Montreal vs. Quebec City

Sen had posted an article a couple weeks ago describing our end-of-term adventures in Quebec in which we explored the province's 2 biggest cities: Quebec City and Montreal. During the trip we ate a lot of poutine and drank excessive amounts of beer while brushing up on our Ontario high school French knowledge. (Sen also wrote a hilarious poem regarding Tristan's shorts! \)

Initially, I was much more excited about seeing Quebec City than Montreal. For someone who grew up in modern Toronto and never been to Europe, Quebec's old fortress, narrow cobblestone streets, and 1700s architecture is very foreign and intriguing. Being one of the oldest cities in Canada, it has a rich history marked by numerous statues of not just famous war heroes and leaders, but also enemies (eg. James Wolfe). Now how many places actually honour its enemies? I wonder if any separatists ever tried to spray graffiti on Mr. Wolfe... maybe give him some pink hair?

For some weird reason, however, it seems like we had more fun in Montreal than in Quebec City. Maybe it was the bars and busy nightlife which made it easy for us to get drunk and forget how tired we were. Or perhaps we were simply more comfortable there since the brand name clothing stores on St. Catherines and fast-paced traffic on the Metro better resemble our Toronto? Not to say we didn't like Quebec City - it was definitely more scenic and its people were friendlier - but I just think our group felt much more "at home" in Montreal. To me, Quebec City is better suited for a romantic weekend with your significant other, while Montreal is the place to party with a group of friends. Maybe I was just jealous of all the couples in Quebec City?

Anyways, the two cities are like sisters that are different in their own unique ways, and it really isn't fair to compare them. Just think of Quebec City as the mature conservative sister who is loyal to its original French founders and still holds strong ties with its culture. Meanwhile, Montreal is the younger flamboyant (extremely sexy!) sister that goes out drinking every night. I should also add that we made a washroom stop at Drummondville (between Montreal and Quebec City). I guess that would be the fat ugly sister who never gets dates!