Ex Bibliotheca

The life and times of Zack Weinberg.

Thursday, 29 May 2003

# 6 AM

Once again, up far too early, this time to catch the train to Montreal, where I am visiting friends. Canada, unlike the states, has a functional passenger railroad system. This means the trains are not nearly as posh as Amtrak, but on the other hand they run on time. In Ottawa there was a certain amount of casual use of French, but in Montreal they are dead serious about it; half the people on the Metro were chattering at each other in French, for instance, and warning signs tend to be French only. Interestingly I remember enough Spanish, and there is enough commonality, that I have no trouble reading signs and the like. Conversations, however, are just sound.

There's an island in the middle of the St. Lawrence, and on this island is a geodesic dome, and in the dome is the Biosphère Museum. Sasha, who is twelve, is very much fond of the dome, so he and I and Emmet trooped out there to show it to me. Unfortunately the museum was closed.