized, and ambidextrous. The previous one was hopelessly tired after a six day shift and struggling to handle customers at her disheveled counter. The restrooms are upstairs instead of down which is good. I guess this is an older carriage.
We’re looking forward to seeing Hannah tomorrow night.
In My Life 