Have you ever heard someone call a city...just another city! I understand how the perpetual tourist eventually starts to feel this way. A lot of touristy stuff feels the same after a little while. There are only so many churches and museums one can handle.
As someone who has lived in different places, I have have developed intimate relationships with them beyond that and I would argue that places are in fact much like people-not made of the same mold. We connect with some, we dislike others, we fall in love with them and YES, there is chemistry. I think the energy of the world circulates in places just as they do do in people. The histories and stories of places mark them and leave behind traces. Some traces are obvious like the monuments and buildings but some are simply felt, not put into words and completely abstract. This is where that connection comes in.
In a small miniseries of blog entries to follow, I will Introduce to all my cities personified! To start it all, meet Montreal!
Montreal-My hometown- She's my best friend! My old friend!
She has an uncanny sense of style- boho, sexy and classy mashed up in her eclectic way! She tends to succeed at this with a casual veneer to her manner. She is a North American girl. She is a European girl. She is old and she is new. She is frightfully cold at times. Few people know how painfully hot she can also be!
She is openly conflicted. She loves her diversity and her complexity but on some days, she gets into an emotional frenzy about whether or not office microwave buttons should be in French or in English.
Friday nights, her European flair comes out. Her streets come to life and with all the people out about who make her who she is. She is easy going. Go on, just bring your own bottle and dine in those charming little bistros. It's cold out tonight! No matter! Al the more reason to have a good time!
We are not always together but just like an old friend, I see her again and it is like nothing has changed. We reconnect and bond over old memories and create new ones with the familiarity our relationship has.
As someone who has lived in different places, I have have developed intimate relationships with them beyond that and I would argue that places are in fact much like people-not made of the same mold. We connect with some, we dislike others, we fall in love with them and YES, there is chemistry. I think the energy of the world circulates in places just as they do do in people. The histories and stories of places mark them and leave behind traces. Some traces are obvious like the monuments and buildings but some are simply felt, not put into words and completely abstract. This is where that connection comes in.
In a small miniseries of blog entries to follow, I will Introduce to all my cities personified! To start it all, meet Montreal!
Montreal-My hometown- She's my best friend! My old friend!
She has an uncanny sense of style- boho, sexy and classy mashed up in her eclectic way! She tends to succeed at this with a casual veneer to her manner. She is a North American girl. She is a European girl. She is old and she is new. She is frightfully cold at times. Few people know how painfully hot she can also be!
She is openly conflicted. She loves her diversity and her complexity but on some days, she gets into an emotional frenzy about whether or not office microwave buttons should be in French or in English.
Friday nights, her European flair comes out. Her streets come to life and with all the people out about who make her who she is. She is easy going. Go on, just bring your own bottle and dine in those charming little bistros. It's cold out tonight! No matter! Al the more reason to have a good time!
We are not always together but just like an old friend, I see her again and it is like nothing has changed. We reconnect and bond over old memories and create new ones with the familiarity our relationship has.
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