My last post was just before I hopped the train to Montreal for a few days. I got back a week ago and jumped pretty much straight into the first week of the Fall term.
Now it's the weekend and although I have a long "to-do" list of mainly work-related tasks, I'd rather put those off a little longer and write about mon petit voyage.
First things first, let's discuss the train. My journey was broken into two sections, Windsor (just across the border from Detroit for those of you who don't know) to Toronto and after a very brief stop in Toronto it was time to jump on another train bound for Montreal. I left Windsor around 9:30am and arrived into Montreal a little before 9pm. It was a long day, but as Canada rocks there was free wifi on the train so I was able to get a ton of work done for my new classes.
My brief stop in Toronto was shorter than I had hoped, but was still long enough to have lunch with Sharon, a Canadian friend who had been living in London briefly just before I left. Our lunch probably didn't last more than 40 minutes, but Sharon, being the lovely person that she is she brought a lunch for me. We had a good catch up and I hope to make it to Toronto for a little longer next time.
To be honest, the train journey flew by. I had plenty to do, the scenery was pretty great and I had plenty of room. I'm determined to do more journeys by train. It didn't always feel like it in the UK (especially when three trainloads of people were squashed into one train), but there's still something magical about train travel here in North America. It takes forever to get places, but it will always beat driving in my book.
Once in Montreal, I met up with the fabulous Queen Elizabeth III, who I would be spending the next few days with. We quickly found our hostel and settled in to the funky little place.
The next few days were filled with plenty of museum visits, good food, drink and a slow-paced exploration of this fine city. I felt I handled the whole french-speaking fairly well. I don't think I realize how much I actually did learn after 4 years of french classes in school and another year in college, or at least I don't get to use it enough. I made an effort at least, which for the most part seemed appreciated.
Just before I had departed for this trip I had some bike issues at home. A flat tire that proved unrepairable meant I had missed out on a few days cycling. I was expecting to see a lot of bikes in Montreal, like most major cities. I don't know if there were just more or perhaps me missing my own two-wheeled friend was causing me to pay more attention, but there were bikes on every corner and the city even has one of those communist bike sharing schemes. If you don't know what I mean by that communist reference, read this.
Elizabeth and I did make use of the bixi bike rental scheme, and while we had a brief but enjoyable ride along the waterfront, we were blissfully unaware that if you're not a regular user of the scheme (i.e. you LIVE in Montreal), a deposit of approximately $250 is taken from your bank account. I had just been paid, so it wasn't a huge issue for me but let's just say her highness was not amused...
The trip was short but very sweet. I was in need of a good dose of european culture, it was wonderful once again to see so many people making use of and enjoying their bikes, and I came home with a bag full of cadbury's dairy-milk! (it's also fair trade in Canada). Wifi on trains, fair-trade chocolate. Returning to the US felt a little like stepping back in time. I find it rather amusing that for the most part, America thinks it's so ahead of the game when more often than not this isn't the case.
After a week eyeing up so many beautiful bikes (and a few of their riders!) it was time to head home and give my bike some much needed attention. After a failed attempt at replacing both tires and tubes (I had bought dodgy products), I'm happy to say as of this past Friday my bike and I are back in business.
Yesterday was rather windy, a little wet and a reminder that the autumn is upon us. Perfect weather for cycling though, so I can't complain.
I'm going to end things with one final photo of a little scribbling I found along with some other street art in Montreal. The text translates to "bike more elegant" - a lesson for all methinks.
