Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of this beautiful city, biggest reason being I didn’t see it in daylight. As you will probably begin to discover if you are a regular reader of this blog, is that a main motto of my life is, “quality over quantity.” This motto really can apply to travel – maybe it’s just me but some of my best trips have been thrown together last minute, yes sometimes much of the fun is in the planning but sometimes I believe that you can have just as much fun “winging” it.
Montreal is easily accessible from where I live by train, however it is a long ride – almost 12 hours. The Canadian rail system is VIA rail, somewhat similar to the U.S.A.’s Amtrak – although like most travel in Canada it can be much more expensive. I personally enjoy train travel, I find it very relaxing and for the most part – stress free. It’s nice to be able to get up and walk around and it’s also nice to not have to arrive 2 hours before.
But back to my short stay in Montreal, you might be asking why I would spend almost 12 hours on a train only to turn around the next morning and head back home (another 12 hours)? One guess – and it starts with an “A” and rhymes with harrow smith. You guessed it – Aerosmith! Though this may seem quite crazy to the average person, any of my fellow “aero heads” will not bat an eye at this type of impulsive behaviour. When one secures a 2nd row centre ticket to a show in their own country (which doesn’t happen near enough), and one has no children or pressing commitments – one goes!!! The icing on the cake was meeting up with my best friend from Boston, who spent roughly the same amount of time on a bus to get there. We don’t get together nearly enough and try to make it happen whenever the “Aeropportunity” presents itself. Btw, did I mention how we met? At an Aerosmith New Years Eve concert in Boston almost 20 years ago. Both from the same small city in Canada – what are the chances??? Besides spending time with my friend and seeing a fabulous concert, what little I saw of this city has kept me wanting more and this is one place I hope to visit and spend more time in the future.
One unforgettable highlight of this trip was the look on the conductor’s face as he helped me load my very large suitcase back onto the train after helping me to unload it just 12 hours before. He had to be thinking – what has this woman been up to with this extremely large bag? For those that know me, I have never been a light packer (though I am much better than I used to be), and this is especially true when attending a concert. One never knows what mood will strike upon arrival and one must always be prepared – thus the need for a very large suitcase containing not only a large selection of outfits but the coordinating shoes, accessories and jewellery.
