a lot of walking

September 14, 2016

a lot of walking

end of summer can't be ignored anymore. not only are seasons changing, but a lot of things have changed around here - some i had planned for, some not quite. i'm sitting here, not telling you about it all :), my bad. honestly at this point my blog is just a repository of cute-pics-i-can-make-public, so i'm not really sure if it makes for a coherent narrative, or any narrative at all. but i would like it to. i am continuing blogging for a reason, and thankful i can do it and grateful if anyone reads this.

bottom-line, these things did happen this past month-or-so:

1) trip to ste anne de bellevue with linda; we were supposed to be star-watching (the perseides shower etc, so mid-august, yep) but of course it ended up being just cloudy enough that night that we had to settle for talking on the boardwalk with beer and snacks :), and watching the touristy groups and the boats instead.
i am really glad to start going out to the suburbs more, it's part of living in the city, even within my limited means and experience. i feel like i'm getting a better view of montreal by actually seeing it in its special context.

the most holiday-y night scene i've seen outside of resorts this year.

and really a pretty unusual scene for me

hard to believe that one hour ago we'd been at cremazie by the autoroute

2) on my friend melanie's birthday: evening at the sculpture park on the edge of mile end.
haha, this, on the other hand, qualifies as a quintessential montreal experience, a very urban spooky corner, and i mean it in the good way. i've known it and liked it for some years now, but this summer is the first time i've visited/stayed after dark.
more pics of it here:
http://montrealinpictures.com/blog/2013/07/25/sculpture-garden-on-avenue-van-horne/
and works by this sculptor can be also found scattered around mile end, on bernard st. and co.

such a quiet night. summer nights should really be taken advantage of

follow-up: wherever melanie is, the supernatural follows. good times!

3) trip to oka: i.e. first time i visit the surroundings of montreal, but out of the island; also my first train trip in canada (!!), i.e. i found out how train tickets work here etc.
otherwise, it was mainly walking like crazy for 7 hours plus, and never even making to the beach. overall great fun, though not necessarily very epic. we crossed about 3 municipalities, then after dark a multitude of corn fields, and also the cheese factory.
not productive picture-wise either, because i was puzzled as to what i should photograph. maybe we'll go back for a more appropriate trip one day.

i took this pic for my mum, i knew she was going to love the idea

dark clouds as metaphor for...general grumpiness?
p.s. when i'm grumpy, just try getting me a chicken sandwich, apparently that is how it works. who knew.

official proof of hike in the oka national park.
we saw none of these animals, just some weird rodent that was very fast

all these pictures were taken in motion, not even kidding

- and again, walking for hours in the city. some of it with b., some with a romanian friend passing through.i love showing off montreal to people, though some times it works out better than others. these days i've been feeling particularly confident in my "ambassador for montreal" abilities...the good weather helps, and also having specific things to point to rather than just vague good feelings.

rosemont/plaza st-hubert. whatever this contraption is, it seems a good idea, and these people were having a great time. part of some festival? it would work for a street food thing