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These photo depictions of my favourite spot

Cover of "The Street"

Cover of The Street

may strike many as surprising but when I think of home, I think of Montreal. While I was born here, I was raised in Ontario. Moving back here to Montreal brought me full circle. These photos are the only ones I have from my own photo collection… since losing many with a computer crash last year. I took them about two weeks ago as this area is also a favourite spot for meeting friends who are scattered around Montreal or in from out of town.

My favourite spot in the city is the old dividing point of French (east) and English (west) which splits the island of Montreal in two – the street numbers start at 1 going each way. My older brother first told me the stories and introduced me to the area when I was sixteen and I hold many precious memories of him and I exploring there (mostly our taste buds). The scents and ambiance will stay with me, always.
What remains today is St. Lawrence Street, and Boulevard St. Laurent which is, even after many years immigration alley. Home to business people, immigrants and artists alike. Home to whomever visits. Home to every single walk of life imaginable. It is home to me and while I live out in the suburbs now this will forever be my favourite spot in Montreal. I love it as it embraces everyone and accepts them as its own. It is all-inclusive; a buffet of ethnicity and authenticity.

To look at more photos of the area please click on the links below

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/66328-m-for-montreal-day-2-part-1/

http://travel.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977645187

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Laurent_Boulevard

There have been several books set in Montreal, but none as telling as the works of Mordecai Richler. He writes of St. Urbain Street which runs parallel with St. Laurent. Both streets cover the whole island in a north/south direction.

An Amazon Review  The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (Paperback) by Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001)

Duddy Kravitz grew up on the wrong side of town to most Montrealers. His neighbourhood was poor, but not abject. It had a marvellous immigrant-village life that the writer transmits to us. “The Apprenticeship…” is hilarious and painfully honest as it portrays the 1940s Montreal Jewish community. You will meet them, warts and all. I first read this as a sensitive teen and I was appalled by what a flawed person Duddy finally grew into. The author is a master of dialect and lucid description. His subsequent books have also been funny, but formulaic. Duddy Kravitz is the apotheosis of Mordecai Richler‘s talent.

Just one last little fact: Montreal is a baby by world-wide standards. Montreal was incorporated as a city in 1632.

This post is part of a weekly feature that is hosted by http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/ where Jake provides a word of Inspiration and participants post according to their conception of the word. This Sunday Post word is Favourite Spot

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