Samantha Brown's Places to Love

-I'm in a city that is one of the most creative in the world.

[ People cheering ] At over 375 years old, it has spent centuries slowly becoming a living, pulsing work of art.

The city's originality comes from its overwhelmingly international mix of people, and it's a creativity that stops you in your tracks, can be biked through, and participated in.

Aww!

[ Chuckles ] I'm in Montreal, Canada.

I'm Samantha Brown, and I've traveled all over this world.

And I'm always looking to find the destinations, the experiences, and, most importantly, the people who make us feel like we're really a part of a place.

That's why I have a love of travel and why these are my places to love.

Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" is made possible by... -Europe is a treasure trove of fascinating history, rich culture, and renowned cities.

AmaWaterways River Cruises offers a way to see all this wonder in person.

You can discover more at AmaWaterways.com.

-"Away"... ...is the smell of fresh pine.

It's a place where giants still live.

"Away" is where the farther down the road you go, the closer you get to the ones you love.

Find your "away."

GoRVing.com.

-Whenever I arrive in a big city, it's always helpful to get an overview.

So I joined local guide Shea Mayer.

He's gonna take me to a hidden part of Montreal that is best revealed on a bike.

Why do you think Montreal is such a creative city and has always been a creative city?

Is it because of its immigrant influx?

Is it because it's just everyone of the world is here?

-I think that over time, Montrealers have found their way to kind of appreciate life and celebrate.

-Mm-hmm.

-And the creativity kind of comes out of that.

And you'll see it nowadays, like, you know, as you're here, especially in the summer, it's just festival galore.

It's like living outside and the street art and the painting and the Cirque du Soleil and all of the performing arts.

-Nice.

Beautiful day.

-So let's turn right here and check out a laneway.

-Okay, right here?

-Yeah, right here.

-Oh!

So are the laneways all throughout Montreal?

-All throughout Montreal.

So they were originally built as service roads.

And there would be coal delivered for heating... -Wow.

-...ice for the ice boxes, and eventually, they would do garbage collection and everything in the laneways.

-Right.

-A city initiative that they wanted to beautify the laneways, and so what would happen is that certain environmental organizations in each neighborhood would provide financing for groups of residents that would band together and decide to beautify their laneway.

-So this was a city initiative that the community picked up.

-Exactly.

-Wow.

-So this is one of my favorite laneways.

It's called the Ruelle Champtre.

So the bucolic, pastoral, natural laneway.

This one's completely closed off to cars.

It'll actually be good for us just to get off the bikes, and we'll walk right through.

-Walk through?

-Yeah.

-Okay, sure.

Oh.

I mean, I feel like this is just... a hidden world.

-Yeah.

-Do most, you know, visitors to Montreal even know these exist?

-I don't think so.

And, you know, we're including them more and more on the tours that we do, whether it's on foot or riding bikes, just because it gives you this insider's glimpse.

And it's just such an authentic way to visit the city.

So this laneway has been essentially a green laneway for about 15 years.

-15 years?

-And because it's completely closed off to cars, all of the residents that essentially live directly on the laneway did have to agree, sign off that it would become a pedestrian laneway.

-Well, that's a big commitment.

It's just these little moments that personalize a city more.

And when you get to go down this lane, you get to be a part of Montreal in a way of life that is very unique.

-Yeah, exactly.

So I love riding the laneways and seeing, you know, groups of neighbors coming together for a glass of wine or a meal.

-Oh.

-People just crossing over.

And so today, we're gonna go visit a friend named Tinka who lives here in the laneway.

-You know you're in a French-speaking city when your bike has a place for a bottle of wine -- as well as the fact that at any moment, you'll need it.

Bonjour!

Hello, hi.

-How are you?

-Tinka is having the Montreal version of a summer block party.

The atmosphere is breezy and fun and a way for the neighbors to reinforce the sense of community here that all begins with their laneway.

-Well, come on in.

We have lots of neighbors... -Thank you.

-Thank you.

-...who are here right now.

-There's lots of kids on this laneway.

-I know.

This is great.

-You guys are lucky.

-Oh, hi, how are you?

So is everyone here live on the laneway?

-Yeah.

-Pretty much.

-Yeah.

-Do you live here?

-I do, yeah.

-Yeah?

-When you moved to Montreal and you live here, is this the ideal, to live on a laneway and be a part of a type of community like this?

-Oh, yeah, absolutely.

I mean, when you have kids, you know, you know that you can leave your door open and it's gonna be safe and they're gonna be able to make friends.

And this is, yeah, it's a big part of -- We also have very big trees that we try to take good care of, which gives us feeling, as well, of being a little bit in the forest.

-In the country, absolutely.

-So, you know, when you are -- you take your dinner outside on the courtyard and it's 9:00 p.m. and you hear the sound of the leaves, you really feel like you're in the middle of the forest.

-So you're from the United States?

-Yes.

-What do you love about Montreal?

-I would say the openness of Montreal, the quality of life.

-Mm-hmm.

-The diversity.

I'd say that raising children in a bilingual and multicultural environment.

-Mm-hmm.

-And I think that for a lot of people, they have come to Montreal looking for something different, and they've found it here.

-And it's the perfect middle ground between Europe.

There's very vibrant European feel, European culture here in Montreal.

We have people from Portugal, there's a very big Italian community, a big Spanish, French.

So it really brings this Mediterranean attitude to food.

-So how large is Little Italy?

How many blocks?

-Well, you're looking at maybe one, two, three -- I don't know, eight blocks.

-Okay.

-Eight blocks by eight blocks.

-Oh, well, that's pretty large.

-Yeah.

And a big part of it is the market.

My name is Stefano Faita, and I'm a third-generation Canadian Italian.

-When did the Italians immigrate to Canada?

-In the 1950s was a big... -The biggest.

-...wave of immigration.

I grew up in Montreal's Little Italy in a family business called Dante's.

I also own three restaurants in the neighborhood.

I'm the third generation trying to lead a family business for another 50 years.

-Stefan takes me to a market that opened in 1954 and has been run by the same family ever since.

-Welcome to Milano's.

-Oh, you've taken me to a place I love -- a market.

-One of the oldest, if not the oldest, Italian grocery stores in Montreal.

We come here because there's things we find from Italy that we probably don't find anywhere else.

-Even to this day in Montreal?

-Even to this day.

Obviously, there's other grocery stores that have opened that, you know, have a very big Italian influence, but nothing as renowned as Milano's.

-Mm-hmm.

-My mom literally comes here every day... -Mm-hmm.

-...to buy her stuff fresh, for the cooking school, be it cheese, cold cuts, whatever.

They have one of the best cured-meats counters.

-Mm-hmm.

-So you see they have even all the pickled vegetables, so, you know, the olives, the eggplants, the roasted peppers.

Yeah, you have some Italian specialties.

Hi, a va?

[ Speaking French ] I'm gonna make you taste a really good prosciutto.

-Please make me taste.

-Yeah.

Prosciutto from Parma.

-Oh, yes.

-It's very -- It's fantastic.

-That's where it comes from.

-Yes, and it's a prosciutto that we serve at the restaurant, too, because we think it's the best.

-Mm-hmm.

-It's fantastic.

There you go.

-Thank you.

-Merci.

-Oh.

-Good, huh?

-Mmm!

-It's not salty.

-No.

-It melts in your mouth.

-Perfect.

-There's good fat.

-Mm-hmm.

Right, thin.

-Thin -- Thin is always good.

For prosciutto, thin is the best.

-Next up, another institution in Little Italy -- Dante's.

This is truly the definition of the corner store.

-Yes, it's actually the first Italian hardware store in Montreal.

You think hardware, you're thinking paint and nuts and bolts and hammers, but they used to sell that.

Back in the day, it was more like a general store.

All kinds of things that were -- -Stuff made in Italy.

-Yeah, that were very specific to the Italian community that was immigrating from Italy.

-Dante's opened in 1956 by the first generation of Stefan's family, and right now, working behind the counter is the second generation -- his Uncle Rudy as well as his mom, Elena.

-We sell a lot of hammers and everything that have to do with construction.

-So the hardware became kitchenware and houseware.

-Mm-hmm.

-But at the same time, one of my eldest uncles that was here first, he was a very big hunting fan.

So he knew that the Quebecois were very big hunters, and so were the Italian immigrants.

-Mm-hmm.

-It was a big pastime for them.

So he decided, "Why don't we start selling guns?"

-Yes.

-To go hunting.

-Yeah.

-And they started, and it just never went away.

-Hi, Rudy, how are you?

-How are you?

-Good, very good!

He's the one to respect in this store, right?

-Yeah, kind of.

-[ Laughs ] Not too many stores where you can get, like, a pepper mill and a shotgun in the same place.

-[ Laughs ] No, exactly.

-But it goes together, if you think about it.

-[ Laughs ] -No, because the hunters are very good cooks.

-Of course.

-They like to eat both, right?

-That's right.

-So who gesticulates more, the French of the Italians?

-Ah!

-Who uses their hands?

Who does?

-They're almost the same.

-Italians.

-It's about the Italians.

-I still think it's the Italians.

-Their hands are just a little louder than the French.

-There's a lot of mixed marriages, so it's okay.

You know, Italian-French.

-Yes.

-What is that?

-That is amazing.

-Yes!

But you know what this is for, right?

Dante is known -- we're known for our -- -Like restaurant?

-No, our canning season.

-What's on the table.

-What we can.

So tomato machines.

-Oh, okay.

-When we're making marinades, preserves.

-So this isn't for restaurants?

-No, no, no.

-No, no, this is for home.

-This is for homes.

-Yeah.

-This is for the home?

So if I'm Italian... -Mm-hmm.

-...what's the one item in this shop that I have to have?

-A pasta machine.

-Hand cranked.

-That's my biggest seller.

-Hand-cranked.

Imperia.

-That's what you need, yeah.

-My customers are 99% Quebecers.

-That's great.

-So, you know, it's great.

No, no.

-It's changed.

You know, even the area, you know, I mean, it used to be a very predominantly Italian area.

Now there still are, but a lot of the Italians moved out either in the suburbs or something like that.

So -- And now we're actually seeing a lot of young -- -They're coming back.

-Young Italian families or young families are coming back with young children.

They're buying a house in the city, so -- -Because they want that heritage that we talked about.

-They want that heritage, yes.

-Yes, it's fun.

-They're back to their roots.

-Mm-hmm.

-And now Caffe Italia.

-Ah.

-Another family run business.

-Oh, this is great.

Sorry.

-That's okay.

How are you?

-Thank you.

-How old is this?

-1956.

So they opened the same year that Dante opened.

-Okay.

-Everybody comes to Caffe Italia.

You come -- you know, if you come in Little Italy, if this is your first time in Montreal, you're probably gonna stop here and have a coffee.

-Well, you gotta love the authenticity.

It's not run by hipsters.

-Yeah, no.

It's old-school.

-It's old-school.

-Serri family.

-Terrazzo floors.

-Luciana... 80 years old, almost 80, still here in the morning.

-Wow.

-So you come here on a Saturday, and it's packed.

-Uh-huh.

-Like, you can't even move almost, right?

-Are they speaking Italian or French?

-They're speaking Italian and French, both.

-Would you like one cappuccino?

-What a great neighborhood you live in.

-Thank you.

It's given a lot back to me.

It's genuine.

-Mm-hmm.

-And that's what I like about it.

Cheers.

-Cheers.

Salute.

-To Little Italy.

-To Little Italy.

-To Montreal above all.

-Montreal is a foodie city, and it would be impossible to pick one restaurant to show that.

However, there is one place that stands out among the others for its purpose and may represent the heart of the city better than any other.

-I'm Judy Servay, and I founded and I'm running the Robin des Bois Restaurant in Montreal.

We're a sociably profitable restaurant on St. Laurent Boulevard in Quebec.

So how it works, we're a non-profit restaurant, but we like to say sociably profitable restaurant.

I don't think there's any other restaurant like this one in Montreal, for sure, and maybe even the world.

-So explain to me Robin des Bois.

-He's the guy that took from the rich and gave to the poor.

-Of course -- Robin-- -So this is -- -Which took me a little while.

I thought you were Robin des Bois.

I'm like, "Oh, Robin.

Robin owns this."

-Yeah, no, yeah.

-Robin des Bois means Robin Hood.

-Robin Hood.

So all the money goes into the same bank account.

And at the end of the year, whatever we have in excess, which some years, we have, some years, we haven't, we give back to four charity organizations that work poverty street-level.

So there's a whole side of social reinsertion, a lot of young people that want to learn how to work, how to serve.

They come here to train.

We have people that are young kids that are out of school that come here on training.

We have people that need to do community work.

-I've got quite a bit of restaurant experience.

-Well, that's good for us.

-Back of the house, I started out washing dishes.

-Oh, my God.

-I'm a good cutter, and I waited on tables for eight years in New York City.

-Wow.

-So I've got some -- -You're like the most, best volunteer ever.

-I don't speak French.

-That's all right because you can just say that, you know, you're from out of town.

-Point, point.

-Okay, you're from out of town.

We have a lot of English customers.

-Okay, all right.

-It's Montreal.

It's half and half, right?

So you want to start by the kitchen?

You want to go in there?

-Yeah, absolutely.

-Okay, let's check that out.

Follow me.

-This is a beautiful restaurant, by the way.

-Thank you.

-I love it.

It's just cheerful, it's open.

So are you a volunteer here?

-No, so I'm an employee.

I started as a volunteer.

Like, it's been a few years by now.

And then I went to cooking school, then I came here to apply for a job, and I got hired.

-Was it being a volunteer here that inspired you to go to cooking school?

-Yes.

-What did you do before?

-I was working in retail.

-Working in retail, very different.

-And this is still customer service, but without the direct contact.

-Of course.

I like it.

-So we're still, like -- This is the hospitality industry, we're still helping people, feeding people, and making people happy.

-So I know that being in the back of a kitchen of a busy restaurant can get very stressful.

What is like dealing with a staff that is half volunteer?

-Once we're in service, if we need, like, some green onions cut very fast, usually we can just ask the volunteers, "Please, can you cut some green onions really, really fast," and they'll do it no problem.

-Yeah.

-Otherwise, they tend to do more long-term prep work.

-Okay.

So, Chris, do you need some green onions cut?

Because I'm the man on the job.

-No, 'cause we've done -- We've just finished doing some.

-Okay.

What can I help you with, then, 'cause I'm here for the day.

[ Bell dings ] Me with the carottes.

Order up.

Is this your first day?

-It's my second day.

-Your second day.

-Yeah.

Exactly.

-And how did you find out about this?

-I was just walking around, and I saw this.

I went in, and it's an amazing place where people are, like, really nice.

They care about you, and they want you to feel comfortable.

It's an amazing experience.

I absolutely love it, and when children, like, during the day, it's wonderful.

-So I'm off to a good start.

I like it.

I'm in good hands.

Hello.

Bonjour.

How are you today?

Here's the menu.

There you are.

Do you know what you'd like to drink or would you like me to come back?

-I know what I want.

-We have a lovely wine list.

Nice rose for a hot summer day.

-I will take a glass of the pinot noir, please.

-Pinot noir?

And you, sir?

-And I'll go with the Pilsner one.

-Pilsner.

-Mm-hmm.

-Merci.

Oh, just the menu.

-Thank you.

[ Bell dings ] -Table vingt.

-Merci.

Table vingt.

That's me.

[ Indistinct conversations ] We have the Asian salad with duck.

-Thank you.

-And the Caesar salad with smoked salmon.

May I get you anything else?

-Beautiful.

-All right?

-Thanks.

-Enjoy.

Bon apptit.

-Thank you.

-Since I was so good at jumping in as a waitress... [ Shouts in French ] ...I thought I would get involved in other ways, as well, this time with mixed results.

I told everyone freeze.

[ Cellphone beeps ] [ All shouting ] Oh, no!

I'm... Oh, I pressed the wrong button!

Don't worry.

This has a happy ending because I know the man in charge.

-My name is Anthony Venisse, and I like to surprise people in their quotidien, in their daily life.

-So right now, I've come to Montreal at a really perfect time.

This is the Montreal Circus Festival, the... -Le Montreal Compltement Cirque.

-Which means the entire city turns into a complete circus.

-Absolutely.

-Anthony is a conceptor and director of all things circus here in Montreal.

-I like to bring circus in the street, enrich the people, and share my passion that I have with the circus.

-You were actually born in France.

-Yeah.

-And you moved here to Montreal.

-Yeah, like almost 20 years ago.

Actually, I moved here to study at the National Circus School.

-You did?

-Yeah, yeah, I did.

So I was an acrobat.

I was an aerialist.

I was doing swinging trapeze.

-Okay.

When you go to circus school, what's your favorite class?

-I will tell you my favorite class was clown.

-[ Laughs ] -But not just because about clown.

But what I like about clown is the creativity.

-Obviously, you need to be a very creative person to do this.

What was it about circus arts that made you want to direct your creativity towards that form of art?

-It's a good question.

I think I really, really like the body language.

And I'm always very touched when I see an artist working and giving his passion, you know?

I think it's very emotional to see someone doing something very risky, you know?

Because circus is all about risk, but it's controlled risk.

-What are we about to do right now with you?

-So me, I'm actually taking care of the outside event.

And we'll hold these people behind me.

We're gonna run in the street and get in contact with the audience.

-You want to interact with the audience.

-Exactly, yeah.

-Right, and so instead of being a performance that we all sit and watch, the audience becomes a part of it.

-Go!

[ Cheering ] -Whoa!

[ Cheering continues ] -And this year, we wanted to go even further.

We have decided to develop an app.

And this technology allowed the people, the members of the audience, when they download the app, to be part of the show with us, to play with us.

-The audience isn't the only one in charge.

Using a wireless mic and a smart device, Anthony becomes a ringmaster of the future.

-So what are you telling them do to do now?

-So now I asked them to do three-high acrobatics.

-Three-high?

-Yeah.

-Okay.

-Oh, my gosh.

And, again, they're on the street.

There's no mat.

Whoa!

Whoo!

Yay!

-Check your phone.

-Check my phone, okay.

So they're telling everyone to get down and to check their phone.

Because everyone who has downloaded the app has the opportunity to control the performers at any given moment.

[ Cellphone rings ] [ Cheering ] Someone just told them to do that.

[ Cellphone rings ] Looks like it's my turn to be the ringleader.

So I can say "freestyle dance"... [ Cheering ] Or tell them to go super slow.

There's also a button we could all use on our phones.

Oh, I know what I want.

-Aww!

-Oh!

[ Laughs ] Aww.

-So when you come to Montreal, you must see a circus show.

-Okay, drinks for everybody.

-Whoo!

-And if you still think circus is animal acts, painted clowns, and sawdust, allow me to introduce you to the 7 Fingers, a new type of circus that's not quite held under a big top.

[ Cheers and applause ] This particular show has a limited run, but it's safe to say in Montreal, the circus is always in town.

From day to night, there's just no time when this city isn't creative.

And night helps illuminate one of the most ambitious public works projects in the world -- Cit Mmoire, which transforms not only the old city of Montreal, but your own ideas of what art available to all can accomplish.

And this is called the Grand Tableau.

-The Grand Tableau.

-And this is one of your tableaus, your scenes, that tells the entire history... -Of Montreal.

-...of Montreal.

-Four centuries.

We have to talk about the art and the soul of the city... -Mm-hmm.

-...and the human journey more than political journey.

And so it's an opportunity to talk about who we are to the rest of the world.

-Because usually when you hear about the history of a city, it's in the city museum, and we go inside, and we see pictures.

And you have used -- with the creators, have used the city itself, its physical presence, to tell the history.

-Yeah, on walls.

And we don't transform the walls as a screen, because we want to see the stone, we want to see the brick.

-So when you were given this job, this task... -[ Chuckles ] Yeah.

-...what was the job description?

-It was, you know, tell the story of Montreal.

Make a point.

And you'll share your love, you know, to your fellow citizens.

And it was, you know, for me, a kind of a gift.

It's about, you know, the connection between times and now.

-I mean, this is an epically huge art installment.

The technological challenges of this... -It's big.

-So not only the telling of the history, which was your job, but just mounting it and believing that they could do this.

-I think it was -- Just for the actors, it was two months of shooting.

-How many actors?

-200.

-200?!

-It's 23 scenes in the fourth century, different periods.

You know, had tons of costumes, you know, for the shooting of every scene.

-Cit Mmoire projects its stories and milestones of Montreal on over 20 buildings.

Some stories make you stand motionless.

Others are to be walked through and absorbed.

This cobblestone alleyway tells the story of the Grey Nuns who accepted abandoned children and cared for unwed mothers.

What is it like, creating something that no one has ever seen before?

-[ Chuckles ] During the process, we don't think about it.

We are like that.

After that -- -But now you're able to step back.

-Yeah.

I'm proud.

I'm proud of it.

I'm proud of it, you know?

And the reaction came from so many people, so, yeah, it's not just for the artist community.

-Of course.

-It's for everyone.

-Montreal is a very open-minded community, and there is a lot of festivals going on.

It's very diversified.

-Basically, it's a recipe.

My nonna's minestrone, right?

So you get a few Italians, you get a few Greeks, two, three Portuguese, a pinch of Chinese, some French stock, eh, 'cause Quebecois, we're French stock.

Simmer all that together, and you probably get the best recipe you ever had.

-And I think that when you feel that you're sharing something in a community, it makes you stronger.

It makes every individual stronger, and it makes the community stronger.

And I think that's what Montreal is about, definitely.

-Soupe de Montreal.

-When old buildings shed new light on how we learn from the past, when urban back roads give us a glimpse of a more personal side, when you fall in love with a city and it hugs you back, that is when we share a love of travel.

And that's why Montreal, Canada, is a place to love.

-For more information about this and other episodes, extra scenes, or links to follow me on social media, log on to placestolove.com.

Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" was made possible by... -"Away"... ...is the smell of fresh pine.

It's a place where giants still live.

"Away" is where the farther down the road you go, the closer you get to the ones you love.

Find your "away."

GoRVing.com.

-Europe is a treasure trove of fascinating history, rich culture, and renowned cities.

AmaWaterways River Cruises offers a way to see all this wonder in person.

You can discover more at AmaWaterways.com.