An open letter

Dear Montreal,

I know we've had our bad days. Sometimes you hide under a metre of snow, making it incredibly difficult to move around. Then there are the days when you just get covered in ice, making sure that unless one is wearing ice skates it is impossible to go down a city block without falling on your ass. The summers - oh, the summers! - with the sun beating down, and 40 degrees! It has always fascinated me, the way the temperatures bounce around. And the way that in the winter, the city seems like a wind tunnel, but as soon as it tops 33 there's not a breeze in the air.
I don't mean to complain, Montreal. Far from it. I want you to know that even through the bad, you've stuck by me. On those days when it seems like nothing can improve, somehow you manage to make it up to me. Someone tried to hit you in the crosswalk, you were elbowed three times when walking down the street, and some guy felt you up on the metro? Here's a $20 flapping in the gutter! You can barely breathe because of the intense humidity and smog out on that terrasse (because you don't believe in patios)? Whoops, your waitress forgot to charge you for that last round. And your depanneurs! Why, beer and incredibly cheap wine in the same place you buy lottery tickets and cheese curds at the counter? Brilliant. Just brilliant.
What I'm saying, really, is that even though I may roll my eyes upward and curse your name sometimes, I want you to know that I do love you. Really, I do. Your diverse neighborhoods and ethic food stores keep me satisfied day-to-day, but it's your heart that will keep me here.

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