Montreal - Day 1

Today I am in Montreal. My flight from Fayetteville to Cleveland went very well, with nothing of importance happening. However, my Cleveland-Montreal flight featured a 30 minute circling of the city to wait out a storm and then another 20 or so minute wait on the ground for the workers, who were unable to work during the storm. After that, the day went very well. We checked into our hotel, which has a great view and a great location in the heart of downtown, and then went to Mont Royal Park. I had heard a lot of good things about the park, since it is the main attraction in Montreal, and it didn't disappoint. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the same person who designed Central Park, and I noticed some similarities with the small amount of Central Park that I have seen. It was heavily wooded, with trails going in every direction. We walked for a long time, taking several detours, and finally arrived at the Belvedere du Chalet, which is the main overlook of the park. The view from there was amazing, and it was definitely worth the long walk. After that, we saw some more mundane sections of the park, with open spaces and scattered trees. That was pretty much all for the park today, since we were pretty tired. Tonight we ate at a pizzeria, which was very good. I noticed how just how much busier the city is at night,creating more of a New York-like atmosphere. As for my French skills, they haven't yet been needed to any great extent. I estimate that probably 95 percent of the people in Montreal speak both English and French, so I haven't yet built up the confidence to try and use my French much. I did, however, have a conversation with our taxi driver, who was Lebanese and didn't speak much English. So far, it has been a great trip and I have really liked Quebec and its people.