As the pandemic wears on - with glimpses of hope on the horizon - it’s easy to find oneself pining for simple pleasures: having friends over for dinner, or going to a restaurant, or the movies! Many of us have seen about enough of our own four walls. If we can’t get out as we’d like, we can at least reminisce about places - or even times - we’d like to go back to.
In a recent conversation with Fay Edwards, she mentioned that her children had purchased a cake for Mother’s Day at a bakery in Lasalle. Fay lives in Laval now but was in Lasalle and Verdun for years and has fond memories of people and places. I was not familiar with the Lasalle Bakery on Newman Boulevard, but Fay described it so well I was able to find it on Google maps. That’s where the attached pictures come from. If only an image could also convey the smells!!
Does anyone else have a special place they haven’t been able to visit since the start of the pandemic? It could be a local business, or a favourite vacation spot. I’d love to share some memories here, and maybe track down some images.
Personally, I’m pining for the beach, and not just any beach: Melmerby beach in Pictou County, Nova Scotia. We had established a pattern of visiting relatives in the area every summer and I can truthfully say we looked forward to it all year. In 2019, for time and money reasons, we decided not to go. Little did we know that the pandemic would prevent a visit in 2020. At this point, a summer 2021 visit is looking highly unlikely as well.
Sometimes we find ourselves pining for not just another place, but another time. Time marches on and while Verdun now has an official beach and lots of green space along the waterfront, the boardwalk - site of so many good memories - is long gone.
One more picture today from the Facebook group Montreal Vintage Gallery. Lots of people have fond memories of riding the streetcar back in the day. This is a special “observation car” called the Golden Chariot. The picture is believed to date to 1958. Does anyone remember riding on it?
Amy
Not being a seagull, I have never seen the beach from this angle. The image is from the internet, but this is definitely the place.
Two “golden chariot” streetcars have been preserved and can still be ridden out at the Railway Museum in St-Constant: Another place to dream of visiting when all of this is over.