We left Chicago and spent a few days visiting relatives in Illinois and Michigan. Then we crossed back into Canada to spend a few weeks in Montreal. We needed a place to spend some time on the East Coast between our Chicago visit and the New York Sheep and Wool Festival in late October, a highlight on Carrie’s knitting calendar. Montreal is a wonderful city but what sealed the deal was Charlie’s discovery that our beloved L.A. Kings hockey team would be playing in Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto during October.
We rented a house in Longueuil, a suburb of Montreal just across the river from the city. We didn’t know exactly what we were getting but it turned out to be wonderful. Longueuil is a lovely old village and it is away from the congestion of the city and far off the tourist track, just what we like. We got a taste of what daily life is like for the Quebecois.
We were a bit surprised at the predominance of the French language. English is common in parts of Montreal, especially downtown and in the tourist areas. In Longueuil, however, French is the first language for most people. Some folks also speak English well, many speak a bit of English, and some speak only French. All of the signage is exclusively in French, including the food labels in the grocery store. The French we had learned in Lyon paid off.
Traffic in Montreal is terrible, the worst we have seen in any North American city. The infrastructure is old, apparently from the 1950s, so there aren’t many modern freeway interchanges. The good news is they are investing a lot of resources into improving their roads. The bad news is they are investing a lot of resources into improving their roads, so there is construction EVERYWHERE. Major freeways frequently narrow down to two lanes or even one lane. They say there are two seasons in Canada, winter and construction.
