WE MADE IT!! The Montreal skyline finally peaked over the horizon today and from there we took the scenic route along the St. Lawrence River as we peddled the final stretch into the city. As we got closer and closer to the city itself, we found ourselves surrounded by increasingly many cyclists. One of them told us that Montreal has a few powerful groups of bicycle activists and that the city has become arguably the most bicycle friendly city in Canada over the course of the last decade (move over Vancouver). On our way into the city we also rode on the Montreal Formula 1 racetrack for a bit alongside many other bikers that were either taking a nice late afternoon ride or making a statement and asserting themselves as the true dominant form of transportation (Ay take your 870 horsepower engine and toss it in the river, WE’RE BIKIN HERE). From there we rode by one of Montreal’s oddest landmark pieces of architecture, Habitat 67. An apartment complex with a uniquely brutalist/modern/lego-land-ish feel. These buildings are some strange ones and served well as a stark contrast to the architecture that is currently surrounding our hostel in the Old Port. We are currently in the part of the city that was first settled by the French almost 400 years ago and it honestly feels a bit like what I can only assume France probably feels like when you step outside. The streets are cobblestone, the buildings are the oldest in the city, and the people are all speaking French. We will definitely be doing a bit of an architectural tour tomorrow morning, especially to take a look at the basilica that the settlers built here and modeled after the late Notre Dame de Paris. To cap off the day we had quite the family style meal and engorged ourselves with 7 different styles of poutine. The added bonus for the restaurant we chose was that there was a huge street circus going on for multiple blocks as we arrived for our well deserved portions of French fries and gravy covered curds. Now that we’ve seen all of the tight rope walkers, tumblers, and trapeze artists that we can take, it is finally time for sleep. Bonne nuit.
AC
