Sun-starved Montrealers seize the day, and there’s more heat on the way

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Most days, Jeanne-Mance Park is full of people doing their best to maintain Montreal’s famous joie de vivre. Add some much-needed sun after what seemed like weeks of gray skies, and the Plateau-Mont-Royal park was even busier than usual Friday, with Montrealers and those from warmer countries soaking up the rays, reminding us there’s more to life than working 9 to 5.

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“This is my first summer here and I’m really happy that winter is over,” said Clelia Aubigny, who is from Paris. “I don’t want to see any more snow. I’m kind of sick of it.

“It feels so good. We’re out here with strawberries and books.”

It was 12 C and sunny mid-afternoon Friday, and the forecast calls for sun all of next week. By Thursday it is expected to be 25 C.

“We expect temperatures to rise on a daily basis throughout next week,” said Jean-Philippe Bégin, a meteorologist with Environment Canada. “But let’s keep in mind that we are late to have our first 20 degrees, at least for Montreal. It usually happens on average around the 17th of April, and we didn’t have any (days) at 20 degrees yet. We expect it on Tuesday. So that’s nearly three weeks late.

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“So yeah, we are due. It is time to have a little warmth.”

Many felt April was colder than usual, but Bégin points out that temperatures were average for the month — it’s just that there were fewer extreme temperatures. The average last month was 6.3 C, and normally it’s 6.4.

“It’s too hot for me,” said Manon Morin, who was hanging out on the grass with Aubigny on Friday. Like Aubigny, Morin is from France. “What will it be in the real summer, in July or August? It’s becoming too hot. I wish it would be May all year.”

Quenten Lettner was lying on the grass reading a novel, with his shoes by his side.

“It’s perfect. I love this weather,” he said. “It’s cold at night, but the day is good. Winter is really sad. No one goes to the park. But now it’s perfect for this.”

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Ramy Beydoun arrived in Quebec from Lebanon last August, so he had a taste of Montreal summer already.

“I’ve been waiting for summer all winter long,” said Beydoun, who was stretched out in the park, resting his head on his bike seat. “I had just two months of summer, so only enough to crave it when you’re in the winter conditions. So as soon as the sun came out, I was there too.

“Winter was not as bad as I was expecting, because I was mentally prepared. People only talk about the weather and how bad the winter is. But honestly, when you find your crew and you stay inside, it will pass.”

Gerardo Sanchez, who came here from Mexico City, said he enjoys the change of seasons in Quebec.

“It changes the way you perceive life,” said Sanchez. “For sure, winter is challenging. But it does allow you to rethink the process of your life. It forces you to miss little things here and there. You’re not allowed any longer to keep going non-stop doing everything, especially on the very hard days. You really have to find a different way to do things. You have to let go of some things — like going to the park, for example.

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“When you live in a place like where I come from, everything (in the weather) is steady, so you always think things are going to happen the same way. But if you suddenly get some limitations, then you say, ‘OK, this is not going to happen. Deal with it.’ That’s life.

“In a sense it also brings a lot more joy, because the change allows for this — you sit down and say, ‘OK, I can be out and have the least amount of clothes possible.’ ”

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