Tag: montreal

A bit of a gray day

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The weather was gray and bleh and it kind of set the mood for today. Katy and I went to the tea shop we'd found on St-Sulpice and relaxed over tea (Oolong, for both of us) and we ended up spending a rather obscene amount of money on tea and tea-making paraphernalia. Still, it was *really* good tea (it should be, it retails for $180/kg)

It seems that we were doomed to be cutting it close, time-wise, all day. We made it to Bishoku with 30 minutes to spare before they closed for lunch. The food was yummay, as per usual. After lunch, we picked up some sweeties at Premiere Moisson and headed back to the flat to chill a bit before heading to the botanical gardens and the Lanterns. I didn't know what to expect with my camera (it can be a pain sometimes because there's no fully-manual setting and sometimes it decides what it think is best for you with disastrous results…) The pictures came out really nice and I'm happy about most of them. I'd upload them to my web server but it's being a serious pain in the ass at the moment and I can't reach tech support. Bunch of nimrods. As soon as my contract expires with them, I'll be looking for another web host. I am not impressed with their service since the last merger/acquisition/whatever.

We wanted to go to Reubens for dinner. I was a bit worried because I thought they'd stop serving food at 9pm (and we got there at 8:35, hence the comment above). Anyway, I shouldn't have worried because it's open until midnight. In a nutshell though, I have to say that this was one of the least enjoyable Reubens experience ever. I'd been hankering for a bacon cheeseburger all day. Waiting for it, thinking of it, drooling over it. So when I ordered it and said my usual spiel about garlic and sesame, the waitress got all ruffled and said that it was on a sesame bun and that it was the only sort of bun they had, but then made a big deal about her favouritest sandwich in the whole wide world that had big chunks of steak, portobello mushrooms, fried onions and lots of cheese on rye bread. Since I couldn't have the burger, I figured I'd have that. It sounded nice.

It was one hell of a letdown. The cheese was a processed kraft single, the onion were onion rings that were ultra greasy, the steak chunks was one slice of fatty sandwich steak. She'd made such a big deal of it, I expected something nice. All I got was meh. And then I saw Katy's grilled chicken hamburger, with swiss cheese and crispy bacon. Served on a cornmeal kaiser bun.

Dumbass waitress couldn't tell the difference between sesame and cornmeal, and because of that I got a mediocre sandwich instead of the burger I'd been awaiting all day. Fucking letdown, let me tell you :(

To make it up to myself tomorrow, I will get myself a mille-feuille from Cafe Lyonais (because the one I had today was average) and I will make myself a huuuuge burger when I'm back at the folks' place. Sounds like a plan.

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Montreal, day 2

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Day 2 in Montreal. Katy had her haircut, we had sushi (yay!) and then went for a 4-hour walk on Mount Royal (from Beaver Lake all the way to the tam-tam park and back to the hotel). We got glared at at Camelia Simensis by two dyed-in-the-wool french quebecers because we dated to ask the waiter if he spoke english (so I wouldn't have to do on-the-fly translation for Katy). Screw em, they were pretentious anyway. We went to dinner at Michel and Isabelle's apartment and had a really, really good shrimp and scallop pasta with a cream and curry spice sauce. I'll have to do that one again, it was yummy! I'd bought a nice Bordeaux Rose and an Alsacian Riesling which was a good compliment with the mille-feuilles and tiramisu we got from the Cafe Lyonais bakery. Good food, good wine, good friends. You can't have a better recipe for a good night than that :)

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A long and massive update

Posted on By admin 11 Comments on A long and massive update

I've been a bad blogger recently. I've been keeping up to date on the reading part, but the writing part has suffered. I blame [info]sbourge's keyboard. I'm writing this entry on my laptop and it's sheer bliss to be able to blind-type again, instead of having to peck at keys on an AZERTY keyboard. Those things are just evil, but I digress. I've been keeping all my thoughts on paper so I wouldn't lose them, so now I just need to type everything up. I missed my keyboard. Good keyboard *pats the keyboard*

Our story starts on Saturday night, when Stephane convinced me to go out with him and some of his LJ friends to an 80s night at a club he knows on the Plateau. I quickly realized that I'm an old fart. Going out to clubs was never really my thing, but now, hella no. I fail to see the fun of getting shit faced for its own sake in a poorly ventilated bar where the music is so loud that you can't understand what the person that's screaming in your ear is saying. Most people in the club were not born when the music that was being played was made. I was more excited by his description of a cosy tea room that we were going to try out later in the week.

I'm old; I'm pretty good at accepting it gracefully. I sometimes wonder how it happened and how I should feel about it, but most of the time I'm glad to be where I am and how I am (though more teenage sex would have been appreciated, but hey, what can you do…).

On Sunday, I got wet. As in, soaked-jeans-clinging-to-your-legs wet. Not once, but 3 times. I think I caught a cold cause I've had a crap throat all week. I met up with [info]eniran and [info]ashre79 for breakfast. I was waiting in line to get in to Eggspectation at the corner of Drummond/Maisonneuve when I called them to see if they wanted to join me for brunch. Sara said that it would be easier for her to park at the old Forum, so I told them I'd meet them there. Walking there was my first soaking.

I was shocked to discover that the Forum Eggspectation is no longer an Eggspectation, but something called Burgers and Benedicts. The food was tasty but horribly from a health perspective: eggs benedict with bacon on waffles. So good, but damn! It's a good thing that my diet has generally improved in the last little while, cause this week was sometimes painful for it :)

Sara and Em wanted to go to the old port to run an errand, so I tagged along and then we went book and DVD shopping. I'd forgotten how annoying it is to have to factor sales tax to every thing you buy. I went to all my old haunts: Indigo, Chapters, Metro Video. I didn't find any DVDs that were screaming at me to buy them. In fact, the only thing that really caught my eye was some over-expensive hentai porn (but that was mostly for the giggle factor of seeing Sara and Em give the evil eye to a creepy old man who was trying to browse the porn rack without actually seeming to do so).

I headed over to Indigo, where I ran into an old co-worker that I had a bit of a crush on when I was working at the hospital (no, not the crazy german girl!) before having a good perusal of the fantasy and fiction section and finding a few interesting titles to buy for the trip back.

I walked Sara and Em back to their car and got soaked. I was supposed to go have dinner with Michel at Bishoku, but it's closed on Sundays so we went to Weinstein & Gavinos instead. Got soaked walking there. After a really nice dinner, we played count the whores along our usual post-meal walk and I actually won a round!

Monday was an expensive day. I bought 3 pairs of jeans (which isn't too bad, considering that I paid the price in canadian dollars that I would normally pay in british pounds) and bought some shiny, pretty and expensive things for Katy at the old port and Marche Bonsecours. I got lost trying to get to the Studio Tranchefile (where I took my bookbinding course) but I finally made it and spent an hour or so putting in a custom order for a wedding photo album.

People are going to think I'm a bit nuts for the amount of money I'm going to spend on that album, but I think it's going to be worth it. It's going to be hand-bound in burgundy leather and will have red marbled paper inside covers, one cream paper folio (for signatures), 12 black paper folios for pictures and a cream paper envelope (to put scrapbook stuff). It's also going to be embossed with our names in silver on the cover. I've seen their work and it's amazing.

As I was making my way back downtown, I ran into Chu, the head lab tech while I was doing my master's. He's still as nuts as ever :) I had sushi for dinner with Stephane at Mikado and Michel joined us for a spot of tea at Camellia Sinensis, the tea room that Stephane had mentioned on Sunday. It's really nice and I can't wait to bring Katy there. We had a nice evening just chatting and laughing about this, that and a few raunchy other things.

On Tuesday, I went to work with Stephane and said hello to people at Ste-Justine then went downtown to meet Shibl and Ata for lunch (Bishoku!!!!!) and then I putzed around a bit downtown before going to Michel and Isabelle's condo. I told them that I'd cook them a proper curry dinner, which was quite well received. Spent a nice evening chatting on the terrace on their roof and then had a quiet walk with Michel while heading back to the metro.

Quote of the day for Tuesday: “I'm more annoyed that you went to sushi without me than I am that you want to go to the strippers”. I love my sweetie :)

I had a lazy day for most of Wednesday, because my week was starting to catch up with me. I had a pisser of a headache for part of the day, but that was taken care of with some advil and other herbal medicines. I cooked a thank-you curry for Stephane and headed to POs place for a night with the boys. Amusingly, when I got to his apartment block, I pushed the wrong apartment buzzer and the person who answered the door was an old friend who'd moved in next door to PO and didn't know I was in town. I got an O-face, which was unexpected and really funny.

The evening was a smashing success. We played a game of Risk 2210 and a game of Knights of the Round Table, which I'd never played before. I hadn't had a night like that since before I left for England. It had all the essential ingredients for a good boys' night, including St-Hubert take-out (club sandwich, white meat, hold the tomatoes, extra cheese, with the chip gravy in a separate bag). Went to bed at 2am and got up at 7:30 with PO and Sonia and headed to the bus station to come back to Ottawa.

All in all, a very satisfying trip to Montreal. I did most of what I'd set out to do and saw all the people I wanted to see.

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Jules Verne, writing the sea

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Pointe-à-Callières will be transporting visitors a thousand leagues from here with the exhibition Jules Verne, writing the sea. To mark the centenary of the famous writer's death (1905-2005), this international exhibition will introduce visitors to the fantastic world of the most widely read and translated author in French literature.

http://www.pacmusee.qc.ca/an/expos/en_cours/index.html

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You know you're from Montreal when…

Posted on By admin 3 Comments on You know you're from Montreal when…
  • You have ever said anything like “I have to stop at the guichet before we get to the dep.”
  • Your only concern about jaywalking is getting a ticket.
  • You understand and frequently use terms like 'unilingual,' 'anglophone,''francophone,' and 'allophone.'
  • You agree that Montreal drivers are crazy, but you're secretly proud oftheir nerves of steel.
  • You know that the West Island is not a separate geographical formation.
  • You have to bring smoked meat from Schwartz's, Blue Dry and bagels from StViateur if you're visiting anyone west of Cornwall.
  • You know how to pronounce Pie IX.
  • You believe to the depth of your very being that Toronto has no soul but your high school reunion is held in Toronto because most of your classmates live there now.
  • You know at least one person who works for the CBC, and at least one other person who used to work for Nortel.
  • You're not impressed with hardwood floors.
  • You've been hearing Celine Dion jokes longer than anyone else.
  • You order fries 'with sauce', not 'with gravy'.
  • Shopper's Drug Mart is Pharmaprix and Staples is Bureau en Gros, and PFK is finger lickin' good.
  • For two weeks a year, you are a jazz afficianado.
  • Everyone on the street – drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists – think they're immortal, and that you'll move first.
  • You know that Rocket Richard had nothing to do with astrophysics.
  • You've seen Brother Andre's heart.
  • You know the difference between the SQ, the SAQ, and the SAAQ.
  • You measure temperature and distance in metric, but weight and height in Imperial measure.
  • You show up at a party at 11 p.m. and no one else is there yet.
  • You know that Montreal is responsible for introducing the following to North America: bagels, souvlaki, smoked meat and Supertramp. Also, Chris de Burgh.
  • You don't drink pop or soda, you drink soft drinks.
  • You have graduated from high school and have a degree, but you've never been in grade 12.
  • The margarine in your fridge is the same colour as lard.
  • There has to be at least 30 cm of snow on the ground in less than 24 hours for you to consider it too snowy to drive.
  • You remember where you were during the Ice Storm.
  • You know that your city's reputation for beautiful women is based on centuries old couplings between French soldiers and royally commissioned whores (aka Les Filles du Roi).
  • You don't understand anyone from Lac-St-Jean, but you can fake the accent.
  • You've been to the Tam Tams, and know they have nothing to do with wee Scottish hats.
  • You discuss potholes like most people discuss weather.
  • You encounter bilingual homeless people.
  • While watching an American made-for-TV movie, you realize that “Vienna” is actually Old Montreal, that “New York” is actually downtown and that the “The Futuristic City” is actually Habitat '67.
  • You have yet to understand a single announcement made on the Metro PA system, no matter what the language.
  • You don't find American comedians speaking “gibberish” French even remotely funny.
  • You don't find it weird that there's a strip club on every corner downtown.
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For you francos out there

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This is an email I sent to the old gang in Montreal. It's a nice email, so I thought I'd share. Plus, I haven't written this much french in a while, so that made me giggle :)

Je viens de réaliser que ça fait vraiment trop longtemps que je n'ai pas eu de vos nouvelles. J'avoue que vous me manquez par moments. Je m'ennuie des soirées de jeux; faut vraiment que vous venez faire un tour un bon moment :) Les choses vont bien à Cambridge. Le projet sur lequel je travaille commence à générer un bon buzz. On va publier un article dans un journal scientifique et je suis 2e auteur :) J'ai commencé un projet spin-off, et si tout va bien, ca devrait mériter sa propre publication dans la nouvelle année. Côté boulot, j'ai vraiment fait la bonne décision. Je me réveille le matin et j'ai hate d'arriver au bureau. Je travaille avec une bonne gang de monde. En 6 mois, je suis allé visiter 3 pays différents et l'année prochaine s'annonce du pareil au même :) Je suis deja booké pour un voyage à San Francisco pour mars et Long Beach (CA) pour septembre.

Ca va bien avec Katy. Elle aime son nouveau boulot et les choses vont finalement commencer à se stabiliser pour elle. Elle a eu son opération et ca s'est bien passé (elle se faisait opérer pour ouvrir ses voies respiratoires pour éliminer ses ronflements et son apnée du sommeil). Elle s'en remet tranquillement. Elle a eu des mauvaises nouvelles récemment – sa grand-mère est morte après 4 mois d'hospitalisation. Elle avait 93 ans et était diabétique et ses systemes ont commencé à se débalancer. C'est pour le mieux. Sa qualité de vie était minimale à ce point. Les funerailles se sont déroulées lundi passé. C'était un beau service.

On se prépare pour les fêtes. On a acheté un arbre de noel. Pour une raison que j'ignore, ça me fait chaud au coeur. On va commencer à décorer en fds. Je commence à me sentir vraiment domestique ces temps-ci. Je cuisine comme un malade (et sérieusement, je commence à faire des plans loufoques de m'ouvrir un petit café en qqpart à ma retraite :D). Mes créations sont bien appreciées par Katy, sa famille et mes collègues, alors c'est prometteur.

Katy et moi arrivons à Ottawa le 19 dec et on devrait etre à montréal le 20 ou le 21. On doit repartir pour le UK le 28 toutefois, alors j'aimerais bien savoir où vous allez être et quand vous aurez du temps libre pour qu'on se puisse se voir pour au moins aller prendre une bière ensemble.

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One thing I miss about Montreal

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I miss cabs. In Montreal, if you want a cab, you usually just have to walk to a semi-major intersection and wait for about 2.37 seconds and you can just hail one. The UK is a cab boondocks. I went for my first phobia therapy session this morning. It ended at 10am. I had to wait a solid friggin hour to get a cab. Oh, and the receptionist charged me 10p to make the call to the cab company. Bastards. Is the NHS that broke???

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