The Other Side of the Mountain

I’ve been spending most of my time to the East or South or Southwest of Mont Royal. This afternoon I took a wander up into some neighborhoods on the Northeast side.

I started going up through Parc La Fontaine, and strolled a bit along Rue Mont-Royal which is now a walk street. Remember the planter with edible plants that Manon photographed out in front of our building? Well, on Rue Mont-Royal they have full “Gardens of Nourishment” with squash, tomatoes, herbs, and … corn!

From the busy walk street, I wended my way gradually westward, through the beautiful shady streets of Le Plateau. After a while, between the buildings, I could glimpse the north side of the Mont!

My progress westward, however, was stopped by some big buildings. This complex houses Ubisoft, among other things. Behind the buildings, there’s a wild corridor, and a dirt path that eventually took me to other streets where there was a busy skatepark.

The funny thing is, I could have almost grabbed those last three pictures from Google street view! They must have driven through recently, because (at time of writing) even the graffiti under the bridge is the same.

Mile End seems to be a very happening neighborhood. Some stretches, like along Parc avenue, have a lot of shuttered buildings but among them were also fruit markets with a dazzling array of berries (not sure what happened to the photo I took there, but it’s gone). Meanwhile, along Bernard Avenue and Saint-Viateur and Saint-Laurent, there were crowds of youngsters with ice cream, orthodox Jews in big fur hats, people shopping in boutiques, and tourists like me. Coffee joints were hopping, and several pubs and wine-bars were doing brisk business. The famous bagel joints (Fairmount and St. Viateur) both had lines outside.

I’m still skittish about being in public places without a mask, so I skipped the chance to get a meal or drink. Instead, I went to the Laurier métro station, and took the crowded subway back to Berri/UQAM and then home.