Saturday

By far the King of All Days. Full of the optimism that comes with the knowledge that, no matter what, the weekend doesn't end soon (take that, Sunday night) and the energy restored by "some good sack time," as Kramer once put it. Add lots of sunshine and a nice breeze and you've got yourself a winner.

Montrealers have a bit of a geographical bias problem. Mt. Royal, the Plateau and the waterfront are more or less equidistant from pretty much any point downtown, yet the psychological distance of walking down Peel to the canal is much greater than than walking up to the Mountain or up and east to the Plateau. Part of the problem is that there's more to see walking up Peel than walking down.

Anyhow, this afternoon I took a long walk along the Lachine Canal, from the Charelvoix Lock to the Peel Basin, where I decided I'd probably tear a hole through my old sandals before making it to the port. I can't remember ever walking that stretch of the Canal; it was lovely. In-line skaters and cyclists whizzed by me, while many folks were picnicking or catching some shade under the trees that line the water. Kayakers and paddleboaters made the Canal seem beyond inviting, and the great views of Montreal's industrial past in the foreground and its unique downtown in the background were a treat.

The surrounding neighbourhoods are coming alive (some more than others, as I'll soon find out) and there's a feeling that they might yet be restored. I spent a weekend in Chicago two months ago and was thrilled to be in a major city that so embraced its waterfront. If you're ever there, take one of the architecture riverboat cruises (I caught mine at the Navy Pier and learned about most of the city's 100+ skyscrapers).

Montreal can continue to expand to the South Shore and Laval, or it can make the centre of town, much of which is down and out and ready for a comeback, chez-nous. There's some politial will, and real estate developers have begun to conclude that there's money to be made. The Société du Havre has done a great job imagining our city twenty years from now. Loto-Québec wants to bring the Casino downtown, which, though it would make gambling a bigger problem than it ought to be, represents some kind of vision for a large-scale project to invigorate the area south of downtown, stimulating further development and making the city centre its coeur. So who's going to lead the way? If Mayor Once, Mayor Forever Pierre Bourque makes it a priority, he'll be close to getting my vote this fall. Same goes for Mayor Uncle Junior. In the meantime, leave it to a bunch of bright McGillians.

Time to find a terrase.