Intrepid Traveler

I had a splendid weekend here in Montreal, and I am beginning to love it more and more each day.

  Let me begin with Friday, when two friends and I decided to go venturing into the forest of Mont Royal. I simply thought it would be an hour long trip or so, but we soon found ourselves escalading the side of the  mountain, heading for the top.

 

 

After twenty minutes or so of tumultuous hiking, we eventually reached the summit and were filled with breathtaking views of the city and the Saint Lawrence river.

Once we reached the top, we found a giant cross in the woods and decided to sit next to it and chilll for a bit. 

The cross was a good place to relax and enjoy some thoughtful conversation. When we decided that our time by the cross had expired, we walked around, looking for a path to get back down the mountain.

 

 

 

 

We were successful in finding a path. We followed it through the dank forest, using “downhill” as our only idea of where we should be going.

 

Eventually we ran into an ice cream vendor. This seemed perfect to all three of us at the time, because we were terribly hungry and had been travelling for quite some time.

 

While opening up my ice cream, I found myself surrounded by 5 raccoons, all of which were standing at my feet, on their hind legs, dancing and reaching up for my Drumstick. I was overwhelmed, excited, and confused at the same time. They followed me around but I did not give in to their pleading. 

 

 

We took our ice cream into the woods, and at this point had realized that we had no idea how to get home. From the outlook, we did not see the McGill campus buildings anywhere in sight- no green rooftops, no football stadium, no turrets anywhere.

 

 

We were quite far downhill, but we were on the opposite side of Mont Royal, in a part of town that we had never been to, and definitely not walking distance from our campus.

 

We walked all the way back up the mountain until we could once again point out where the McGill campus was. We hiked up and down, across and over, in circles for a few hours, confused and silly, until we eventually found ourselves back home, right back to Gardner hall.

It was a really unexpected adventure, and at times I thought I would be sleeping in the woods that night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, once I got home, I ended up going to a beautiful park with a friend, and sat by the fountain for a few hours, analyzing strangers’ body language and relationship to the people they were socializing with. You could tell who was into who, and who was ready to get the hell out of there.

 

 

 

 

On Saturday evening, I was standing in line for Inception when a little old man with a French accent started talking to me about journalism and his need for unbiased writing. He shared with me some watermelon and we headed into the theater together. The movie had French subtitles.

 

After the movie, we talked about how much our minds were blown. I wondered  what my subconscious looks like, if it is a forest or if it is in the clouds, and what kind of secret labyrinths my uncharted mind possesses. The little old man, Isaac, asked me and my friend if we have any family here. We said no, and the little man gave us his email address, and told us that if we ever were in trouble, he lives just down the street.

 

 

 

I was pleased with Saturday evening because I got to play Super Smash Bros. on 3 different occasions throughout the night.

 

 

 

 

On Sunday, I woke up and took le Metro (subway) to le Village des Valeurs, a fancy way to say thrift store. I’ve never been to one before, but I am enthralled by the treasures that used to be someone’s trash. I enjoy that concept.

I wonder what adventures my new purse has been through…

Has it been held in a rabbit’s teeth?

Has it been used as a weapon?

Has it been trodden on by the previous owner, in a fit of discontent?

Has it held flowers, jewelry, a croissant, a hot glue gun?

 

Upon returning and taking le Metro with marathon runners with medallions slung around their necks, I went to Tam Tam’s, a citywide drum circle gathering on the base of Mont Royal that happens every Sunday.

I danced with the other freespirits in the middle of the circle for hours. Many tourists, city occupants, and students came to watch the festivities. It was a beautiful compilation of humans, in their natural state, making drum beats with each other and grooving on each other’s vibes. No matter how hard I tried, I could not stop dancing and smiling.

One woman was dressed head to toe in purple, and played a strange whistle with her eyes closed, allowing everyone to see the youthful glitter on her aged eyes.

One man, with a feather in his hat and a rhinestone studded belt, gave me a CD.

One man did not talk, but simply came over to me and with a smile and put his finger to his lips.

   

To take a break from the dancing, I found a man playing the balophone, which is like a wooden version of the xylophone. Seeing as I’ve always wanted a xylophone, I sat next to the man and listened to him play. Eventually, he allowed me to play the balophone, and I was in heaven.

After, I went around the small hippie vendors and bought some feather earrings. I wish I could’ve bought  much more.

The best part about TamTam’s was that there was a giant rainbow the entire time.

 

And that I can do it all again next weekend.