Staircases of Montreal

One of the things that I love about Montreal are the spiral staircases that wind around many townhouses in the residential neighborhoods. They have the aura of a different time and place.

Here, three birds perched upon one of the steps watch a falling leaf.

A staircase draped in ivy in the St-Henri neighborhood.

Here's one in our neighborhood. It was perfect timing!

The staircases look positively enchanting in the winter, with white pillows of snow resting on each step.
As beautiful as they look, though, they're quite treacherous in the winter. I've slipped twice in the rain and ice, and Mitya fell down our spiral staircase once when it was snowing. Our mail-lady even refused to go up our stairs to deliver the mail earlier this year, which resulted in this scandal!

A shot of our stairs in winter. All photos, except this last one (taken by me), were taken by Dmitry Gimon.