Je Me Souviens

...translated in English, "I remember," and also the Montreal license plate catch-phrase. I've been traveling to Montreal since I was a wee one and have many of my own memories of the city, along with my parents', even my grandparents' memories, which sometimes get tangled with mine. When I'm there, I often think about people who have moved away from home, especially those who have moved here to L.A. to pursue their dreams. Perhaps it is easier to start fresh when you ditch your ghosts, your memories, generations of memories, some yours, others forced upon you by your family history. Whenever I'm in Montreal, I can't help but picture my parents as little kids, trudging through the snow, hanging out in their respective childhood neighborhoods with their gaggle of young cousins, now grandparents themselves, inspiring new collective memories for the younger generation. 

I arrived from Toronto via train and just in time because the whole Canadian rail system went on strike a few days later. From my arrival on Monday, to my departure on Sunday the trip passed in a blur of relatives, hotels, food... I attended a funeral for my aunt, dined at Moishe's steakhouse (I always order the fish), a place I've been visiting since I was born, shopped on Ste. Catherine Street, hung out with cousins, drank Ouzo, marveled at the greenery, helped my parents clean out my aunt's house, which was also my grandparents' house, unearthing layer after layer of more memories, I ate a coffee crisp, stored up on Montreal bagels, missed Mimi, (who has since moved to England, creating new memories for herself) ran into someone I knew at the Just For Laughs Comedy festival, swam laps in the hotel pool, pinched my 99-year old great aunt's cheeks (something I've been doing since I was a kid), explored Old Montreal, ate Chinese food, Greek, Indian, and more Chinese. Here are some pictures to prove it...

Visiting the Ann Kahane exhibit. You might recognize the look of this artist as my parents own one of her sculptures (and are receiving another one once the exhibit is over).
Drinks on the roof deck of a hotel in Old Montreal. Our waiter Jimmy was enthralled that my parents moved from Montreal to Los Angeles.
The Just For Laughs comedy festival flags, dotting the city.
Montreal skyline.
Pinching Minchu's cheeks.