Montreal

I have just redisovered after a bout of cynicism that Montreal is teeming with life. Whatever energy you desire to draw, Montreal has the places that you can draw it from. There is the typical Montreal lifestyle, to living in duplex apartments where your balcony faces out onto a virtual balcony village, cats scamper around, children play in the back alleys with bare feet, hobos stagger around like cartoon prototypes of themselves, all which contain elements of freedom and danger similar to that of a third world country. The traffic on the many bike paths through the city is often as busy as the car traffic, musicians in the park play oboes, guitars, tablas, and psychedelic flute. People litter the sidewalks and streets, some beautiful, all fascinating, which results in a perpetual people show that you could watch for hours and never get bored. It's the Canadian Amsterdam, sexuality, art, music, youth, history, a unique culture that you can't find anywhere else in the world (at least where I've been).