Summer Erupts in Montreal
Spring in Montreal is rather unpredictable. Mid-April, I spoke to some Montreal friends and it was 80 degrees, a heat wave, a sudden burst into summer from the long cold winter. I was sold. I had been thinking of a trip for a while and Montreal seemed as good a place as any for an extended visit. And so, 2 weeks later, I was on a plane across the continent.
In Seattle, the transition from winter to summer is very gradual. So gradual in fact that some Easterners might think that neither summer or winter really exists–just a few incidental hot days in July or August, a few cold ones with maybe a brush of snow in January. Easy to miss, you could be out of town for a few days and miss the transition from winter to fall or vice-versa. At least to my West coast eyes, Montreal seems to have the opposite problem.
Perhaps I wasn't holding my breath that 80 degrees would still be awaiting me when I arrived Sunday morning after an all-nighter on the plane and dawn in the Detroit airport. But as we landed, I heard someone ask "is that snow?" Sure enough, it did look like flakes of snow. Freak weather inversion, I thought. Flakes yes but probably much too warm for them to stay. Got ya. They not only kept falling for the next 2 1/2 days, they actually collected on the ground an inch or two.
Montreal is a great city for walking. It's not been torn up by freeways. The streets are laid out simply. There's little unsafe and plenty picturesque. There is even a backup plan at the ready for those of us who arrive to snowstorms having packing nothing warmer than a light summer jacket. The underground. There are really two Montreals. One at street level, opening hours May to October. One below street level. With the vast system of tunnels, indoor malls and subways it is possible to never actually go outside during the winter. From your apartment building, to the metro, to work, shopping for groceries on the way home, etc. It's all available. Any they say we Seattleites suffer from seasonal affective disorder from light deprivation. Why it's rather deliberate here.
Actually, I feel somewhat lucky that winter came back to bite me those first few days in Montreal. It meant that I got to experience those few days of spontaneous celebration, an impromptu holiday, when winter finally breaks and summer arrives. Perhaps slightly weakened by the fact that it had already happened a month earlier but then fallen back to winter. But, Montrealers will not give up a chance to celebrate and the last was just a false start, no? Sure enough, a few days later we had 1/2 a day of spring and then summer was here.
The next few days saw Montreal at it's finest. Everyone's in a good mood, even to me and my virtually non-existent French. Suddenly, vast sidewalk cafes, some with a hundred tables, spring into action everywhere. There seem to be more people eating and drinking on the sidewalks than could actually live here. I suppose they bus in the suburbs for the event. It's a holiday without the hallmark moment, without the commercialism since it's completely spontaneous and the only ritual is just to enjoy the moment. And, unlike the planned festivals of the Montreal summer which are numerous and wonderful (Jazz Fest, Just for Laughs, Divers/Cite to name a few), it is wholly local. After all, how would you book a package for this particular weekend. I'd like a reservation please for two to Montreal for the weekend when summer erupts please. Unless you're luckier than I, You'll end up stuck in a snowstorm.
If winter doesn't suddenly return, Spring will probably make an appearance next. Rotating off and on until Summer is ready to take on full-time duties. Montrealers never stop enjoying the warm days and nights. The bike paths throughout the city are full of bikes, some even with a baguette in the basket in a blatant rip-off of Paris. The sidewalk cafes are still full of people, although for many there is a shift toward tourists and away from locals. Which does somewhat water down the Montreal character.
Since, despite the baguette crack, Montreal is a French city. Not as in France but in character and in language. You are always addressed first in French. This is what you hear in the streets, in the cafes. And it adds a very different character to one's visit. But as the tourists come, primarily Americans, there is a shift. You may be addressed in English. You'll hear more English. And a little of the magic is lost. Not all by any means, but some.
"If you don't stop that, I'm going to nail your penis to your forehead." Ouch. This I heard from a passing mini-van in Old Montreal. A mother attempting to control her 13 year old son apparently. I glanced back at the passing vehicle. New York state plates. Summer was definitely here. Perhaps the French chatter was no more evolved but I didn't understand enough of it. This seemed to me to be a sign that it was time to move on. Maybe I'll book another trip next year for that weekend when summer erupts. And be snowed on again.
Subscribe to TravelBlogs
Posted by Doug Dosdall on May 15th, 2004 in Articles.
