Day 1 - June 10th, 2015

June 10th, 2015

We left the house around 7 a.m.  We get to the airport and luckily, we didn't wait long for the shuttle bus. We had a few hours to wait seeing we didn't have trouble with security. Only thing that was weird with the tickets is that they squashed the first and middle names together. When I asked about it, the receptionist said it was fine.

The flight was decent. Nice seats, some legroom, had to pay for snacks, the entertainment was only for your iPod, ... Or you can rent one for $10. Not this time, thanks. Minimal turbulence. Short flight and no difference in time zones.

Customs was interesting. Thankfully, JJ remembered our hostel's name and I showed them that we had purchased tickets to go home. What surprised me was they were actually interested on why we wanted to go to Canada. Not the whole security standpoint ..but why visit Canada in general. I told them that their country is awesome and we wanted to experience the culture and the food.  They were about to just let us though, but I asked if they would stamp our passports. They stopped again. I explained it was my first stamp.

(Backstory: Ten years before this, I was invited to Northern Ireland to visit my friend. I got the passport, then saved money to go. Let's just say that I used the money for emergencies/life stuff while I was studying in Los Angeles. So, fast forward to 2015, I found out my passport would expire in March 2016. 10 years and not one stamp! I must get one!)

They gave us our first stamp in our passports and allowed us in.

We found a way to ICE (International Currency Exchange) get our money exchanged then somehow we found ourselves outside to get our Metro tickets. They use colored bills and lots of different coins. All the way to 2 dollar coins. We needed to make sure to come really early on Friday because, holy cow, it was a mess.

Anyway, we get to our stop and we found out Metro subway and the Metro bus stations icons look the same on the map but aren't the same, by any means.

Speaking of maps...let's talk about how Montreal does maps. Now, I consider myself a good navigator. First thing I notice, on all my maps (up is North), the St. Lawrence River is to the East. On all the Montreal maps around town, it's to the South. That means I was constantly turning my map. I eventually got used to it on the 2nd day, but we were only there for 3 super short days.

After reading the map wrong then turning around, we found our Hostel, Auberge Alternative du Vieux-Montréal. This place is great! The clerk was fun and really helpful. She gave us our towels and our keys. It turns out that she moved the other couple to another room, so unless someone walks in and rents it, we have the whole apartment to ourselves.

Kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedroom, and a balcony window. All for $150 for 2 nights. That is a great deal!

So after we unloaded our stuff and locked it in our bedroom, decided to find Abu Elias for that brain sandwich. Before we left the hostel, the clerk, Catherine asked us if we were going to La Banquise later. We said no because we were on our way to locations I named off to her. She looked at us and said she lives there and never heard of these places.

People, before you go anywhere on vacation, research the area. Read reviews on locations, watch travel shows. You will have an idea what you want to do. Going somewhere without plans is fun too, but you may miss something that was just a block away and was flippin' amazing.

We left the hostel. We were looking for the subway with no avail when a nice couple asked us where we wanted to go. After mentioning the subway, they said that they were going that way and then they showed us the way.

I would like to say that I love the metro subway. It's like a monorail on crack. Fast and really efficient. One thing I found interesting was how frantic people were racing to get on the subway. When the doors opened, it made this 3 ding tone, then the doors would straight up shut. If you missed it, no worries, another came in 5 minutes. I wish we had this for where we live in Florida but we're too rural. One thing I would change about the Terminals... There were no bathrooms. At all. Recycling stations sure but couldn't find a restroom anywhere.

Also, I noticed all the young people. Coming from Volusia County in Florida, this was overwhelming. Montreal is also a college town. The city was alive and I loved every minute of it!

We got off the train, (and again, reading the map wrong because the two symbols are the same) we got turned around a couple times and walked in the rain looking for the restaurant.

We did find it! Boucherie Abu Elias!  JJ ordered the brain sandwich and I had the beef sirloin sandwich. Both were great but the brain sandwich tasted a bit different when all the extra stuff was gone. After that happened, we shared the beef sandwich.

So on our way we went. I was determined to find the Big in Japan bar with the hidden door. On google maps, it's a red door.I jotted down a map. When we got to the area, I noticed a black door with a red handle and a tiny symbol on the small glass window. I told Jeff this was it and opened up the door. The door opened to a dim hallway with soft lights and the other side was veiled with a curtain. I listened and heard the soft murmur of bar noises. We opened up the curtain and it was the bar! It was beautiful! The only lighting was hundred of candles on the counters. We put our backpacks down and was greeted by the bartender. We ordered two cocktails and two beers. Delicious and moderately priced.

After that, we tried going to The Distillery but we missed the street we needed and kept walking. After a long while still, all the Metro stations were closed, I looked around. Thankfully, there was a nearby cab. $12 well spent getting back to the flat. About to sleep. Montreal is awesome. So many young people. Lots of art and culture.Amazing Food! Can't wait for tomorrow.