We’ve been to Montréal before – it’s only a little more than a 2-1/2 hour drive from our house – though it has only once made it into the blog. We already knew it’s not a great place to be driving around in an RV (it’s not really all that easy in a car!). We also found out that the city would be hosting the 2026 UCI Road World Championship bike races during the time we were looking to be there – this was certain to complicate getting around in the city. However, Montréal is great for pedestrians (as well as bikes), the city has world-class public transportation, and, probably most helpful for us, it is home to a large and thriving community of Uber drivers. There is also a very reasonably priced RV park at the marina in Longeueil, right across the river from Vieux-Montréal, and it had quite a few open sites (after Labor Day…). Reviews of the park mentioned a water taxi from the marina – romantic and convenient to be sure, but, alas, no longer running. Fortunately, it was an easy Uber ride across the Jacques-Cartier bridge to anywhere we wished to go.
We met Ronan at Le Centainaire overlook we had all hiked to in Mont Tremblant National Park. Over lunch on the rocky outcrop, he told us he had just moved to Montréal from France for a final semester of grad school, and we told him of our planned stop in Montréal. We discussed getting together if we could.
We arrived in Montréal a day early and dropped Ronan a note. Yes, he was interested and available for lunch. Yay! He recommended a ramen restaurant – Yokato Yokabai Ramen – that had been highly recommended to him, and it was a fantastic choice! Our next foodie segment! From the outside, a non-descript facade betrayed the funky vibe of this tiny Asian-inspired restaurant, sharing space with its more classical Japanese sibling across the entryway. Custom ramen bowls were offered along with a selection of side dishes. Everything was exceptionally well prepared and presented. The dishes were came out over time and the pace was relaxed, giving us plenty of time to chat.
It was fun. Ronan is relaxed and curious (as well as patient with our language skills) and our conversations ranged far, though I think the details are not important here. We enjoyed hearing the perspective of someone from Europe, as well as someone from Gen Z (we are probably old enough to be Ronan’s grandparents!), and perhaps the biggest surprise was how much we seem to have in common. I hope we’ll stay in touch, and who knows where our paths may cross again?
Lesley, Matt and I were colleagues at Ernst & Young over 30 years ago, early in our respective management consulting careers. Although we all moved on to different jobs and different work over the years, Lesley and I collaborated again later on, including on the last consulting project I did before retiring. It was always a pleasure to work with Lesley.
At the moment Lesley and Matt are expats in Montréal. After raising their 2 sons in the Boston suburbs, they thought they would enjoy an urban lifestyle. Having ruled out Boston (been there, done that), they’ve been living in a super Montréal neighborhood – strolling to the coffee shop at the end of the block, then to the park at around the corner or any of a million hole-in-the-wall restaurants within an easy walk – and leave the car behind, except for once in a while to go outside of the city. It is really an awesome lifestyle! We visited Lesley and Matt about a year and a half ago when we went up to Montréal to see a concert by one of my drumming mentors and, having been smitten by what we saw of the city, we wanted to see more (and of course we wanted to see our friends again!).
Lesley suggested that we meet up at Angelina’s Cuisine Italienne for dinner. (The foodie segments of our trip continue to mount!) Once again, this was a customized dinner – pick your sauce, your fave pasta, and maybe a few add-ons. Again, starting with a few appetizers slowed the pace of the meal and gave us plenty of time to catch up. And the food was delicious!
Happy with their experience with urban living, our friends talked about looking for another urban experience that would be slightly warmer in winter, probably back in the States. Wherever they are, hopefully we’ll get to catch up with them there. Glad we got to meet up again in Montréal!
For anyone interested, more Montréal/Longueuil pix…