Austin 360
The boots on my feet weren't specifically meant to prevent me from wiping out on ice. I got them at REI — clearance; I work at a newspaper — for a hiking trip. As I walked through Montréal on my first night of a weeklong trip in 2019, I caught the briefest glimpse of what thrill Tonya Harding must have felt as she glided over a plane of frozen water. Except she knew what she was doing. I was content to avoid an accident that would further highlight a lifetime sans orthodontia.
After checking into my room at
Hotel de Paris, my boots and I observed that storied travel tradition: walking around a new city. Montréal at night in November is a placid kind of dark, and the streets are sparse. If you're lucky, the snow's small and quiet, like white noise for the eyes.