Trifter

One cannot forget the winters and when the summers come they are much more enjoyable. The city has its negative points that get cancelled with the festivals that attract summer tourists. The old part of the city attracts people all year round but he summer means a different crowd of tourists that go the jazz fest to see performers like Stevie Wonder or go to a comedy film a “Just for Laughs” starring Robin Williams. There are over 90 construction sites in the city operating at the same time while festivities are underway and one gets the impression that Montreal is like that a mix of what is planned for enjoyment  and the chaos that surrounds keeping a big city in shape.

The city has its homeless, they have multiplied over recent years living near metro areas where they can keep warm and the mega hospital project is still incomplete. Supposedly the plans for it have been solidified and it will be up soon but in the meantime hospitals are understaffed and emergency cases go unwatched. Is this the scenario in other big cities? One would not have expected it in this one, with a woman from Pakistan giving birth while there was no attendant.

There are your staple attractions attracting tourists especially in the summer like the Botanical gardens and the Olympic Stadium with the highest leaning tower. One wonders how that managed to stay erect given the problems in maintaining that construction over the years. The Botanical Gardens and its Insectarium are awe inspiring for children that go through and get a butterfly to land on their clothing. The Dow Planetarium is supposed to move to a new location, I understand and we are still hopefully that Notre Dame Island will get back its sports car.

Tonight I went to the amphitheatre in the middle of the park in front of my place and wondered what other free films there might be. Summer is the time to get out and enjoy what’s new and the city does rejuvenate itself with new film venues coming up, or the restructuring of of a popular intersection like that at Pine and Park. In the meantime the old plateau neighbourhood although not wiped out has become more commercialized over the last ten years. It is just like New York, an older part will be renewed and the new will sprout from the old in a continuous shift.

Image via Wikipedia

Image by Picantico via Flickr

races.