A visit to Montreal
This entry is being prepared a bit after the fact, but I still thought I ought to include a brief summary of the first bit of travel that’s at least vaguely connected to my worldwide wanderings: A visit to Montréal, Québec in order to say last goodbyes to my friends there. (In fact, as has been explained to a few people, the real reason for my visit there was to sate an overwhelming craving for Boréale Rousse, a beer from Quebec that I enjoyed a lot of during my days at McGill, and is unavailable in Ontario.)
It’s been claimed that every cigarette a person smokes takes a minute of his or her life. In turn, I’ve always said that every weekend I spend in Montréal takes a year off mine. No, not because I smoke 525 600 cigarettes over the course of the weekend (as many of you know I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life. Not one.) but just because of the general level of debauchery and exhaustion that comes with it.
The trip to Montréal was scheduled for the weekend of July 1, back when I was still working. Very conveniently, the Thursday was Canada Day, a holiday, and I had Friday off due to my company’s summer hours policy.
After a long night at my house, moving stuff out, cleaning up etc., I went back to my mom and dad’s (where I’ll be living from now until departure), packed up a backpack and ate breakfast, finishing just in time to head downtown to the bus terminal to catch the 7:30am bus to Montreal.
This entry was originally shaping up to be monstrously long, but I just deleted a whole bunch of stuff that, while entertaining to me, would likely have bored the pants off most readers. So. My weekend in Montreal in brief:
-Met Bill, Mike, Joanne, Ian, at Café Olimpico, watched Euro2004 semis.
-Gruelling day, moving the 4 above noted people between 5:30pm and 5:00am. Evening ends with a memorable discussion of Bryan Adams’ assassination by his Sikh bodyguards (I think you kind of had to be there for that one. But I did learn a great new German word: “antiwitze.” As it was explained to me by Mike, it means “anti-joke,” a joke that contains no humour whatsoever [not even bad humour] but somehow, by virtue of its very un-funniness, becomes funny.)
-Day spent watching “the Office” and reacquainting self with Boréal, Cuban via Nova Scotian rum, horrid melon liqueur.
-Evening spent with Bill, Cloelle, Cindy, Nick and Steve at Brutopia. Enjoyed some of Brutopia’s wonderful IPA. Bill completely forgets his encounter with the body paint wearing lesbian and her friends. Probably because of the shots they bought him. I make some poor guy feel very uncomfortable by insisting that he dance with me to the live band (this after his female companion refused a similar invitation.) Very nice to see my old friends again, and I hope some, if not all of you come visit sometime during my travels.
-Day spent waking up late, lounging around the house, doing little of note.
-Evening spent at a barbeque, then at a very cool party. A “jam” party, where many of the guests were musicians, and took turns using the instruments and equipment set up on the rooftop patio of the hosts. Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham was there. Well, not really, but someone that looked a lot like him was. People kept stealing our beer.
-Next morning spent sleeping. Afternoon spent watching the Euro2004 final at Café Olimpico.
-Buy a dozen bagels at Fairmount for everyone in Toronto, head home on a very full 5:00 express train.
All in all, it was a wonderful pre-vacation. I’m very happy I got a chance to catch up with all my old friends in Montreal, not to mention a chance to revisit my former home city.
My next couple entries will probably be about visiting my friends and relatives around Southern Ontario, last minute tasks in Toronto and packing.
Tags: Before Departure
Llew