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Whole lot going on this weekend, Festival Eureka!, Les FroncoFolies de Montreal and let's not forget the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada. Wasn't possible to miss this…… the cars that were driving around town….. even for a nutcase like me who can't tell the difference between a Volkswagen or an Audi noticed that these weren't normal cars. While crossing the street there was one guy coming towards me with his girlfriend. He was on the phone and just stopped in the middle of the street forgetting everything…. girlfriend… phone….. he just stood there…. mouth open, hand in the air, shouting in admiration because some car was passing by. My French is not very good but it was clear that he wanted to trade places for sure. We are going to leave for Toronto just before all the main events started but nonetheless the pre festivities weren't half bad:-)
When in Montreal you get a bit of that Paris vibe. It's a totally different world down here. The people are more vibrant, lot of life out on the streets, smoking is more common, food is more European plus they don't expect you to leave in 30 minutes, more small café's, coffee corners…. And everything is French. Don't be surprised when you turn a corner and think…… This seems familiar, doesn't it? Just look for a sign and you know why… you get the feeling at some point that you're at Centre Pompidou, they even have their own copy of the Notre Dame. Didn't see the Arc de Triomphe but you never know….. maybe they're gonna build one in the future.
Montreal is divided in several areas. There's old Montreal, China town, Little Italy and many more. They even have an underground Montreal for when it gets too cold in the winter. This city is loaded with art. It's just all over the place. Like little galleries with expositions, parks where you can take a look at sculptures and paintings, murals on buildings just about everywhere you look…. Art, Art, Art. We even went to a park and found a humongous statue of the Dali elephant??? I mean… never expected to find something like that just out on the street in a regular park.
Their markets are just great to visit. Due to the season there where a lot of flowers and plants but you will also find everything for your groceries at these markets, fresh fruit, different kinds of meat, bread but most importantly….. cheese:-) After an overkill in hamburger cheddar cheese in the states I finally had some real cheese…. and a baguette…. I mean….. who can resist chees and a baguette?
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Jeroen Visser Daar moet ik dus ook nog naar toe. Veel plezier and a safe yourny.