Je Suis Arrivé !!

It seemed like it would never happen. When I casually said, "maybe we should just go to Montreal?" back in May, the idea seemed improbable at best.

But all my re-directed mail, and the fact that to order my steamed milk yesterday I had to say, "bonjour, lait de noix maison chauffé, s'il vous plait" means:

IT HAS HAPPENED. I NOW LIVE IN MONTREAL!

(Sidenote on my drink order: I'm still not drinking coffee, so my order was more complicated than if I was caffeinated.

Also, the coffee shop around the corner has THE most amazing "house blend" of milk. It's almond and cashew, and thoroughly addictive, and if you get the order of the "noix" and "maison" wrong you are ordering a "hot nut house"?! #notetoself: the order of words is important in French!)

Lynda has been slogging out 12 hr days at school pretty much since we arrived, so I have been left to my own devices. I have decided I will try and speak some French in every interaction, even if it is only "bonjour". I became comfortable with that pretty quickly. I can usually reply to a "comment ça va?", but after that it's time to break out the old chestnut "parlez vous Anglais?" Which thankfully has been replied to in the affirmative all but once, when I got a "un petit peu", which also was totally OK as we kept going with much hand gesturing and Franglaise!

The weather was clear, sunny and an unseasonably warm 14'C Saturday, as evidenced in these photos...

...which I found pretty amusing, as it was apparently snowing back in BC. So I strolled down Rue Beaubien, to check out the brunch spots, sushi options, and to get some REAL winter boots as they are predicting that this "fake Fall" will be over by Friday, and the weather will plunge to a daytime high of -2'C !! This is a store I am sure I will be spending more money at: Bottes et Baskets.

Operator owned and run, you have to love a business that steers you to what you actually NEED, rather than the more expensive option you suggested! These babies will keep my feet warm and dry all winter long!

Sunday dawned, a little more like typical Montreal (apparently, what would I know?!). It became "très venteux"- very windy- overnight, and the rain fell in horizontal sheets. Still, I donned my new boots, and dove into the mayhem!

The wind tunnel that was Ave Du Parc had the added advantage of making my hair look like I'd just been to a salon for a blow dry!

I'm not sure I will find it quite so amusing when it's -10'C out though..

I discovered an amazing grocery store just minutes from where we will be living as of Dec 27th (and only 10 minutes from where we are now!)

I'm ALMOST sure I will be able to slog there through the winter drifts!

It's called Fruiterie Mile End,

and has so much more than FRUIT! Just about every gluten free product you could ask for, as well as walls and walls of fresh fruit and veggies. I think it may even be better than Donalds !

So, of course I had to do some more shopping, even though we have enough food to survive several blackouts.

Walking home I thought I'd do the circuit and come back via Boul St. Laurent.

Now it's time to explain the contradictions of Montreal roadworks.

Frequently you will come across blocked sidewalks, complete with fencing, bright orange "BARRE" signs, but no apparent reason - no work going on, no workers in sight.

Then you will find something like St Laurent @ Rue de Bellechasse, where the entire sidewalk has been removed, with no attempt to stop the brave/foolish Westcoaster from pondering the probability of death (or at least creative ecclesiastical profanity from locals) should they try and navigate what looks like a drone strike area!

To be fair, with this many construction sites on the Island, it must be tough to keep track of them all!

Discretion being the better part of valour, I backtracked (we all know how much I love THAT) and walked (well, was blown) back up Parc, arriving just before Zeus and Apollo started some big fight up in the clouds.

Arriving home I did what any sensible Westcoaster would do, I made gluten free vegan muffins, a batch of Rebar granola, and an almond milk steamer, and settled in for an afternoon of watching the Seahawks find new ways to lose on the one English channel our apartment has!