I really enjoyed getting to know my relatives in and around Ottawa. But after a few days I was beginning to get itchy feet, Bella had been too long sitting in the garage...it was time to move on.
Waving goodbye for my new found cousins, I pedalled through the rush hour traffic on the outskirts of Ottawa, heading east to the Quebec border. There was more beautiful riverside cycling, and a huge tailwind made for swift progress.
I crossed the bridge at Hawkesbury and finally, after nearly a full month of cycling in Ontario, I made my entrance into Québec.
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| Nearly got blown off the bridge taking this photo, an insanely windy day! |
It was almost like being back in Europe! With that one bridge crossing, everything about my surroundings instantly felt different, almost disconnected from the rest of Canada. All signposts are now written in French, not bilingually, which has been great for brushing up on my languages. But there are also now some great bicycle routes through the province, which I've been looking forward to taking advantage of.
Now, in general, I consider myself to have a fair grasp of French - I may not understand everything, but I can get the gist of a conversation and get my own point across when I need to. I also lived in France for four months awhile ago, and thought I would pick it up again fairly easy. I even spent a bit of time chatting away to myself in French on my bike, recalling bits and pieces I thought would be useful...
But wow, everyone was right when they said Quebec French is a whole different language! I was expecting the colloquial language to be different. I hear people speaking and all can think is 'Okay, it definitely sounds like French, so why the hell can't I understand any of it?!?' It's rather like each sentence is all one long word - I wonder if this is what it feels like to someone who can speak English as a second language but then tries chatting to a Scouser or a Glaswegian??
I took a couple of days to make it Montreal from Ottawa, camping at an organic farm en route. The following day's ride into the city was delightful, sauntering through farmland with fields dotted with wildflowers and plenty of other cyclists out on the road too - it was St. Jean-Baptiste day, a big Provincial holiday for Quebec, so everyone was out making the most of the beautiful weather. I made it to my couchsurfing stay by lunchtime and settled in for mini-break number two!
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| Camping at the organic farm |
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| En route to Montreal |
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| Destination reached! |
Pier-Vincent (Matt had put me in touch with way back in Fort Frances) and his flatmate Alex, have been hosting me for five days now, while I experience this fantastic city. I've been staying near 'Little Italy', and have had the time to sightsee, meet some of P-V's and Alex's friends, and catch the beginning of the Montreal Jazz Festival.
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| At the Old Port |
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| BBQ and twister in a local park - hilarious! |
When I first planned this trip, along with the Icefields Parkway, the jazz festival was something I was incredibly keen to experience. Having worked in a great festival venue back in Edinburgh for two summer seasons, I've really missed the atmosphere that comes with being surrounded by musicians and fantastic live music (although I definitely don't miss the exhaustion that comes with working 8-530 into the morning!).
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| Nowhere near as good as the original - I miss you Jazz Bar |
So I've had the chance to head down to the Place des Arts and spend a couple of days listening to plenty of free live music, and simply wander and feel the energy that comes from such a culturally vibrant city. It's been incredible!
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| Montreal Dixie |
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| West Trainz - they gigged on a small 'train' that moved around the festival area, the crowd growing with every tune |
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| Side of a trumpet/trombone player - he kept leaping off the train into the crowd |
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| Eli Bennett |
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| Michael Kaeshammer playing two sets of keya at once |
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| Awesome horn section for Michael Kaeshammer's set |
And with that, my break from cycling has come to an end. I've really enjoyed it, but it's now time to get packed up and back on the road. I think it's safe to say that I will be returning to Montreal though, I have absolutely loved this city!
Everyone in Montreal has told me that the Quebec accent gets harder and harder to understand the further north and east...should make for an interesting few days ahead! A bientot!
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