I read the news in French every morning to build my vocabulary and keep apprised of local goings-on.
As a result of this article (it’s in French only, sorry) about a cyclist who was injured after sliding on a newly-painted pedestrian crossing, today I learned the term dos d’ânes, or “donkey backs.”… [Read More]
Canicule = “heat wave” to you and me. Also vague de chaleur. Either way–much, much hot.
Temps are going to be “dangerously high” this week in Montreal and Ontario: 30C-35C, with humidex values of up to 45.… [Read More]
A subtle cultural layer you discover in a new city is the locally-sourced humor, i.e. the local problems that are joked about by the people who live there. Per my post yesterday about the Grand Prix, Dan Ramos Comedy posted the above graphic on Reddit with the headline, “I Fixed the F1 Poster.”… [Read More]
♫Another F1 race day, and it’s gonna be wet…♫
The Grand Prix du Canada is back in Montréal this weekend, with all its economic boom and ecological doom. It’s estimated that 1.2 million kilos of equipment get hauled into town for this event (that’s 1,320 tons to you and me) and then it all gets shuffled off to Madrid for the next race on June 23.… [Read More]
I’ve been trying to write a post here about the situation with the unhoused in Montreal in comparison to Los Angeles. It’s turning into a term-paper-like research project, though.
So in the meantime, here are some nice spring flowers at the Jardin Botanique.
We haven’t gone on about it too much here on the blog, but when we moved into this furnished apartment it was a *disaster.* Filthy from the drawers to the floors, broken appliances, an unmade bed with a pile of crumbs on the chair next to it….just… [Read More]
For Sylvain’s birthday, Manon organized a day-trip to Brockville, Ontario, “City of the Thousand Islands” — a historic town on the Saint Lawrence.
Some of the 1000 IslandsWe took the train from Montreal, a two hour journey, arriving mid-morning.… [Read More]
In response to my Crabapple evolution post, one person commented to me that “[T]he trees are ugly 51 weeks out of the year. They’re only pretty during the one week that they bloom.… [Read More]
(R.O.C. = Rest of Canada, whose federal holidays Québec likes to rename and rebrand as Québec-centric celebrations.)
Victoria Day, which celebrates the birthday of Queen Vicky, isn’t so popular here in Québec due to the many years of oppression of the Québec French by the English ruling class.… [Read More]
From the front-facing window and small balcony at the apartment, there’s a view of the street below and the shaded courtyard of the house across. When we first arrived, the trees were mostly bare or just beginning to leaf out.… [Read More]
