So I actually think I figured out my trip to Canada. My friend actually came up with the idea, and I figured I'd roll with it. I was originally gonna drive into Canada (It was between Montreal and Toronto). I went to get coffee with a good friend of mine, and they suggested if I decided on Montreal to just take the train from NY Penn to Montreal. It's a ridiculously long ride, but from what I've seen it's really scenic, so why not? Plus, it is pretty cheap in terms of travel. I figured I would spend one full week there because the ride is so long I essentially miss out on two days. The only real issue I think I might have is that I know Montreal is predominantly French-speaking, so I wonder if I will struggle with a language barrier. Beyond that I'm strongly considering Montreal over Toronto for now. I probably won't get a chance to go until maybe august at some point. You probably saw that video on the internet with Pharrell telling that woman (Maggie Rogers) that her music was really great, well the song was actually released today (yesterday?). I really like the song, Maggie Rogers - Alaska
Thanks for the song link! I didn't know how long we'd have to wait. edit to add: Any other music you can recommend in a similar vein? Hell, anything you like at all?
You should not have any problems not speaking French, everyone working in service s bilingual, and i'd say 80% of regular Montrealers. You only risk running into trouble if you go out of the city into the countryside. When are you going? I think he francofolies started, next it's jazzfest. Free concerts downtown all day every day. What are your interests? I can recommend you some stuff to do too! MTL represent 😉
Unless things change I probably won't be able to head out there until late July, early August. My interests are pretty varied. Music and art are always a big thing for me when I visit any major city. Any like botanical gardens, or easier nature trails I'm always a big fan of. I'm interested in good coffee, and good food. Honestly any places of interest I will do my best to visit.
That train ride should be ridiculously scenic. It looks like the tracks are along Lake Champlain for a long chunk, and you might even see some of the Adirondack mountains to the west. I've been to Montreal and haven't had problems knowing only English. I did the best I could with my extremely limited French, and the locals worked with me in their really quite good English.