all the (mont)real girls

It has almost been a year since we drove up to Montreal from Boston for a weekend of exploration. We were there in October and it was a perfect trip. It had all the classic elements (of a nick cage movie….) of our kind of travel: Walking for hours, brewpub stops, baked goods eaten on the street, etc. Montreal remains on my top five list of cities (maybe I should write a post for each of them) that I’ve been to. 

Montreal had awesome food (have you ever had a Montreal-style bagel? We’re going back this fall… pretty much just for the bagels), an eclectic mix of architecture, it was big enough to feel exciting and mysterious, but small enough to manage on our rented bikes. The advertisements on the subway and in the street were far prettier and art-forward than any advertisements I’ve ever seen in the U.S. The city was a mishmash of characteristics from different places including Pacific Northwest cities, Midwest spots, and European hubs. 

But my favorite part about Montreal? The people. Specifically the girls. They were beautiful - all of them! I couldn’t detect any pattern of style, to each their own, indeed. Some girls were skinny, some were normal-sized. Some had short curly hair and some had long straight hair. Some wore neutral tones and organic cotton skirts, others had jeans with black leather boots.

Rarely did I see any of them with a hint of make-up on. There was an overwhelming feeling of naturality (no, it’s not a real word, but I’m going with it) there. No one seemed too concerned with the “right skirt for their body.” They looked comfortable and amazing. I was in awe. I want to be more like the Montreal girls. 

And since this is sort of a post about the city, I’ll add some other highlights from our trip (besides gorgeous women):

- St-Viateur Bagel + Cafe (get em hot & sticky!)

- Drawn + Quarterly (awesome bookstore, great art)

- Blixi Bike - $500 deposit, but other than that a totally fun way to get around the city

- A really cool alleyway with comic-book graffiti art - can’t remember where this is, so if ever you stumble upon it, you’ll think “oh here it is. this is what mollie was talking about..”

That’s all I’ve got on Montreal. Remember, folks. Real is better (as with butter, with life).