On Monday [December 3rd] I had to go to Maine, but weather kept me from doing it. I have friends in Montreal, so I went there on my way to Maine, to wait the storm out, and see if at some point I could continue to Maine. The storm lasted all day Monday and half Tuesday, so I decided it wasn't worth the risk, and I will just return directly to New York on Wednesday from here.
But at least I have visited Montreal. Without being the capital city of Quebec, Montreal is the largest city in the province. Located on an island in the Saint Lawrence river, it's a very liberal city, like all Canada. For instance, drinking is allowed here at 18, and not like that self-righteous absurdity Americans have of keeping kids away from alcohol until they turn 21.
As I said, we had a heavy snowstorm, with more than 12 inches of snow accumulating in day and a half. I arrived in Montreal on Sunday at 9:30pm, and when I got up the following morning, the city looked like this:
It took us some shovel exercise to get the car out of there.
The funny part is that the city doesn't stop for 12 inches of snow, just traffic goes crazy, but the day after, everything was back to normal. Montreal is a city completely prepared for bad weather. Downtown, for instance, they have a whole subterranean city connecting with tunnels a block with the next one, with malls, hotels, train and subway stations. Look at a map here if you are curious. You really can go a long way underground. I was there today and I have been at at least six malls without getting outside. Here's a picture of the tunnel connecting the Place Ville-Marie with the Center Eaton.
See how you go towards the street, and instead of a door, you find a glass window and a tunnel underneath the street that takes you to the next building. Very useful if outside it is -20 degrees and the storm is at its earnest. Look also the level of snow outside covering the wheels of the FedEx truck :-)
The underground city of Montreal has over 20 miles of tunnels, and occupies a surface of 4.5 square miles. It's really impressive. Check the Wikipedia entry if you are interested.
In Montreal people speak French. I felt like I was in France, with the difference that here most people spoke English too. Good, because my French is horrible. It's been a short visit, I will have to come with more time, or even better, with better weather... [This is a pun in Spanish because the words for time and for weather are the same.]
