j'adore montreal...

so, matthew and i spent a good portion of last night sitting on the patio at santropol, enjoying the long-awaited arrival of spring, eating giant sandwiches, petting an extraordinarily fluffy and adorable cat (i know, it's a bad combination, but it was a very clean cat!), and discussing the merits of montreal vs. vancouver. i regret to tell you all that montreal won on pretty much all counts.

though it was indeed a cold and drawn-out winter, it was beautiful with the snow, and (within city limits) i went outdoor ice skating, sledding, and even rode a horse-drawn sleigh! (mind you, it only went in circles, and i did it with a sticky and hyper three year old who kept covering my hair and clothes with maple syrup, but still!) and none of these things cost a penny. what does vancouver provide in the winter for free? what does vancouver EVER provide for free? that's what i'd like to know.

i think this is the most important selling point of montreal. it is...affordable. you can get a gorgeous apartment in the most desirable part of town here for less than a shitty one in south van. virtually every apartment has high ceilings and hardwood floors and 'terraces'. this means you can actually use your money to live, rather than merely handing over your paycheque to your landlord each week, and it means you don't have to live in squalor, relegated to the outer limits of the city. you can live like a king on the salary of a servant! or even the salary of a student!

and well, now that the sun is shining it's just so lovely. the city seems to have been built for people to live well, with a garden space out front of each row house, and a city made for bicycles and pedestrians, with so much gorgeous architecture to look at. i have a feeling that the summer is going to kick vancouver summer's ass too. free concerts, streets closed off to traffic for weeks or even months, hundreds of gorgeous patios, and barbeques on the terrace (that's right, we have terraces rather than decks, and they're pronounced with an oh-so-chique quebecois accent), and lots and lots of beautiful people. sure, vancouver has most of these things too, but i'll bet they cost twice as much, require a bus to get to, and most of them will likely be rained out. yes, even the beautiful people.

ok ok, vancouver has its charms. number one being my friends and family that simply cannot be replaced. and there is the ocean, and the beautiful mountains always in the background. and sure, the rain brings good things, like flowers and delicious vegetables, and...and...ummm...

yah, so i guess what this all means is that i am getting incredibly attached to a city that i probably will have to leave sooner than later. right now autumn is a total blank in my mind, an unknown, but chances are that neither further schooling nor amazing jobs will be occurring in this city. alas. so i guess i'll make the most of my summer; savour every locally brewed beer on every warm inviting patio, and save it all up for the inevitable rainy day back home.