Jun
Passport Confessional | Montréal 2016
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This month, I attended the Canadian Grand Prix in Montréal, Quebec. This was by far the easiest trip abroad. Only a few hours away via Air Canada. This has to be the shortest international flight where I needed to fill out a customs card. And yet, I was so heavily scrutinized at customs and TSA, even I thought I was carrying drugs up my backside. Because this trip was so brief, I’ll only focus on three themes.
1. There is so much more happening in Montréal besides the Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix season brings talent and Formula (F1) fans from all over the world to cities like Monaco, Sao Paulo, and yes, Montréal. I thought, Okay, the city will be gridlocked, and Metro traffic will be insane. Not only was foot traffic really well managed at the events, so much else was happening that Montrealers don’t even care about the Grand Prix. There was the FrancoFolies de Montreal celebrating French music. The Mural Festival along Boulevard St-Laurent. The Portuguese Festival. Then there’s the Museé d’art contemporain (MAC) showing the works of Edmund Alleyn and the Biosphere dedicated to environmental awareness and climate change.
2. I will always be drawn to the artists.
Even though the Grand Prix kicks off other festivals with its own on Crescent Street, I was nowhere near that. Instead, I hung out in St-Henri and Mont-Royal. My favorite experience occurred upon exiting the subway at Mont-Royal. A freeform music and dance processional took place, starting across the street, and ending up within the subway. Not sure of the name, but this artists collective has been around for over 35 years, and has been a mainstay in the city.
I know this from the local barista the day spa where I got a much-restorative massage and berry smoothie.
One of the things I observed is that while Montréal is a very ethnically-diverse city, representations of those ethnic groups are not featured so prominently in its large arts community. With a few exceptions, it’s very clear imagery is abstract, animalistic, or European. Meanwhile, there are significant Latin, Asian, and Caribbean, and Arab communities very obvious if you walk the streets of the city.
3. Lewis Hamilton is an incredible driver.
It was really impressive seeing Lewis maintain a top position — two hours at finals, three rounds of practice at two hours each, three 12 minute qualifying rounds — all over the course of three days. He, of course, went on to win the Montreal Grand Prix, his 5th consecutive win; a feat few other drivers have accomplished. He is also a rare driver to set pole position and go on to win the race. On the second day of qualifying rounds, Lewis set a new pole position record of 1:12.
Video: How long will Lewis Hamilton keep racing?
As an F1 fan in the U.S., I only get to see a highly-edited version of theF1 racing. It’s another experience to hear and feel the cars racing by, smell the exhaust and tires burning, feel the risk right in front of you. It’s also fun participating the food and drink along the perimeter. Puffy fried dough covered in Nutella, a hamburger topped with the spicy brown mustard and pillowy soft goat cheese, and añejo tequila shots for only $5 a pop.
I had an amazing dinner at Restaurant Candide, an open kitchen style fine dining restaurant located in the basement of a church. But only after a pair of other black women and I were called “niggers” out of a screaming vehicle. On more than a few times, I had to pull rank with other Grand Prix attendees, as I had a pretty good ticket. But not everyone was like that. Most people were very smart and friendly. The Metro was reminiscent of the DC Metro; big and fairly uncomplicated. The New York vibe was very strong, but the laid-back vibe of Portland was there as well. I would go back to Montreal. It has all the best part of New York, Portland, Milwaukee, Paris, and D.C. And leaves most of the worst parts behind.
Passport Confessional is a blog series on IDSL dedicated to places I’ve traveled to, outside of the U.S.