At a sandwich store yesterday, I order in English. The guy behind the counter is big, with a coarse face. Somebody you’d see as a bad guy in a James Bond movie.
While we wait for my order, he asks if I speak any French. “Only a little bit”, I reply in French. A smile lights up his big face, he reaches over the counter and shakes my hand.
Everything here is in French. Sometimes English is added, but if you want to read any kind of public announcement, you better brush up your Romance languages.
The language gives it a mildly exotic touch. Also the quality of food and coffee in Montreal is in line with what you would expect of a bunch of Frenchies, so that’s definitely a plus.
They have a weird system of advertising prices: It’s usually done without the taxes. Which means that the $2.50 coffee becomes a $3.15 coffee at checkout. Never seen anything like that before and don’t really get the point of it.
Day 3 of “Pondering about how long I’ll stay in Canada” begins…
