Beautiful Sunny Day - Where is Everyone?
The past week was Spring Break week for schools in Quebec - la semaine de relâche. The weather was amazing (five degrees and sunny) all week. The birds were chirping, the flies started flying. Perfect spring weather. Animals were coming out of hibernation....well most animals.
Being a family that likes the outdoors we wanted to spend as much time out there as possible. So on Tuesday we headed to Oka Provincial Park (I just can't get myself to call them National Parks as they do in Quebec) for some snowshoeing. At one of the two summits there is a historical site, the Calvaire d'Oka, with three chapels built in 1742. It also has a great view looking south over the Lake of Two Mountains - still partly frozen. The sun was shining, its warmth was felt, the snow was melting, the rays reflected off the lake, we had our jackets open and we soaked in the sun. Very, very nice.
Sitting up there and taking in the view my thoughts wandered to Vancouver, as they often do. I was surprised at how few people were enjoying the day and the sights on such a beautiful, sunny Spring Break day. We were alone, or just about. It struck me as unfortunate that more people were not out and about enjoying the beauty of nature around this city. So that was Tuesday. Was it an exception? No.
Ditto for skiing in Sutton, Quebec on Wednesday.
Ditto for skating on the Mount-Royal on Thursday.
Ditto for walking the streets of Old Montreal on Friday.
Where was everybody??? In Vancouver, on sunny spring days, even when it is not Spring Break, the place would have been busy. Why is it that Montrealers just do not seem to take to the outdoors? It is not the distance - Oka is only a forty minute drive from where we live. It is not the weather - Sunny, warm, beautiful day. It is not the lack of population - Montreal has close to 4 million vs. 2 million for Vancouver. So what's the deal? Is it that there is better shopping, better cinema, better restaurants, museums? No, no, no and no. Only those who get sucked into stereotypes would buy those reasons. Montreal does not offer any more cultural distractions than Vancouver. So what is it? I just don't know.
I have commented in past entries about how I have always felt that Montrealers seem to be less active and less fit than Vancouverites. Yes, this is a generality and, consequently, not all you readers will fit into my stereotype of unfit, smoking, Labatt 50 guzzling, pot-bellied Montrealers. Having said that, though, many of you will. Too bad. Rather than hopping in your car to go to the mall or the cinema you could, at least sometimes, head into the great outdoors and get active.
Montrealers....get out, about and into shape!
Comments