Exploring Montreal

I just got back from a short trip to Montreal! For just over a 5 hour drive from Boston, Montreal really does feel much further from home. It must be the French that does it. French language signage, menus (with the exception of some places, specifically in tourist areas, which may have two different menus, one in French and one in English) and most people in service roles speaking French. It was a fun experience, and the first time I have been back to Montreal since high school. I did get a bit frazzled a few times trying to order in French, or figure out the subway signs.

I spent time at Atwater Market, a very large permanent Farmer's Market in Montreal. They had an outdoor area with rows and rows of carts of fresh produce, and an indoors with bread, cheese counters, meat and snacks.

While there my friend Rob and I ate a simple meal of good bread, good cheese, good strawberries. Good.

I was struck with how much beautiful and quirky street art there was in Montreal. From intricate grafitti to full wall murals, every block seemed to have some form of vibrantly colored street art.

Another thing that impressed me was the more bike-friendly infrastructure demonstrated in the city than you see in Boston. I observed so many people on bikes during my short visit, from tourists renting bikes to ride along the waterfront, to everyday commuters.

I loved that the major streets often had serparated bike lanes like this:

Imagine it- no risk of getting doored, no angry driver yelling at you because they think you don't belong on "their" road! This seemed like a much safer alternative to the bike lanes I have seen in Boston and other US cities, which are often obstructed by parked cars or otherwise unusable.

There were also separeate bike signal lights at some cross walks, which is something I have only seen one other place: Portland, OR.

I did not end up riding bikes in the city, so I did not get to try out the bike lanes or light systems. But, I did rent a bike in a small town outside Montreal, where my friend Rob and I got to take a nice bike ride along a scenic river route.

Given the Food Truck craze going on in so many cities right now, I was looking forward to tracking down some sweet food on wheels while in Montreal. Sadly I came to learn that due to some legislation this is not a very easy thing to find- apparently food trucks and carts are not allowed to set up in most areas of the city, save for during festivals. I did find some small pop-up-like dining options (and a cookie truck) in the Old Port right next to water though. I got lunch one day at this little place, called porchetta. While there I ate...Porchetta. On a sandwhich. With a lentil salad. Yum!

Thought I should find a way to make this a post about food before wrapping up. Mission accomplished.

Have any of you been to Montreal recently? Other interesting destinations? If you live in a city, does yours have food trucks? How about seperate bike lanes? I'd love to know!