Coup de foudre

Another fine weekend. With surprising frequency, I have experiences in town that fill me with such gladness that I feel my chest will break. Sharing dinner with some good people yesterday -- including new Quebecois friends (well, I hope in time they will become friends) -- and discussing the coup de foudre that is common to newcomers to Montreal, then walking outside into the cold night, looking up the length of la rue Beaudoin in the neighbourhood of St. Henri, and in the distance, St. Joseph's Oratory, shining faintly with mellow green light, nestled into the mountain... it was all so beautiful, so beautiful. London and Paris and Vancouver and many other cities I've never seen -- they're all beautiful -- but I don't know if there is any city more beautiful than Montreal. It is achingly beautiful. There is a robustness yet fragility to the quality of life here, and the quality of the architecture, that makes me want to throw my arms around everything and say, You are wonderful, I love you, let's never be apart. It's exactly the same way I feel about my girlfriend. Fate willing, when we make a happy threesome: me, her, Montreal, life will finally come into focus, I will be able to sink roots here, and finally find the stability and contentment that has so long eluded me.