Montreal

A few months ago I had the exciting opportunity to visit Montreal for two nights and two days. I'll be honest, I had reservations. Previous experiences in the city were middling, but to be fair, the weather had been torrentially rainy both times that I visited.

​So although I had my reservations, I was ready to have my mind changed. Plus, I was visiting with a friend who'd spent her undergrad in Montreal and was over-the-moon about showing me around. And let me tell you, she did a great job. I left the city looking forward to going back, with nothing but fond memories and a full belly.

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After sleeping and eating and catching up with some friends, we decided to hike Mont Royal, partly because the view would be stunning, partly because I wanted to capture the autumnal glory that remained, and partly because my friend could show me around her former campus. (We didn't end up exploring the campus that much, as there was a lot of construction at the time).

Really, it was too stunning for words, but I'll do my best to describe it anyway. Despite the fact that it was autumn and everything was thus dying, the mountain was...lush. Lush with colour and foliage and sunlight. Then we would round a corner, or climb a mound, and the landscape would change to a series of grey, bare trunks whose feet were carpeted in bright yellow leaves like flakes of gold.

Of course, there were two photos I had to take, no matter how cliche. One: boots + leaves. Two: a funny sign (which inevitably appear when you travel). 

(click for full sized view)

When we finally got to the peak, gasping through the stitches in our (fine, my) sides, it was to find the incredible Mont Royal Cross towering above us, and the whole vista of the city spread out before us like a spiky quilt. It was only then that I found out my friend had a fear of heights, and I was both surprised and gratified that she'd taken me on this hike nonetheless. (She's amazing).

I only have two more photos of this trip, which I took while strolling around downtown Montreal before a work event. More photos can be viewed on my insta (instagram.com/finderscapture), just scroll down a little.

That's all for now, happy new year!