Montreal

Montreal! The word that comes to mind is “brash.” Street signs unashamedly French, roads potholed and cracked, traffic that gives no quarter, and rotting infrastructure. Yet few seem to mind until an overpass collapses and people are killed.

But, in the city at least, most appear bilingual and respond to the language you speak, which, providing you don’t get killed on the roads, makes life tolerable. Shopping is easy, plenty of choice, but gas is the most expensive in Canada; today $1.33 a litre.

But, of course, we didn’t come here for the ambience, but to visit with family. Luciano, our remaining grandchild of tender years is delightful at four years, and in true boyhood fashion, a handful. While at times we’d like to take him home in our luggage, I doubt it would work out long term.

You probably noticed that I’m a day late. Finding a place to access the internet proved elusive, until I discovered two ways to connect. The first was Kirkland Public Library which has free wi-fi. Some MacDonald’s also have access, but it’s erratic.

Then I found a user in Tim Horton’s happily working away without wi-fi—he was “tethered” to his iPhone. By downloading iTunes to my computer, access by USB through our daughter Alexandra’s iPhone becomes a convenient gateway into the ether.

So, if we can safely navigate the roads without French and synchronize blogging time with web access, we’ll report the latest Luciano shenanigans soon. Watch this space.