The weather took a turn for the worse on Sunday, with some thunderstorms and heavy rain. Fortunately I had already done all the main tourist to-dos on my list, so the rain didn’t really prevent me from doing anything.
After checking out of the hotel I met up with Rick and headed over to his place. He had generously offered to drive me to the airport, which was much better than taking a bus or cab in the rain.
Due to the weather, there was a lot of traffic and we ended up taking a bit of a detour that led us across the St. Lawrence River and back. The detour worked well, however, as we made it to the airport without any delays.
Here’s a picture that I took as we were crossing Pont Champlain. It was dark everywhere aside from some sun over downtown Montreal.
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As a parting thought, it’s worth mentioning that my (decent, though improving) French served very limited use during my visit to Montreal. Aside from the newscasters on TV, I could hardly understand what any of the locals were saying. And it wasn’t just due to slang – the accent is so thick / different that it was very hard to understand.
At least I can take comfort in the fact that even native French people sometimes have similar comprehension issues (or so Emilie says). Some French-Canadian programming that is broadcast in France and Switzerland even include subtitles.
I guess it’s kind of like an American trying to understand some thick British or Irish accents. Ultimately you understand, but it takes a bit more effort.
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