Rue Mont-Royal E stretches as the E might hint at east from the foot of the mountain appropriately named Mount-Royal and the parc of the same name. South of the mountain, the parc and the Rue on the sloping lands running down to the St. Lawrence River, or Fleuve Saint Laurent, has grown the modern metropolis of Montréal, obviously named after the mountain but not to be mistaken with the leafy suburban borough lying north of Mount-Royal, named… you guessed it… Mount Royal! 

  If that sounds a tad confusing don’t get me going on the whole east-west north-south thing. 

  You see, the mountain, the parc, the Rue, the city and the borough all ride on the deck of the Island of Montréal which is anchored in the Fleuve, or River. And if you look at a map the island resembles nothing more than the side view of a person lounging back in a reclining chair with his or her feet extended west and head resting high to the north north-east at say six or seven minutes past the hour on a clock face. With that in mind the actual downtown Montréal lies at about the equivalent of said reclining person’s lower back. 

  Which is all to say Mont-Royal Est’s east is actually more like north-north-east and when I say for simplicity’s sake ‘south’ of the mountain I actually mean east south-east. Naturally then, the leafy borough of Mount Royal is more west north-west of Mont-Royal and by this time you’re probably saying to yourself “oh for heaven’s sake get on with what you were going to say in the first place!” 

  Which, come to think of it, has slipped my mind…

  Just kidding! 

  Ok, it is fall now, mid September, and since late May Rue Mont-Royal E has been closed to vehicular traffic turning it into a 2.5 km pedestrian mall. Sadly, that is coming to an end as segment by segment starting from the east the barriers come down and the street is opened up to cars, busses and trucks once more. 

  But during those magical four and a half months tens of thousands of Montrealers and visitors alike swarm the shops, terraces, parcs and play areas on a daily and nightly basis. Young and old bike, sidle and stroll while buskers from guitar strummers to electric wailers, violinists and vocalists, horn blowers and harpists, their hats or instrument cases open at their feet, serenade the passing throngs. They even dump tons of rich black soil into heavy wooden frames and grow lush temporary urban gardens along the vibrant walkway!

  Last night I bought a freshly made ‘Poulet Kanto’ sandwich out the window of the popular Kahwa Cafe just west (so to speak) of Saint-Denis and sat on a nearby church step to enjoy my dinner and watch the passing crowds. Late summer and early fall were contending for the gentle evening and I had a smile on my face as I took in the happy vibe and tried to avoid drooling the spicy sauce on shirt front or pant leg. 

  Blessings from Montréal…!