During my time in Toronto, I had spent a lot of time hanging out with a Swiss-French girl called Florine and was lucky enough to continue spending time with her in Montréal. We knew our time in Montréal would overlap by a day and whilst we were still in Toronto, we arranged to try and meet up when we were in Montréal. Florine had arrived a few days prior to me as she had headed straight to Montreal from Toronto, leaving Toronto on the same day as me whereas I had headed to Ottawa for a day or so before heading to Montréal.
In order to get to Montréal from Ottawa, it was time for me to have my first experience of Pop-A-Ride. Pop-A-Ride is a car sharing app which usually offers a cheaper option to getting the bus or train. I have to admit that I had been quite apprehensive about using a car share app. I was very aware that I was a female travelling solo which put me in a slightly vulnerable position when getting into a car with a stranger – and nine times out of ten, the driver would be male. By this point I had spoken to a few different people who had used Pop-A-Ride and they had all had good experiences with it. Still, I made sure to research the hell out of all my driver options to get from Ottawa to Montréal. Pop-A-Ride is actually pretty good for safety. You are able to check the driver’s profile, how many trips they have driven, whether they are verified, their scores as rated by their passengers and, most usefully, you are able to read reviews of them. This has definitely become one of the first places I check. I always look to see if there are any reviews by other women who have been passengers. If there are, and they are a positive review, then I feel more at ease in booking them. The other great thing about Pop-A-Ride is that you are able to see if anyone else has booked to be in the same car as you. This has been the other big factor I look at when choosing a ride to book. I am much more likely to book a ride if there is going to be someone else in the car with me, and doubly more likely if that person is a woman. So far all my experiences of Pop-A-Ride have been really positive and I am enjoying using it as another way to get around Canada.
Anyway, to Montréal! Florine was leaving the day after I arrived but we still managed to cram a lot in. I arrived in Montréal in the afternoon and immediately texted Florine to let her know I had arrived. The first thing I noticed about Montréal is that the temperature was so much colder than Toronto and Ottawa. It was absolutely time for me to dig out some warmer layers. We spent the afternoon bimbling around the old town and it was absolutely beautiful. The streets are, perhaps unsurprisingly, very French looking given that Montréal is in the French-speaking province of Canada – Québec, though people there tend to refer to themselves as Québécois. There are so many cute bistros and independent stores which we perused as we wandered through the streets of Old Montréal.
As it started to get into early evening, we walked up to Rue Saint-Catherine which is one of the most popular streets in Montréal. It’s gorgeous in the dark, there are lights all the way along from the various cafés, shops and restaurants lining the street which adds a really wonderful feel to the place. There were people ice-skating on a rink about halfway along the street, a lights exhibition opposite, people walking with friends, laughing and joking as they went. It was a really special place to visit. By the point Florine and I were, for lack of a better phrase, fecking freezing. We wandered around trying to find a café with some good looking pastries and eventually stumbled across a café with one of the weirdest décor choices I have experienced. It honestly felt like we were sat in a life size dolls house. Indeed, one cabinet held dolls inside it (which I’ve always found to be really creepy). There was a roped off reserved section next to our table which looked like it was set up for afternoon tea with the Queen. There were plush chairs with ornate backs, all a shade of baby pink, with pink tablecloths, Fine China and cake stands. There was a LOT of pink. It really did feel like someone had just made an adult replica of a children’s tea set.
The next day, we had a few hours before Florine had to leave for Québec so we decided to have a relaxed morning sampling some of the local delicacies. We started with a really cute café-cross-home store which sold everything from muffins to cushions. It had a really lovely vibe to it and was definitely more in line with my décor tastes than the doll house coffee shop! Having had a muffin for breakfast, we decided to continue our sugar binge by having a Beavertail for lunch. Now, I hadn’t heard of Beavertails before I got to Canada but they really are everywhere. A Beavertail is a kind of doughnut/pancake cross with your choice of toppings, the classic being cinnamon and sugar. Oh my days are they good. I had one with apple and caramel – it was a heart attack on a plate but so, so worth it.
After Florine had headed off to catch her ride to Québec, I went for a wander along the Old Port. The iciness of the wind was pretty brutal to be honest, and having seen the Ferris Wheel and ice-skating rink, I was about ready to head back to the hostel to defrost. The hostel I was staying in wasn’t the most social I’ve visited and I definitely felt it after Florine left. It amazing how different my experience of a place is depending on whether or not the hostel is sociable.
When I left Montréal, I had an indescribable feeling that I needed to go back. I honestly can’t describe why but I had really enjoyed the feel of the city and felt that there was still something I needed to get out of it. But first, on to Québec.
Ro Wells Travel 
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