Here's a bunch of my favourites....
1) To access this lush pocket that runs west-east just north of Milton, look for a small gateway on St. Urbain or Clark.
The footpath, which is flanked by sweetly scented backyard gardens, opens onto what once must have been a dead-end paved alley, but that is now greened over.
2) Not sure why v-shaped intersections rock, but they do. This one, just west of St. Denis at Gilford and Drolet, sports some quirky architecture... like this building, which houses the offices of the Theatre du Rideau Vert...
...And this weird little row of houses that makes me think of the Wild West, French style.
Ok. It doesn't look like much in this shot (esp. with the lovely garbage can... DAMN MY EYES!!), but I love this ruelle that runs off that V intersection. On a summer night, its somehow just super neat to go, within seconds, from the boisterous clamour of major traffic and steamy, bursting cafes, to a cool and quiet corridor that smells like earth and ends in a kids park where you can trigger a sprinkler for an al fresco shower.
3) The City of Montreal encourages people to beautify their little patches of urban space by giving out awards for "ruelles vertes" with special cachet. Here's a real cutie on Demers, which runs between Hotel de Ville and Coloniale just north of Villeneuve .
4) If you follow de Bullion north from Mont Royal, when you get to Laurier, you'll see this little gem tucked in the back lane between two gracious old French Colonial style houses.
5) Another groovy little lane runs south off Duluth between Henri-Julien and Drolet (Drolet! again!).
Oh these folks, they love their little ruelle, you can tell. Its all tidy and flowery and filled with personal touches. Like the dog refreshment station in memoriam of some wrinkly dog named Mozart...
...or the great little bits of artwork tucked here and there down the lane....
... and on a really hot day, Sam and I can never resist taking a peep into the backyard that boasts a wee little in ground pool, so we can have a little wallow in envy.6) I went scouting through my old neighbourhood, in the area bordered by Sherbrooke, Ste Catherine, Panet and Berri to find some of my favourite old haunts... and stumbled upon a few new ones. This community garden off St. Christophe at Ontario, needs a bit of work, but the painting, with its spine vine, is cool; and I thought the half-buried bike was a nice touch:
7) Lartigue is this funny street, just west of Panet, that appears to have been chopped up into disjointed segments. The block that runs north of de Maisonneuve has some really charming little numbers, including this odd little place that features a line of red pig heads jutting from the sidewall, and what i think may be a Portuguese version of the little tin solider:
8) A bit north up Panet, at Duhamel, I discovered a tropical themed wonderland haven, complete with a cage of parakeets and cockatiels. There's lots of seating for picnicing or reading or just taking in some calm while you listen to the birds and the rustling breeze. Stunning.
9) Finally, i did the strip of Lartigue that runs of Lariviere behind my old apartment on Panet to revisit a few more oddball residences. This is a house was built by an architect who taught at McGill. What's neat about it is that the walls were built from straw bales, with a stucco finish. Plus it manages to look modern, yet old-fashioned at the same time. A clever lady, that one.
This old shed or garage was converted into a tiny but cute apartment, with little green frogs painted up the sides. It was difficult to refrain from trying to get a peak inside.
And that concludes our tour for today. More biketastic adventures to come.
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