Mat and I headed into downtown Montreal yesterday. We wanted to walk around, see and hear people, take pictures, and visit a few shops. We walked up and down Rue St. Catherine, which is known for its sex shops and exotic dancers - along with many other shops and bars and restaurants.(And no, we didn't go in to this establishment. Maybe next time.)
This plaque and poem were at a memorial for all the people in Quebec who died from AIDS - or SIDA as it is known in French. Mat and I both read it, in silence. Then I turned to him and said - "I love you."
Later on, the sun had set. The sidewalks were getting slippery. We were wandering back towards the Mont-Royal Metro station, to have a cafe au lait and then take the train back to les banlieues. (The suburbs.) We were taking side streets and back streets, and admiring the European-cool look of the terrace houses, their metal spiral staircases and bicycles. This one had a balcony with colored lights, and I liked the look of it. That's Mat in the bottom right corner, with a red light above him.Well. Montreal has been a real trip. I have - get this - 700+ pictures from our week here. That's an average of one hundred photos a day. Food, people, cats, scenes, sights. Some blurry, some not so bad. I'll share some more in the coming days and week(s). Like: our trip to Schwartz's, a famous Jewish delicatessen (or charcuterie Hebraique) on Boul. St. Laurent. Or: the sushi I ate. Or: the trip to Mont Tremblant, or the graffiti I saw in the city. (I have a thing for pretty colors and public graphic design. Hence, graffiti.)
Only three more days of 2009. I'm thinking about where the year has gone, and what interesting and spectacular things happened during it. On the train ride home, I think I'll look back over the pictures of this year, over the events. I'm excited for 2010, though. Bring it!
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