La Belle Province

A bit about the trip. We set off for Quebec on Wednesday night. Along the way we stopped in Cornwall, James’ home for 4 months, and in Drummondville, because it was the only bolded city on our route on the map between Montreal and Quebec. At a gas station in Drummondville, Tristan asked for the washroom and, spotting his horrible anglais accent, the girl behind the counter promptly responded in English. This would happen several times.

We checked into a youth hostel in Quebec, where we stayed our first two nights. This place is highly recommended. We spent the subsequent two nights in Montreal. I’ll leave it to James and Tristan narrate our misadventures, but I’ll comment on my observations of Quebec.

- Quebec City is spotless. Not a piece of gum on the streets. The city is hilly and beautiful and picturesque, with 17th and 18th century architecture and fortifications all well-preserved.

- I think French-Canadians have a distinct look to them. Most of them are dark brunettes – not many natural blondes and no redheads. They have larger eyes and noses and smooth, clear alabaster skin, and I think the women have fresh, youthful look and a natural beauty. The women have a very refined feminine grace and elegance – as I’d imagine women in France and Spain and Italy to be.

- Almost all the women wear scarves and a lot the guys wear those chic black horn-rimmed glasses.

- Quebec City is pretty much all-white, which is expected. But cosmopolitan Montreal is a lot whiter than Toronto. I think I saw maybe three brown people while I was there. But there are more Francophone black people (Haitians?) percentage-wise. And there are a fair number of Asians in their 20s whom I assume are VISA students at McGill / Laval / Concordia.

- Much of the younger generation speaks English, but English fluency declines with the older generation. However, pretty much everyone in the tourism and retail industry. Most people in Montreal are bilingual.

- Montreal has homeless people too, but their homeless sleep in and near subways than on the streets. And the homeless people in Montreal actually perform a service - like they’ll open doors for you as you exit the subway stations.

- The French must eat out a lot, because everywhere there are restaurants and patios. And everyone speaks really quiet at restaurants... very hush-hush.

- The Quebecois are also a physically fit people – maybe it’s those steep hills, but I don’t think I saw a single obese French person. And French people smile more and generally seem more jolly – the Joie De Vivre is very real.

- At the nightclubs, they play the same music they play everywhere else. No French hip-hop or French rap, although the DJ speaks in French.

- I don’t think the service is as friendly though. At Dagobert in Quebec City, the bartender DEMANDED we give him a tip (“I want a tip, I want a tip!”). I put down for a 7 dollars for a 5 dollar drink and the asshole took the whole thing! Ditto for a cabdriver in Montreal. At one particular restaurant in Old Montreal, the treatment we received was atrocious. Maybe because we were loud, young Anglophones, prompting Xiaodi to storm out with the refrain “your service sucked!” And nobody went out of their way to help us out while we were shopping, which is quite a stark contrast from Toronto and especially the States, where you have to fight off the salespeople.

I think the difference between the rival cities of Toronto and Montreal is best seen by observing the transit systems of the two respective cities.

Riding the TTC, one gets the sense that Toronto is a structured, orderly city. The trains are silver and sleek and spacious well-lit, the floor spotless, no graffiti or scratched windows. There are designated waiting areas, there are chimes that tell us the doors are about to close, there are signs that tell us not to block the doorway, stand behind the yellow line, press in case of emergency, etcetera. Every station is the same boring bathroom tiles, with the same general layout.

In Montreal there is none of that. The trains have tires! They’re also narrow and claustrophobic and have those loud, dusty fans. There aren’t many signs telling you what not to do. But each subway station is decorated differently. Many have large paintings and murals

I think in essence this epitomizes the difference between Montreal and Toronto. Toronto is cold, efficient, structured, business-oriented, a model of somber Anglo-Protestant efficiency. Toronto is glass skyscrapers and office parks; Montreal is grand cathedrals and strip clubs. Toronto parties on Fridays and Saturdays but only until 1. Montreal is a party every day and night, and last call is 3. Toronto is utilitarian efficiency; Montreal is live and let live.