Over the summer, I made a trip to Ottawa and had an extra day to spare. I decided to sneak a solo trip to Montreal as it was a 2-hour bus drive from Ottawa and the ticket prices were pretty reasonable. There was also the adventurous part of me that couldn’t wait to explore a new city. Montreal is beautiful and even better than I had imagined. However, before I recount my experience in Montreal, I would like to share some of the lessons from the trip. Backstory:I had just graduated from my undergrad programme which meant that I no longer had my part time student job. Sadly, finding full time work was not as easy as I had expected it would be. At the time I went to Montreal, I was living off my savings, and in reality, didn’t have the few extra dollars to spare for the trip.
When I returned from the trip, I evaluated my reasons for embarking on the trip. One of the major reasons was pressure from social media. I know this might sound a little embarrassing, but occasionally, I cave in to pressure from social media and the need to travel. Another reason I went on this trip was to seek material for the blog. Don’t get me wrong, doing things for the blog is good, but great caution is required- I may have missed the caution bit in my decisioning process. Random fact: When applying to schools, my first choice university was a school in Montreal; I didn’t end up attending the school, but Montreal became one of my top places to visit in Canada.
Visiting Montreal taught me a lot about delayed gratification. There is a time for everything and everything good will come at the right time. I assume that a properly planned trip in the future would yield more happiness than the trip I took over the summer.
Although something might seem like the perfect opportunity at the time, it might not be. We need to be careful when making decisions, especially rushed decisions.
Exploring Montreal (Old Montreal)
Montreal is a French speaking city unlike Vancouver and Toronto, but not to worry, a number of people speak English, too. However, if visiting, I would suggest you brush up your French a little bit or download a translator on your phone as French is still the official language there. Regarding transportation, I would advise you get a day pass if you plan to visit a number of spots that are not in Old Montreal. At the time I visited, a day pass cost $10. You could also borrow a bike if you want to cycle round (not sure of the price).
Vibrant music scenery – The first thing I noticed at the Basilica Square was a live music performance, and as a music lover, I instantly fell in love with the city!
I took a nap in the park by the first spot discovered in Montreal – This was by far the most interesting thing I got up to in Montreal and I was surprised that I could take a nap in a public area on a solo trip (I can just hear my mother lament in shock). I still don’t know how I feel about this experience, but I got a tan and felt great after the nap (the nap was about 30 minutes in total with wake-up intervals).
It was great to walk around Old Montreal and just take in all the summer beauty.
There were a lot of fairs, performances and shows as it was the summer. Montreal is a tourist spot, and I definitely recommend visiting in the summer.
Must Do: You absolutely cannot visit Montreal without having poutine.
I enjoyed my trip to Montreal and definitely cannot wait to visit again. I am beginning think that I may not be a huge fan of solo trips after all, but I did enjoy the flexibility of taking my own pace to explore the city. I hope you enjoyed reading this post and picked up a thing or two. Have you ever visited Montreal? What did you enjoy about the city? What are your thoughts on delayed gratification? And finally, do you have any tricks or tips on overcoming social media pressure?
Please leave me a comment or send me an email at info@awahshasha.com . Please, please, please subscribe to the blog if you haven’t already so you don’t miss a blog post.
Talk soon,
P/S- Isn’t it interesting that I still ended up using my trip to Montreal to create a blogpost?
AwahShasha 
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