I was shocked at how cramped the terminal was. I was expecting a sprawling building with enough space to run a herd of elk, but it was rather small and a bit on the old side. I was still using my crutch to move around (My foot wasn’t fully healed yet) and was happy that they pulled me out of the main immigration queue and directed me to the cabin crew lane. That helped take the pressure off my foot, after a 14-hour travel that day. Clearing immigration and customs was fairly easy, they were both friendly and welcoming. A far cry from the rude, uncultured Neanderthal I encountered at JFK back in November ’22.

After a quick Uber ride, I was at my plush hotel ‘Vogue’, in downtown Montreal. I love a 5* hotel and a king-sized bed is exactly what I needed. The next morning, I met one of my colleagues for the first time and had breakfast at a restaurant not far from the hotel. While breakfast was great, $47 Canadian for scrambled eggs, French toast, a coffee and an orange juice, they were the most expensive eggs I’ve ever had!

With breakfast over, I tried to explore the city as best as I could, hobbling around on one leg with a crutch, like a pirate. The city reminded me of Amsterdam, the vibe was chilled, with the alfresco dining and legalized marijuana, to a young vibrant populace, it was completely unexpected.

One of the things that surprised me was the fact that the city was subdivided into Francophiles, Anglophones and others (Indigenous, Asian, etc.). Each group occupies their portion of the city, with everything being subdivided accordingly, even down to paying taxes! You can choose to pay your taxes to the French portion of the city or the English portion.

This was wild to me, a rather odd form of apartheid in a modern city, in 2023. There’s a French hospital and an English hospital, as well as a Chinese hospital. It’s as if the city was using they/them pronouns before pronouns were a thing. Sadly, the next 5 days revolved around work and work outings and I didn’t manage to do much until my last day, when I ventured out for a rather long hobble around the city.

My previous manager has suggested that I try what he termed, his favourite eatery in Montreal. Not because the food was fantastic, but because of the history and nostalgia that the place held. I hopped in an Uber and made my way to Wilensky’s Light Lunch, a small diner-type eatery, in a trendy little neighbourhood of Fairmont Ouest.

I got there and the place was like a time warp. According to their website, it has not changed much since it opened in 1932! It was still owned by the same family, has much of the original decor with its pressed tin ceiling, Kik Cola clock, ring-up cash register, an old-fashioned soda fountain and seventy-plus-year-old grills. It felt like I was back in an episode of ‘The Andy Griffith Show’, look it up if you haven’t gotten the reference.

I had the Wilensky special, a side of pickles and an egg cream soda. I didn’t know what to expect, it was rather simple but very tasty. I ordered another one.

The whole neighbourhood had a vibe. Every restaurant was packed with lines stretching down the sidewalks, yet it felt quiet and calm. After walking for what seemed like an eternity, I caught an Uber headed for Old Town and walked around for a bit. It was nice, but it’s clear to see that it was meant for trapping tourists.

6 days had flown by at the speed of lightyears and it was time for me to head home. I had no expectations before visiting Montreal, but I left with the feeling of wanting to go back and explore more. I’ll be adding Canada to my travel list and hopefully, I’ll be able to do it once more for free.