2017-05-27

【Aiden in English】

        After day one's experience, I felt hollow. With only three hours of sleep, I was a walking skeleton in the dawn. American Airlines offered brief moments of rest, but it really wasn't enough for my tired brain. The sluggish start to this trip also left our plans in shambles. Not only did we miss the meeting time of our first tour, so mom had to twig 3 schedules around and set up the easy one today after so much drama happened. Another day's tour replaced today's. Therefore, no activities would be missed. 

        The location of Hyatt Regency where we stayed in, downtown Montreal, was quite nice. It was within walking distance of museums, restaurants, shops, especially next to Chinatown. Today's Montreal City Guided Sightseeing Tour consisted of a drive through the metropolitan area, stopping here and there for pictures. To be honest, this was not my type of adventure. I prefer the "hop off, walk around" kind of tours, where information is much closer to my face. Under the condition that I was in, however, exercise was not a good idea. Instead, I gladly accepted the laid back, storytelling fashion of the tour, and occasionally hit the snooze button. 

        Montreal was a normal city on the outside. But because of its historic heritage, details stood out from other American icons. The downtown featured an old street of cobble. Vendors and stores lined the road like any other metropolitans. Underground, however, was a different world. Due to months of snow, many apartments and malls were linked to an underground system of stores and shops, which then revolved around a subway system. Essentially, this allowed the population of the city to remain indoors throughout most of the brutal winter. Our adventure of the Underground City included walking around for ten minutes, snapping a few photos, watching a water fountain, and getting lost. But the underground had three floors and a parking garage, which goes to show the extent of the city. 

        Canada, originally, was Native American territory. But like any other European country, France decided to "colonize" Canada. Therefore, the French culture literally stepped out of every inch of the city. From food to buildings, language to manners, Montreal was a French city among American wannabes. Luckily, we were not totally confused, as it is a national law that English and French are both equally national languages. Montreal, home to the 1976 Olympics, boasted amazing scenery as well. From Mount Royal to many skyscrapers, entire snapshots of the city could be captured on a single frame. Among the buildings, you could tell that Montreal was still a growing city. A lot of high-rises were under construction, and most roads had workers expanding the roads. This also showed that it was a changing city. Using a bit of science, the population has created many jokes about the seasons and their effects. They say Montreal has two seasons: winter and construction. If you don't understand, ask your parents. 

        So what is Montreal like today? Well, it's actually quite nice, like its people. They party a lot. They dance in the streets, hold parades, and gather crowds to watch. This gives the area spirit and a soul. City wise, the culture is in a drastic change. Technology has slowly integrated into everything. Montreal itself feels like a modern city rapidly growing over but not covering its origins. I like that. And in many more ways than one, it's oddly relatable to Philadelphia. 

【紅霞譯文】

        經過前一天折騰，我身心疲憊，僅剩下仨鐘頭睡眠時間，難怪凌晨出門的時候我宛如一具行屍走肉。美國航空公司只給我們留出這點喘息工夫，弄得腦袋瓜總是昏昏沉沉。一步沒趕上步步趕不上，本次旅遊出師不利，致使整個計劃陷入僵局。因為錯過第一天集合時間，媽媽不得不在應對諸多戲劇性變化之後重新調整今後三天出遊行程，把另外一天的活動挪到今天來搞，這樣每項安排不會泡湯。

        我們入住的凱悅大酒店坐落在蒙特利爾鬧市區，位置相當理想，距離博物館、餐館、商店、尤其是唐人街僅有幾步之遙。今天我們乘坐旅遊大巴跟隨導遊橫穿全城，駐足各大招牌景點，不時捕捉鏡頭算作對自己有所交待，說實話這種遊憩方式並不符合本人口味，我倒情願“下車遛達”，親身感受當地風土人情。而針對現有條件，要想活動筋骨未必可行。既然如此，我不如順其自然，邊聽故事邊兜風，偶爾再打個盹養足精神。

        外觀上，蒙特利爾是一個挺不起眼的城市，但由於歷史悠久，一座別具人文魅力的古城就這樣從北美地標上脫穎而出。老城街巷少不了用鵝卵石鋪築，如同其它各大都會，馬路兩旁商家店鋪魚貫而出，地下城儼然是一個不同的世界，由於每年冰天雪地長達數月之久，許多公寓大廈購物中心皆與地下綜合設施聯成一體，地鐵沿線更是車水馬龍。實質上，每當嚴冬來臨，地下城為當地人開闢了室內活動新天地。其間我們專程考察了地下城，前後不出十分鐘，從逛街遛彎拍張留影到觀看噴泉表演，剛一轉身立刻掉向。地下城建有三層，附設停車場，由此可見它的規模氣勢。

        加拿大原本屬於印第安人地盤，但像歐洲其它國家一樣，法國決定把它開發成“殖民地”，因此法國文化滲透到社會各個角落，從飲食到建築，從語言到禮儀，蒙特利爾堪稱北美土壤里綻放的法蘭西奇葩。幸虧加拿大國語為英法兩種文字，我們才不至於深陷困境。曾經舉辦過1976年奧運會的蒙特利爾風景秀麗，皇家山和各式各樣的摩天大樓成為全城的一道風景線，從這些建築物中不難看到這座城市依舊處於發展階段,不少高樓正加緊施工，拓寬路面的工人無處不在，表明蒙特利爾還是一個日趨變化的城市。引用一點科學術語，人們編出很多跟季節有關並帶有感情色彩的笑話，蒙特利爾總共有兩個季節：冬天和施工，假如你不明白什麼意思，不妨問一下父母。

        那麼今天的蒙特利爾到底怎樣呢？它非常和善，正如當地老百姓一樣；擅長各種爬梯，愛在大街上跳舞，喜歡遊行示威，樂於集會湊熱鬧，這些有助於激發人的精神風貌。就城市而言，文化發生了巨變，科技已經逐漸滲透到各個領域，蒙特利爾就像一個現代化城市快速發展但又不掩飾自己的過去，我喜歡這個樣子。說來也怪，蒙特利爾聽起來在很多方面很像費城。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2012: 維吉尼亞州阿薩蒂格島(Assateague, VA)

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