You know the cliché about the picture being worth a thousand words? Well, here are six thousand words, just for you — I walked for hours, literally, this afternoon, after attending a great panel this morning (all work, no play, you know . . . I took the afternoon off!).
There are many thousands more words where these came from, but I thought I’d start by showing you how colourful Montreal buildings can be — most of these are from up around the Plateau, Mont-Royal, and Mile End . . . with the last, a building on Sherbrooke near St. Laurent, a different genre completely, but I quite like its wavy green glass.
Even the back alleys have colour!
Next post, I have many more shots of these leafy neighbourhoods, but for now, here’s a prettily coloured house.
I think this was a Librairie — a bookstore, on a mainly residential corner.
Couldn’t you just move in?! I want the one with the Hermès orange trim!
And finally, as I said, a completely different vernacular, and I can imagine some people disliking this one, but I think I love it . . .
Back in my room, enjoying room service tea and debating what to do for dinner on my own. So many possibilities . . .
I am overwhelmed with Montreal-envy! I so have to go there soon. I'm going to QC next month for a whole week! I love it also (and it's been 2.5 yrs since I've gone) but it doesn't have that Mtl. energy.
Wow, isn't it pretty! I so want to visit Canada (one of my best friends in high school was Canadian) …
K: Now I'm envious! I haven 't been to QC for years and years. (when I did I was with my husband who was staying in the Chateau Frontenac for business — so that was pretty great!) I have to say that compared to Mtl, I found it a bit Disney-fied or something, but I'd love to go back for another look. There's a fabulous gallery of Inuit art there — and I bought a favourite pair of shoes there that I still love to wear.
Tiffany: Well, if you ever get here, you know you're welcome chez moi. But there's a long way between my place and Mtl!
Montreal reminds me a little bit of San Francisco, another colorful city.
I'm definitely adding to my list of places to visit! Thanks for sharing a bit of your trip with us.
Yes, I agree, I see that Montreal does look like SF. The only time I've ever been was in early January, when it was too cold to notice what the buildings looked like then:).
I like the look of the new building! This is 2010, a new century and I support the new. I want the old ones to be fixed too and then I´d like to place these new buildings in mix with the old ones. I´m i-designing here too ; )
Oh, continuing my serious Montreal envy, but I can see how it does look like SF a bit too. I never thought of that.
I love the image of the blue building in the leafy neighbourhood, it has a quaint Frenchness…
I agree with Deja Pseu about the SF similarity.
Pseu, LPC, Hostess, and Mardel: I've never been to SF, although I want to get there — from films I've seen, I'm guessing that the colour there is on wooden buildings whereas Montreals are almost all stone. I'd be curious to know what K-line thinks as she's spent a fair bit of time in Montreal and perhaps has been to SF as well.
Metscan: I absolutely agree with you! Old and new should be able to enhance each other.
I love Montreal, was there as a twenty something on a business trip out of New York I had the sense enough to really enjoy it, taking a tour and seeing Les Mis in French I cried during that version too…