I am on vacation at the moment in Montréal, and aside from the nagging of my prematurely arthritic knees, I'm having a great time. We've rented an apartment in the Plateau Mont-Royal—a large residential district north of the downtown and student quarter and east of the actual 'mountain' for which the city is named—and the location is terrific. We look out on a pleasant little square and are around the corner from a pedestrian street full of ethnic restaurants and cafes, just a couple blocks from a metro stop. From here, we've been able to make forays in many directions: we've taken the kids out to the Biodôme at the Olympic Park, gone shopping at the food market in Little Italy, scoped out Chinatown, and strolled the old city and Vieux-Port. The tourist stuff is nice, but probably the biggest pleasure for us is just the urban fix. Living in rural Kentucky gives one a new appreciation for small amenities like being able to buy good bread just around the corner.

It's also Jazz Festival time here. Sylvia and I wandered among some of the free stages last night, but as out anniversary present to each other, we also sprang for tickets to a couple of the big-name events: the Wayne Shorter Quartet tonight and Elvis Costello ("jazz" being construed very loosely at this festival) on Monday. I'll try to report on these events later.

Some first impressions. Montréal is a good size: big enough to have a lot of diversity and a lot going on, but small enough to be manageable. As promised, it is rather 'European' in feel (an effect that is heightened by its being predominantly Francophone), although without the pervasive weight of age of comparable European cities (many of the 'old' structures in Vieux-Montréal would hardly be worth a mention in a city with more history). In any case, its a refreshing change of pace from our usual quotidian.