Colourful, friendly, thoughtful and tasty

But enough about me. What about Montreal?

Seriously it is all of those things. Had a fantastic last full day before we fly home tomorrow. After sitting drinking coffee listening to some first class buskers - a bit Stephan Grapelli with lots of guitar and strings - we found a great little spice shop run by a woman with the most amazing personal style (see extras) and a great outlook on life. A joy to talk to.

Then went to the astonishing Never Apart. This is a centre run by the LGBQT community in Montreal and is focused on creating a new paradigm for living in harmony with nature. Nurturing and incredibly welcoming. Visit their web site, let them explain it.

We then walked Mile End, a fantastic buzzy community with wonderful shops and coffee bars. And the world’s best ice cream if the queue around the block is anything to go by. I bought some paper in an artisanal paper shop. For a reason, which I will explain another day. And we had vegan wraps and poutine in The Green Panther.

In the evening we went to the.best.vegan.thai.restaurant.ever. Don’t ask me to describe it. But the surrogate shrimp was excellent, the mock duck first class, and the fake fish to die for. Seriously good food.

Had a beer in a bar on the way home and met some environmentalists here for a conference, so some animated discussions about equality and sustainability - it feels as if the fates have been leading us to the same conversation all week. And today is Jedi day too.

May the Fourth be with you.