Elevator

Today three new Metro stations, connecting Montréal to Laval, opened. For the occasion riding the Metro was free so we defied the huge crowds and went to Laval. There we saw the new stations have a new feature: elevators. What a novel idea. Of course there are only two other stations that have elevators (the neighbouring ones in Laval) so their use is fairly limited. It is apparently too expensive to retrofit the other 60 stations with elevators but I read somewhere that 3 of them get them in the coming years. So if you’re in a wheelchair, you can travel with the metro soon.
I myself. try to avoid getting into a wheelchair for a while. And if I do, I might go back to the Netherlands.

But first we go to Laval. But what does one do in Laval? One goes to a shopping mall. The shopping mall that has an Apple Store in them, so I could ask Alison what Mac she would like as a replacement for her ancient Powerbook that gave up the ghost two days ago. Not that we have the money to actually buy one, but we had to have a goal, in Laval.

We skipped the free shuttle busses so went by foot. Walking in the suburbs is an eye-opening experience. Firstly, all the distances are far greater than they look on the map (that might be related to the scale of the map). Secondly, there are no sidewalks, so you have to either walk on the road and be prepared to get into that wheelchair after all, or walk in the muddy strip between the road and… and what? Well lots of, eh, lots that aren’t developed yet. Lots that are waiting to be transformed in yet another shopping mall or shiny new office building. Unfortunately a lot of developers thought they would strike pure gold when they bought these lots so most are still barren. Maybe in a couple of decades they will be built upon.

When we, after more than an hour, finally arrived in the Carrefour Laval, the biggest and shiniest shopping mall of Québec ó not to be confused with the neighbouring shopping malls Centre Laval, Marché Laval and (original name) Centropolis Lavaló we had just enough time to have an overpriced lunch on a terrace inside the Carrefour. Bad choice but Alison was low on blood sugar and had to eat. Immediately.
After that we went to the Apple Store (we decided what Mac we’ll buy, eventually), windowshopped, and we even bought some clothes for Alison. Man, do I hate shopping malls. Everything is fake (well, the plants were actually real) and there are way too many people. I just don’t feel well in them, they make me queasy. But it was 5 o’clock before we knew it so we could go home again.

This time we took the bus back to the Metro station.