McGill University

Having been at McGill for almost a year and a half now, I have become accustomed to the surroundings of endless books at the library, some scaffolding here and there, and the archaic vibe the rusted buildings give off. However, walking through the Roddick Gates and onto campus, I looked up and for some reason, I couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful the school actually is. Like I said before, since I have been here I have learned to overlook most things that once impressed me, including the gorgeous buildings that have stood in their place for over a hundred years.

To start off, the history of McGill is very interesting. Founded in 1821 by James McGill, a prominent Merchant from Scotland, McGill is one of the oldest universities in Canada, having been established 46 years before the Canadian Confederation. The university sits on 79 acres, divided into two campuses, one smackdab in the middle of downtown Montreal on one on the West Island; it also has 29 faculties and offers degrees in over 300 areas.

Interesting facts on the university include it didn't become academically active until 1829, there are almost 215,000 living almuni worldwide, and a range of students and professors receiving notable recognitions ranging from Nobel prizes to Olympic medals. The university has also had historic competitions with various other Canadian schools, including a rowing competition with Queen's, a soccer tournament with the "old four" (Queen's, Western, and UofT), etc.

The university today is ranked 17th in the world, which is quite a prestigious title. I personally love how in the summer, the Arts building has a flower bed in front of it shaped to Montreal's crest, that countless students sit on lower field doing work or chatting, and during the winter when the christmas lights are shining and the snow makes everything shimmer. To those who are not familiar with the school, I highly suggest that if you are ever in the city, take a quick walk through campus and look at the buildings, the students, and everything else the university has to offer. It's quite a nice break from city life.

Bell Centre

To anyone who has ever visited, lived, or studied in Montreal, they must have heard the term "Bell Centre" being thrown around a little. I am one of those people who have heard about the centre, but have never expressed an interest in learning more or seeing what it is used for (apart from Habs' games). However, that changed last week.

My friend Katrina and I booked tickets to see the Watch the Throne concert, featuring none-other than Kanye West and Jay-Z. The concert was held last Tuesday, November 22, and Montreal was surely blessed to have these performers since the city was added in a last minute change to the tour. Having witnessed how difficult it was to get tickets at a reasonable price (reasonable being lower than $100), I was fully aware that the concert was sold out and that the centre would be absolutely packed.

We walked over Tuesday night, joining the crowds that were all slowly making their way to the centre, located at the intersection of Drummond and Rene-Levesque. In front of the centre were four statues of Montreal Canadiens' legends including the only name I was familiar with, Maurice Richard. The statues were quite intricate and there was a little bit of information about each player written into them as well. Right before one walks in, there is a line of t-shirts with numbers on it; I'm not sure if they signified the players that are currently on the team or retired numbers representing the all-time best players.

After waiting another 20min for the gates to open, we were allowed into the stadium where we were welcomed with tons of vendors selling everything from extremely overpriced shirts to even more extremely overpriced beer, drinks, and food. However, the halls were lined with photos of performers who had once upon a time blessed the centre with a performance. As we walked along the halls, there were team photos of the Habs, dating back to the 30s! Although the only player I was still capable of recognizing (Maurice Richard), it was very interesting to see how the team had changed over the decades that it has been playing hockey.

The stadium itself if quite large and holds thousands of people. Although Katrina and I were in the nosebleed section, we still had a great view of the stage and eventually the performers. It was nice to feel like we were sitting in seats that had been sat in by so many people, either watching the famous hockey players skate around their rink or scream to the lyrics of various artists that had stopped by to play.

Even if you don't feel the need to go to a concert or see a hockey game (or if you simply can't because, like me, I live off of a college student budget), just walk around the stadium when no events are taking place and look at what it has to offer. The history is quite captivating and you'll find that the Bell Centre is much more than it seems to be.

Garbage Day

When we first moved into our apartment, my roommates and I were presented with 3 things as we took our first steps into our new home: 1) a TON of trash, dirt, dust, dirty plates, moldy food, etc. that the old tenants had nicely left behind for us to clean, 2) a TON of old furniture that they failed to dispose of and felt the need to dump on us, and 3) a piece of paper stating the dates of the garbage/recycling pick up. We had our work spelled out quick frankly.

My roommates and I have since adjusted to the schedule of taking out trash (or the many times we say we will and forget or are just too lazy to do) and respectfully separating the recycling items for the wellness of the environment. However, the old tenants never wrote anything down about a certain little composting unit that was just down the street from us.

I have a roommate that is slightly a little more into the "wellness of the environment" than my other roommate and myself and she noted that we failed to have a compost to properly get rid of any food scraps we had left over. I myself have never had a compost, and was a little surprised that she suggested we start one since I had no idea where we would get rid of the contents. Surely one doesn't simply make a compost to throw everything in the garbage later.

As my roommate continued her spiel on how we should start composting, she mentioned a little composting unit that was only two blocks from our apartment (the corner of Duluth and Parc). Being the oblivious person I am, I realized that this little spot she was talking about was something I passed by every time I walked to school, and every time I returned. To my defense, the site is not something that immediately stands out and screams "BRING YOUR UNWANTED FOOD TO ME;" it just looks like two old gas tanks fenced in with some weeds and plants surrounding it with some random spray paint here and there. I went to the site and actually saw that there is a schedule when one can bring their old, unwanted scraps and that people actually manage the site very well.

I'm impressed that people have established such a site to help with the contemporary and growing "green" movement. I researched compost in Montreal to see if there were any more sites similar to the one and unfortunately didn't come up with too many results. However, although there are only a select few scattered across the city, there is a service that picks up your compost for only 5$ a month! (Compost Montreal) Now you can feel good about doing your share to help better the Earth :)

Treasure #6: Composting unit at the corner of Parc and Duluth

Le Cap Vert

It's always fun when someone you know decides to stop by in the city you live and take you out for a quick bite to catch up. However, the best part is always deciding where to eat! One thing that I absolutely love about Montreal is that the places where one can eat are endless. Anything from a little cafe to a large franchise and everything in between can be found within the streets of the city. Although my goal is to try out every restaurant, I know this is unreasonable so I can only say that I've been to the spare few restaurants that I can afford on a student budget. To reiterate, this is why it's great when people come and take you out.

The people who stopped by were old family friends from back home (Connecticut) who came up to celebrate the birthday of their boss. I met up with them at around noon and conducted a brief tour of McGill and it's grounds until we found ourselves walked down McGill College towards Sainte Catherine's. My friend had suggested a small little bistro named Le Cap Vert, telling me that it had wonderful food that everyone could enjoy.

As we walked in, the small bistro gave off a lovely scent of freshly baked goods which heightened our hunger even more. We sat down and received the menu, which luckily enough was bilingual. Most of the family ordered a Croque Monsieur while I had a smoked salmon sandwich with some french fries on the side. As we sat chit-chatting and catching up, the food finally arrived and I was pleasantly surprised with what was presented on the plates. Surprisingly, the sandwiches were all made with pita bread and the fries were extremely crispy, which might not suit others but is a style I absolutely love. Some of the other members sitting at the table had chicken (which was also given a good rating), and the Croque Monsieurs which were delightful as well. None of us managed to finish our plates and we were all quite full as we walked outside the door.

Although the bistro isn't Zagat rated or said to be the best in the world, I definitely suggest to those who enjoy a simple lunch to go and check it out. With great prices, great food, and a great atmosphere, who wouldn't want to?

Treasure #5: The bistro Le Cap Vert