Montreal treated me well, and I got to do some interesting things once the seminar ended.

Old Montreal from the bridge to St Helen’s Island

I went to a cat café–yes, it’s exactly how it sounds! You order your food/beverages and hang out with cats! I had the “Crazy Cat Lady” sandwich and then played with some of the cats and kittens who all came from shelters.

Cat practicing tricks

The cats are permanent residents, whereas the kittens stay there for a few months to socialize before being adopted. They have free range of the café (except the kitchen), and there is a separate room with a cat door so they can get away from people as needed. For cat lovers like me who aren’t in a position to have a pet, this concept is great.

My final day in Montreal was spent biking in Old Montreal and St. Helen’s Island with Lisa. Montreal is a very bike-friendly city; they have bike kiosks called Bixi (similar to the Divvy system in Chicago) where you can get a 24-hour pass to check out a bike for unlimited 30-minute rides. We went into the Notre Dame Basilica, which was breathtaking.

Notre Dame Basilica

There are intricate details everywhere you look — statues, staircases, stained glass, a separate chapel, paintings, and more. I think it would be worth it to have a guided tour next time to learn about the history of every section.

Green Space in Montreal

After the Basilica, we biked for about a half hour to St. Helen’s Island. We had a map, but my intuition and sense of direction just weren’t on par that day, so we took several unintended detours on the return trip. Luckily, we made it back to the apartment with four minutes to spare before the taxi arrived to take us to the airport.