Despite being the second-largest city in Canada, Montréal felt at some times very empty. I would constantly find myself on a street or a park on my own. There were sometimes runners or errant tourists, but all in all it was surprisingly easy to capture photographs without anyone else around.
The city was preparing for winter.
Fountains were being emptied, squirrels packing away acorns, and ferry service had stopped. The beach was (very, very understandably!) closed for the season. The city was beautiful in its occasional loneliness, don’t get me wrong.
One of my favorite moments was on St. Helen’s Island. I maybe saw one or two other walkers on the wooded trails (many of the facilities and activities on the island had closed for the year). I turned the corner to walk up to Lévis Tower and was stunned by these hanging lights, as if right out of a hipster Home & Country catalog. I marveled at how beautiful and quiet it was, wondering who these lights had been set up for.
This city kept surprising me.
What you don’t see in these posts was the amazing food and wine we shared! Such amazing restaurants. My Google Maps is full of places saved to go back to when we return. After our fourth day, Stéphane and I boarded back onto a WestJet flight to the U.S. and bid adieu to Montréal.
