I’m back! Though… admittedly not for very long. Montreal has received a healthy dose of snow in my absence. For a metropolis it is amazing how much snow it gets every year: usually 218cm with 60 days of snowfall (though it doesn’t beat my hometown of 238cm in 46 days!) Living in Montreal in the winter is like living in a completely different city than in the summer.

A snowy Montreal means: icy sidewalks and unsteady footing, cold noses, a lacking of Bixi bikes, annoying little black sidewalk rocks that get all over your apartment and snowplough alarms waking you up in the middle of the night.

Yet, for all the annoyances…

A snowy Montreal also means: a complete change of landscape, sparkly lights on trees, spotlights burning tunnels of illumination through snow, specialty coffees at Second Cup, skating in the old port, sledding in Parc Mont Royal, Igloofest, the frequent chance to be a good samaritan and help push a car out of the snow, the patriotic pride that comes with thriving in a Canadian winter and much more…

Here’s a great song from two of Montreal’s finest:

“I’m Running” by Misstress Barabara and Sam Roberts

P.S. Big congratulations to new uncles, G and J!!! They too are big fans of Montreal winters.