Montreal! and ROW80 Update

Montreal!

This year is the 150th anniversary of Canada, and the 375th anniversary of the founding of Montreal. Also the 50th anniversary of Expo 67.

I was actually in Montreal for a long weekend last week, for a family celebration. I didn't venture far outside of my parents' neighbourhood, and didn't really see anything worth photographing, oddly enough. The weather was great, and the trees and flowers were budding with that fresh, bright green of spring. Lots of new shops and restaurants on the main street, and happy crowds, but also lots of shuttered store fronts and empty spaces to rent. Great food, and bagels, of course.

Most of my photos were from the plane!

Roses in our village, taken the morning I left

My gate!
This photo doesn't really mean anything, except that my sister-in-law did the trip in reverse, coming to Geneva for a long weekend while I was in Montreal -- I saw the first photo she shared on Facebook just as I got to my gate, so I sent her this photo back...
What an age we live in!
I was thinking about how, nearly 50 years ago, my great-aunt took a flight from Istanbul to Paris to travel, and later from Istanbul to Brussels, to live and work there for a year --
I kept wondering what she might have thought about and how she felt...


I suppose I was using a lot of sketchy airport wifi.
Facebook thought I was in Japan!

Swiss plane at Montreal airport!

39,000 feet up!

Views from the plane.
Way in the distance, St Joseph's Oratory is on the mountain on the far left, and the cluster of skyscrapers directly to its right is downtown Montreal.

The long flight was good for my ROW80 goal of getting ahead on my short story for submission!

I did some editing and wrote about 2,000 words. Since I've returned, I've added about 1,500 words, and now I'm at 8,500. I remember a scene I once wrote for Out of the Water, and decided to appropriate it for this story, but felt guilty at the same time (you know, in case Out of the Water ever finds a home...). How serendipitous to find that the scene was actually cut from the final version of Out of the Water, so now I'm free to use it! One more round of editing to go! I just realised that, while I have a photo of the main character in this short story, I don't seem to have shared it anywhere! Will try to get it off Scrivener and onto the blog soon.

Have you taken any short trips recently?
Is it spring or autumn where you are?

Comments

Actually, those are some really good shots from the plane. Mine are always hazy.
keep up the writing!
Deniz Bevan said…
I forgot to mention something neat -- it's a Turkish custom to fling a bit of water after someone who's departing, to ensure that their journey is as smooth and swift as flowing water.

Also this -- I love the way people clap, and applaud the pilots, at the end of some longhaul flights. It always makes me teary.
Hi Deniz - lovely fun shots- the roses ... then the "No Step" from the plane at some dizzy height up there ... so pleased you got home and were able to have a lovely time with the family - special.

Interesting about the Turkish custom with the water ... makes sense though - and yes thanking people spontaneously is always lovely ... long haul is long!

We've had some summer today ... recently it's been 'Arctic' well nearly so ... plain cold north wind!

Cheers Hilary
H. R. Sinclair said…
Those are gorgeous roses!
The Happy Whisk said…
Woohoo. I tried to comment earlier and this little comment form wouldn't even come up. Now it did.

Great pictures and very cool on the traveling. Here's to your writing goals!
S.P. Bowers said…
Congrats on the writing, and how fun you were able to visit for a little. Hope it was a great trip.
sage said…
Sounds like a quick trip! I have been to a lot of places in Canada (many of which few Canadians have been) but I have never been to Montreal. Congratulations on getting so much writing done while traveling!
Fallon said…
Great job on getting some writing done during your trip. Love the pictures.
Beth Camp said…
Happy travels! Especially that extra time on the airplane. So much background noise but, in a way, that uncluttered time with no other commitments allows us to focus on the writing (and getting caught up!). We're just starting to plan summer trips . . . Montreal is such a lovely city. Have a great week!
Deniz Bevan said…
Thanks, all! Still trying to catch up on sleep :-)