Montreal Je t'aime

It was the place Leonard Cohen found his voice. A place where the girls speak French. And a place where they eat chips and cheese for breakfast. Naturally me and Montreal were bound to get along fine - I just didn't quite realise how well.

The city is renowned for its gruelling cold winters. So much so that no building work can be completed from mid-autumn until spring. In fact not a lot can happen during winter. Until you step into the underground city which sprawls for kilometres beneath the actual city. Like a nuclear bunker, the place was designed to enable the Quebecois to lead normal lives while the temperatures above ground reached way below sub-zero.

I got lucky with the weather, however. The sun shone throughout my entire stay. Cranes hung above the city's skyline, girls wore hot pants, and I saw the parks being replanted (they die every winter).

I set off to see an architectural park I was told about. However, upon reaching the intersection of roads where I was informed it would be. There was nothing except a motorway. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to stumble across an exhibition of Leonard Cohen's artwork. Following this I decided to climb a mountain.

Mount Royal overlooks the city. Downtown sits in its shadow. Standing at the bottom of this mighty hill I found the path leading to the summit to be very winding, drawn out and monotonous. So inevitably I decided to take the cliff-edge route up.

This was easier said than done. I smoke too much. I also drink too much. And I haven't climbed in about 14 years. But it still seemed the best route to the top. There were a few hairy moments. Not least the last dash to the top, where I had convinced myself I was being chased by an army of grizzly bears, wolves and black widow spiders.

Upon reaching the summit I basked in all my rugged, manly glory. However, 100 metres down the path I stumbled across a visitor's centre and stairwell which led all the way down to the city. All of a sudden the summit felt less remote and I realised we were far from the great Canadian wilderness I had envisaged while nearly falling to my death several times earlier.

It still felt like a victory though. Being stood there caked in mood beside fat Americans sat on electric skooters, and Japanese tourists holding Nikon cameras

We walked home through the university. It was still sunny and people lay out in the park. This was also pleasing on the eye. A barbecue followed, washed down with wine, beers and whiskey. This topped off a wonderful time here in Montreal. My poems also received an intelligent, positive appraisal - which is always nice!

There are few cities in the world that I truly loved visiting. London, Paris and New York would probably the lot. But I can now comfortably add Montreal to that list.