For journalist and host Stéphan Bureau, Sunday is a day that can take on different forms. He has no obligations. He can work a few hours to lighten his coming week, see friends, read, go for a walk on Mount Royal. But one thing is certain, it retains a strong imprint of the anxiety of the next day, Monday, synonymous with the return to school.
“I really never got rid of this idea that from 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, after having had the feeling of great freedom during the weekend, all of a sudden the tide rises, we have to put the boat in the water for the week at school, and I feel this anxiety… So I still have contradictory feelings that animate me when I think of Sunday. »
A declaration of love for Mount Royal
“Montreal is not a beautiful city. She’s pleasant, she has great advantages, but you can’t say that she is defined by her beauty. But Mount Royal is an unparalleled wealth. What makes the difference in Montreal is the mountains. Montreal is Mount Royal, and I’m in love with it! If I were a singer, I would sing Mount Royal, it’s what defines the soul of our city, it’s one of the most beautiful urban parks in the world, and I’m there almost every day. I go there very early in the morning to run or walk, and on weekends, I go there for the Sunday stroll. It’s a ritual that I appreciate, it’s the opportunity to meet people we know, we stop to chat, rain or shine, and I take advantage of this mountain where you can spend hours. A real joy ! »
Dinners with friends
“Sunday is a day when we meet up with family or friends. It can be coffee-croissants, in the morning with friends, or we organize dinners at home that last until 4 or 5 p.m. There are no imperatives or obligations, no stress, and it’s wonderful to spend a Sunday afternoon in good company. We like to entertain at home, and it happens that I share my life with a woman who cooks brilliantly and who likes it. I am present at all stages to lend a hand, I am an excellent second in the kitchen! »
Books and series
Stéphan Bureau takes advantage of his Sundays to read and watch series. “Of course, I saw the last season of The Crownbut I recently discovered on Netflix the series Secret City which takes place in Canberra, Australia. A political fiction with many twists, where there is a rivalry between Australia and China, the penetration of Australian society by Chinese intelligence. With Netflix, we tend to look at the proposals that are on the first page of the platform, but we really have to make the effort to look in depth, because we find little gems like Secret City ! I also looked ancient apocalypse, because I was curious to see what the controversial journalist Graham Hancock was going to do… The series is not exciting, but it takes us to extraordinary archaeological sites in Mexico, Turkey and Indonesia. My Sundays are also synonymous with reading. Lately I read V13 by Emmanuel Carrère, and The map and the territory by Michel Houellebecq and Louis Paillard, the comic strip. »
Active or inactive
“I like this idea that we have the choice of being able to stay quiet at home or to work. There is no hermetic border between my personal and professional activities, so sometimes in the middle of the week, on a Wednesday for example, I can take a break, and on Sunday, I can work a few hours in a relaxed way. Because I like to work on Sundays, there are no meetings, no phone ringing, I can look for subjects and prepare my columns. We have trivialized Sunday, we have accepted that it is a day of transactions like the others, and it is without judgment that I say that, because I am very happy that everything is open, it also helps me like many people , but the fact remains that there is still this imprint in our brain that Sunday is a day of rest, and that it is still special. »
Good addresses
“Near my home, I go to a small Portuguese grocery store at Marché Sá et Fils at the corner of Villeneuve and Saint-Urbain, I buy delicious cooked chicken and roast potatoes. I also have my habits in Little Italy, I go to Gema for the weekend pizza, and it’s a real pleasure to meet Stefano Faita and his mother Elena from the Dante hardware store. There is also the Café Italia which is an institution where I stop.
“Recently I returned to Chez Beautys [une autre institution depuis 1942] and I recalled my adolescence and my life as a young adult where Sundays were punctuated with breakfast while reading the very voluminous New York Times ! I spent my youth at the corner of Fairmont and Querbes, I know the area well. There’s Avenue du Parc, which isn’t pretty, but has plenty of virtues, there are shops like the supermarket at PA, which I frequent. It’s crazy, because I realize that I’ve traveled a lot, I’ve lived in other countries and I live 500 meters from where I was raised… it’s almost disturbing. Maybe I couldn’t be more imaginative! »