Get Lost!

Yesterday was such a beautiful day outside!!! The sun was shining and there was energy in the air, so I decided to go exploring in an area I had never been to before.

I started my trek walking up Saint-Denis a little bit. Normally when I go up to the Plateau area I would for some reason always just bypass this street and head straight to St. Laurent which runs parallel to Saint-Denis but a few blocks over. St. Laurent is more geared towards anglophones/people from out-of-town apparently.

I came across a really interesting bookstore that carried French and English books on many interesting alternative health type topics. They had lots on sale, but my budget for the day was the $5 change I had in my pocket so I didn't buy anything...

After that, I went up to Saint Hubert which I had heard had a bunch of fabric stores.  Since I am in the market for a sewing machine I thought it would be good to go check out the scene and WOW! I was impressed... well, I wasn't impressed with the prices. The fabrics were pretty pricey in most places, but there were atleast 10 different stores within 3-4 blocks of another (just look at the map!!). My favorite store just had the most random notions, and cheesy old jewelry and BUTTONS! I should have taken a picture, but I was worried the old french store owner would be mad at me and I wouldn't be able to defend myself with the language barrier.

After that I proceeded to get a little bit lost. I thought Saint Hubert would cross over on to Saint Denis... but I forgot that they both run North-South. It was a easy fix (back track!) to get to where I wanted to go and I got to check out some really nice residential streets along the way.

Finally, I stumbled onto the Jean Talon Market which was my ultimate goal! It is amazing in there. Definitely cheaper then the Atwater Market near my house. They had lots of local produce, honey and eggs/meat etc. Anything you could want pretty much. I almost bought this big 5 pound bag of multi-coloured carrots for $4 but I didn't really feel like carrying it home.

I was going to just take the Metro home, but it was muuuch to nice out to descend down into the depths of the metro system.  So I decided to walk back along St. Laurent. I was happily surprised to come by "Petite Italie". I love Italian food, so I will be back in that neighhbourhood one day to get a taste.

All this food talk, I must have been hungry hey? I decided to get the good ole standbys of bagels! I went to a different bakery then before. I went to Fairmount as they have lots of variety and I got some cinnamon raison bagels to take home and a cumin bagel to give me some energy to make it home (all within my pocket change budget too mind you)!

The combination of exploring a new area of the city and the spring like weather made me super excited to be living here. A friend of mine told me that if I want a real Montreal experience, I shouldn't be living where I am right now and that I should be up in the Mile End/Plateau. More and more I am realizing that. There is so much more up there. More hustle and bustle (more cute boys on bikes) and much more culture! I am really looking forward to the summer when I am potentially going to be living up there!!!!

On a side note, I am definitely feeling a bit nervous about the prospect of biking in this city. It is intense on some streets!!! So many people are out on their bikes now.  Don't worry mom, I will totally be getting a helmet.  I think if you just stick to more calm routes, it will be okay. Also, the benefits of cycling in the city (and the pure joy of it) much out ways the potential downsides... one just must be defensive!!! Oh, I heard they have this really cool thing here called BIXI which is a public bike system where you just take a bike from one station and deposit it at your final destination. It seems pretty reasonable and a neat way to encourage alternative transportation in the city.