Guiding Vision

The Lost Adventures - Montreal Edition

Getting places on time is not my strong suit. There I admit it. I’m not usually that late, but just a few minutes enough to stress me out. So when it comes to traveling I always have this fear that I’ll be reenacting the scene from Home Alone where the whole family (except the kid) are running for the plane. (And for the record that has only happened to me once.)

But what my friends and family who travel with me really enjoy kidding me about is losing things. I’ve lost not one but two cell phones either at the airport or on a plane. When Tracie and I went to PubCon last December I kept leaving my boarding pass laying around. It’s a wonder we made it there and back.

So last week I was rather proud of myself for making it though two busy airports without misplacing a thing. No not once. Until…11 at night when I got to the baggage carousel. Yes the lovely airline lost my luggage. (Actually they like to call it delayed.) So this lost item was not my doing!

I still didn’t have it Tuesday morning so I had to reschedule my business meeting and go in search of some supplies to last the day. The great thing about a city like Montreal is that you can find just about anything you need within walking distance. Shops, restaurants, grocery stores, office buildings and apartments are all mixed in the same area. Also unlike many of the Texas towns I’ve lived in, it’s laid out on a grid. So it’s pretty easy to find your way around.

I really wasn’t in a big hurry since I figured most clothing stores wouldn’t be open yet. I just kept walking, enjoying the cool morning air and looking around. I walked past quite a few interesting buildings including the music school at McGill University and later, this church with bright red doors:

Then in the distance I saw signs beckoning me - Bananna Republic, Gap, Levi’s… yes I’d found a mall! The front doors were open and I walked on through. A three story galleria of shopping goodness awaited… except it was only about 8:30 and nothing was open. Drat. So I just kept walking this time turning back toward the hotel.

I wandered into one building thinking it might be another mall.  Instead I found out there was to be an exhibit of contemporary artist Claude Le Sauteur.  It was hard to resist taking a photo of this Porsche at the entrance of the exhibit:

When I got back the pharmacy across the street from the hotel, which I had totally passed by the first time, was open. So after stocking up (Revlon foundation for $18.50!) I was able to go freshen up. For my clothes shopping I actually went to La Baie which I’d found on the return portion of my morning walk, and was closer to the hotel. I was standing there at the doors at 10 when they were unlocked. This was another three story wonder which reminded me a bit of Macy’s. If I wasn’t on a time crunch I could have shopped for hours.

After my morning adventure, I was finally ready to head off to visit with my friends at eFundraising. Whew!

I certainly hope never to have to go through the lost luggage issue again — or at least will prepare for it.  But if not for that I might have missed seeing much of Downtown Montreal!