Another event, twice a week, over the Saint-Laurent river: The Montreal fireworks competition, L’International des Feux Loto-Québec. I finally made it to the river and watched it from the Village Éphémère again. Until the start of August, six teams from around the world compete for the Jupiter trophy with a 30-minute show. Founded in 1985, the Montreal Fireworks […]Read More
I went to Village Éphémère again, with Joel and his friend Max, and ran into a number of his friends there. It’s really a cool place, and this time I brought my camera, so here are some proper pics of this place. There’s always a DJ playing cool tunes, you can sit in the sand or in one […]Read More
Lachine is a little suburb of Montréal, earlier its own city but of course long been swallowed by the spreading city. It sits along the Lac Saint-Louis, where the St. Laurence river widens to form this lake, and along the Canal that was dug to circumvent the rapids in the river. It got its name, Lachine, in […]Read More
Montréal has an alternative feel to it, and many parts of the cities are covered in smaller graffiti. There are not many of my beloved street art stencils, but the murals are impressive. So impressive, Montréal actually now has a Festival for them – but then, they seem to have a festival for everything! The Mural […]Read More
I ran into the HugTrain the other day. Well, not the train itself, but the guy who runs the HugTrain across North America. You might have seen it before, people who give out free hugs in public, at festivals, at train stations, in the street. Arié went on his first hug tour across the US […]Read More
Since I arrived in Montreal, basically since I sat down with Brandon for a beer, 30 minutes after arriving, Montreal has been one big ride… beers, festivals, DJs, restaurants, friends, dinners, more music, road trips… I am a bit out of breath. Lisa, Brian and Marisa left Sunday morning for NYC, and Renato, Dennis and […]Read More
It’s an institution on Sundays, on Île Ste. Helene in the middle of the St. Laurent river. Piknic Electronik, a Montreal outdoor party tradition with DJs playing house, techno music and other genres. It is held in Park Jean Drapeau from May through to September, right underneath a massive modern art metal sculpture, with a view […]Read More
Lisa, Brian, Marisa and I started the day in a cute diner on Mont Royal: Beauty’s Luncheonette, a Montréal institution since 1942. While waiting for our table, we chatted with the host, a 94-old weasel who made sure everyone was seated. He had passed on the torch of cooking to his son long ago, but he’s probably […]Read More
We wanted to walk to the Botanical Garden in Montréal, close to Renato & Dennis’ place. Alas, it started to drizzle when we walked over, not much, but enough to exclude any outdoor activity. So we hesitated between the other, nearby attractions like the planetarium and the BioDome. However, all the parents with kids headed for […]Read More
Renato, Dennis, Declan and I visited the old part of town, Vieux Montréal, around the cathedral. It’s an interesting mix of styles, really old smaller buildings, interspersed with more modern ones, e.g. from the 19th century. Cobblestone streets remind you of Europe, and of the age of this city, which is one of the oldest […]Read More
Happy Canada Day! On 1st of July, Canada celebrates itself with parades, fireworks and a lot of other events. The day is the anniversary of the enactment of the British North America Act in 1867, which united three Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick -into a single country called Canada within the British Empire. Truth is, that it was […]Read More
The Jazz festival really brings far more musical styles into Montreal than just Jazz. Monday night, after a sleepy day in the park and a stop in a bar to watch the German team playing Algeria in the World cup, I went downtown to meet Joel and Greg to watch a couple of the free […]Read More