A storytelling home by Léa Plourde-Archer

Untapped Cities: Montreal Bagels

12 May 2013

In my latest article for Untapped Cities, I waxed poetic about the one and only Montreal bagel. I was walking on thin ice, writing about bagels on a blog that is based in New York. So far, the debate on Facebook has fallen in the Big apple’s favor, but only because the Untapped readers hailing from the 5 boroughs vastly outnumber those from my town. Obviously, they have never tasted a proper warm Montreal bagel in all it’s sweet and gooey yet crispy glory.
If you’d like to read it and weigh in, follow this link.
The sunny days of Spring: An afternoon at Mont-Royal park

6 May 2013

It’s that time of the year again! As soon as the weather lets us trade our down jackets and giant snow boots for tees and flipflops, most of us Montrealers feel this urgent need to get out of our house. During those short summer months where we can actually stay outside for more than 15 minutes without freezing our noses off, we like to spend as much time as possible outdoors.

Alright, I’m exaggerating a little bit about that last part. We do go out in the winter, but there’s nothing like a warm and sunny day in Spring to re-energize us and put a smile back on our face.

On Sundays, it sometimes seems like half the city’s population is in a park. The most popular one is Mont-Royal park(and the adjoining Jeanne-Mance park), a great place to have a picnic, do some hiking, hop on a bike and enjoy beautiful views of the city.

People also gather here for two very unique activities that are held each and every Sunday from April to October.

First, there’s the tam-tams.

Every summer since 1978, hundreds of people have met at the Sir Georges Étienne Cartier sculpture to hold a giant drum circle. It’s hard to know exactly how many drummers take part in the jam session, but if you count the numerous dancers and simple onlookers, it can go up in the thousands.

A little bit higher up on the hill, a group of people calling themselves the warriors of the mountain meet up to hold friendly combats. They fight with foam swords, so not to actually hurt each other. Nevertheless, their battles are to be taken seriously!
Photo post: The view from Mont Alban, Nice, French Riviera

29 April 2013

Those of you who have been following this blog for a while know that in the fall of 2009, I spent one semester abroad, studying in the south of France.

In terms of school, it was a terrible experience. You can read a bit about it here if you’d like to know my thoughts on Nice Sophia-Antipolis University (or at least, the INFOCOM program).

However, the (nearly constant) blue skies and beautiful coasts adorned with adorable houses and gorgeous flora made it all worth it.
Five artists to discover: April 2013 edition

24 April 2013

Here is what I’ve been listening to during the month of April: Once again, I’m noticing that my taste in music is all over the place, so I hope you discover something you like!

Annie: Music aficionados have been paying attention to the Swedish pop scene for years now, embracing the work of singers Robyn and Lykke Li. However, audacious pop music is also being produced in the country right next door, without garnering the same amount of praise or consideration.

Norway’s Annie is a pop star for the indie fans. She and her team of musician friends meld infectious beats together with different elements of sonority that create what the artist herself calls ‘pop with strange edges’.

Zion T: Kpop tends to be all about the big beats and bands with more members than most people have fingers. Here’s something different: Zion T.His sound is more akin to that of Justin Timberlake or Jamiroquai. An interesting change of pace in the sea of boy and girl bands!

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Dreaming of Istanbul: when a city casts a spell on you

17 April 2013

I still see myself at 15, spending hours skimming the pages of Taschen’s gorgeous book, Turkey: from the Seljuks to the Ottomans. I don’t know why but that country’s history and culture compelled me the minute I started to learn more about it.

I developed a fascination for Hagia Sophia, the famous basilica turned mosque that is now a museum. For some mysterious reason, I felt so drawn to it’s majestic architecture which was so incredibly different to anything I’d ever seen.

Seeing the city of Istanbul became a major goal on my bucket list.

I finally got to fulfill that dream in the fall of 2009, as my boyfriend and I spent a semester abroad in France. During our fall break, we traveled from Nice to Milan, Milan to Athens and finally, Athens to Istanbul (our return trip, via Sofia, Bulgaria, was just as complicated).

There it was. The city I’d been dreaming of for years now. Sure, I’d fallen over heels in love with other places like Barcelona, Paris and Venice, but Istanbul was something else. Something I’d never felt before. Was it the frenzied streets and the sinuous alleys of the bazaars? The sparkling lights of the Bosphorus bridge? The hypnotizing chants of the calls to prayer that rung 5 times a day? I haven’t yet been able to put words on what exactly drew me so much to that particular part of the world.

What I do know is that I have a general fascination with regions of the world where many cultures have mixed over the course of history. Istanbul’s past is characterized by the numerous populations that came and made their mark here. People have been stopping by for thousands of years and this fact is constantly visible, yet, Istanbul doesn’t feel totally stuck in the past like other places with such a large number of ancient monuments.

Istanbul is rich in past and fresh and lively in the present.

I miss it, and I will be there again one day.

Has any city or place you’ve visited around the world ever had such a major impact on you?