Two Days in Montreal

A title like this sounds like something that belongs at my other, travel related, blog: PillsburyTravels.blogspot.com, but my two days in Montreal were not typical tourist days. I took Amtrak up on a Sunday to help my long-time friend, Marlene, unpack and settle into her new apartment. 

Moving is a pain! It doesn't matter that she can see her old apartment's balcony from the balcony of her new apartment. You still have to pack everything, especially your books, into boxes and then unpack them (ideally) on the correct shelves. Marlene is an academic. She has a lot of books. I'm more of a photographer. When I move, the trouble will be packing all of my photo albums. At least she looks at her books.

Marlene showed me Montreal through
her eyes. We went to her favorite farmers market and bought fresh food. She treated me to lunch at Montreal's best gluten free creperie. I escorted her as she changed her address at the library -- come on, twist my arm to visit a six-story glass library in the center of a city. 

She introduced me to Montreal's vast mass transit system. We rode the new REM line. At 20 stories down, it is the deepest station in North America. The metro and REM lines are so fast and so quiet. They make the New York City rails look and sound like antiques.

She also took me on a hike behind her place to the backside of St. Joseph's Oratory of Montreal. We saw the front when we changed buses. 

Mostly we relaxed and enjoyed this longest visit together in decades. May we have more now that I know how easy it is to get to Montreal.

Photos of Marlene are available for viewing in person. She is social media shy. She really does exist. I promise!