I was itching to be somewhere more convenient for a few days. Meanwhile, a viral Youtube artist named Ginger Root was doing his first ever Canadian shows. I decided that I should catch the band in case this was the peak of their career. I chose Montreal because I had never visited the city despite its nearness to Ottawa. The closest I came was a few decades ago when I went to the La Ronde amusement park and caught a flight to France from Dorval airport.
On Tuesday, as the bus was making its way into the downtown core, I was nonplussed. I have never seen so many highways and looping interchanges cutting through urban areas except in American cities. I still remember my bewildering drives through Orlando and its surrounding areas during a business trip in the mid-aughts.
I didn't get my first "wow", big city moment until I stepped into the Berri-UQAM subway station to take the Montmorency line. My AirBnB stay wasn't downtown but on the edge of Little Italy in the North-East. After exiting Jean Talon station, I was happy to see the eponymous street vibrant with busy shops.
My rented studio was on Saint Laurent Boulevard above a Venezuelan restaurant (Bocadillo Bistro). It was reasonably roomy inside, certainly better than Victoria's Mansion. But the stairwell and hallways have seen better days. My host had 4 listings on AirBnB so I wondered if there were any permanent renters in the other rooms? Also, now I know what's it like living over a shop: convenient but an aerobic workout. This Saint Laurent was pleasantly romantic compared to its arterial namesake in Ottawa.
For dinner, I wandered down a side street called Dante and got a table at Pizzeria Napoletana, Montreal's first pizzeria which opened in 1948. The joint was jumping with most tables full. I opted for the Napoletana salad ($14) and a Caporale pizza ($20). When the food arrived, I saw no pepperoni sausages until I realized Napoletana put their cheese over the other ingredients, a rare practice in Toronto.
The food was serviceable but a bit dated. Looking at all the families and groups of friends chatting animatedly over pizza and pasta, I thought this place (like Cafe Diplomatico in Toronto) was more about nostalgia and tradition than culinary excellence.
Afterwards, I walked around to see more of the neighbourhood. Two things were different compared to Toronto. First, instead of having all the businesses located along one street with mostly residential housing when off the main thoroughfare, Little Italy in Montreal had shops on every street. Second, buildings were wider so the businesses were more spacious. The long and narrow Toronto restos and bars were uncommon here.
23/09/2022: Walking through the corridors, I counted 12 doors with 6 having electronic access pads. So likely there were still tenants here. Downstairs, one of the mailbox was overflowing with unclaimed letters. The addressees field suggested that recent renters were immigrants, given that none had "pure laine" names.
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