Renewing My Love Affair With Montreal

Back in September, I finally got around to doing one of the items on my Montreal bucket list:  cycle along the Lachine canal from Old Montreal to Dorval.  I hadn't ridden my bike in years, so I was a bit shaky at the start, but as my confidence increased I remembered how much fun it was to feel the wind in my face as I passed through the Old Port to Griffintown and so on.  It was also the day I decided to renew my love affair with Montreal.

For most of 2011 I wasn't sure I would be staying in Montreal.  While I like living in Montreal, the work culture does not always align with my values.  At the end of September, though, it looked like I would be getting a new job in Montreal, so I knew I would be staying for while.  Plus,  a couple of friends were moving to the city and their excitement was already starting to rub off on me.  I remember how much fun I had when I first moved to Montreal.  There is so much to see, do and experience here and it's all easily accessible.  With respect to my social and personal life, this is the best city in which I have ever lived.  It's the only major city where I've lived where I can randomly run into someone I know (and don't work with) while walking down the street or riding the metro.

So, to renew my love affair with Montreal in 2012, I will do more of the following things I love to do here:

• Embrace winter (if it ever comes).  Go skating, tobogganing, maybe even snowshoeing - at least once a week.  Find and enjoy more tea or hot chocolate.
• Embrace summer (when it comes).  Find and enjoy new terrasses.  Eat outside on my own. Finally attend a show at the Just For Laughs festival.  Spend time at the Jazz Festival.  Have a picnic in a park.  Watch the fireworks from Jacques Cartier bridge.  Find and enjoy more shop-made ice cream.
• Walk or ride my bike just for the fun of it.  I got a bike bell in Amsterdam.  I should use it :)
• More solo street photography (outside of my monthly MEETin photo walks).
• Go to Jean Talon or Atwater market every week.
• Go to the Botanical Gardens (my favorite) or some other park once a month.
• Visit museums.  We have A LOT of museums in Montreal and admission is inexpensive.  Hmmm... I really should get an Access Montreal card.
• Explore more restaurants, especially in my own neighbourhood and around work.
• Wear fashionable clothes.  Yes, I like living in a city where I can dress nicely.  Now if I only worked in an industry that didn't think I had a job interview or a hot date every time I dressed up...

With all these plans for adventures in Montreal, I really should revive this blog and share my stories again.  My professional blog will get more attention, so I'll try to update this one once a month.

Happy 2012 everyone!