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Posts tagged ‘Montréal’

Sep 27

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Retracing the Past in Montréal

So much can change in the span of 17 years. That’s how long it takes for a newborn to reach the cusp of young adulthood, and for Switzerland, a nation of master engineers, to drill the world’s longest and deepest railway tunnel through the Alps. (That would be the remarkable 57-kilometer or 35-mile Gotthard Base Tunnel.) Until two months ago, the last time I visited Montréal was in the spring of 2009, when the city was just emerging from another long Canadian winter and the maple trees blanketing the slopes of Mount Royal were still naked, their branches bereft of leaves. Read more

Aug 17

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Bonjour, Québec!

Relieved we’d finally reached the top of a wooden staircase zigzagging up the slopes of Mount Royal, Bama and I hurried along the trail to join the crowd of sightseers at the stone balustrades of the Kondiaronk Belvedere. The skyline of downtown Montréal unfolded 180 meters (590 feet) below, its glass-and-steel office towers and condos gleaming in the late afternoon sun. Beyond the tall buildings and busy streets, the St. Lawrence River continued on its perpetual eastward journey from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic. I’d long known I would bring Bama to Canada’s second-largest city, but up until a few months ago, I hadn’t anticipated that it would happen this summer. Read more

Nov 30

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Travel sketch: Downtown Montréal

As a fifteen-year-old, being in Montréal for the first time was an unforgettable experience. I was captivated by the beauty of the old town, its diverse cultural scene, and the distinct meld of European flair and North American optimism. My family had booked a hotel room somewhere along Sherbrooke, between the downtown skyscrapers and the slopes of Mont Royal. Although I did have a camera at the time (one of those tiny ones that used film), something about the city inspired me to record this scene in my sketchbook.