Spotted on the quiet streets of Kitsilano

This thing deserves a post of its own.



I want one.

(Whatever it is.)

A quick visit to Montréal

On Thursday the 9th of October we made our first trip 'over east', to Montreal. It was the Thanksgiving long weekend in Canada so we decided to make the most of some relatively cheap airfares and head to the [North American] home of smoked meat and poutine (pssst, hey Frenchies, it's just burnt chips n gravy with some cheesy bits on top -- good at 3am after fifteen beers, but tasty as it is, it's hardly the pinnacle of culinary excellence).

It's actually an island, you know.

The architecture was pretty cool, mostly in the 'old town'..



(obligatory 'old building' shot: check.)

This thing was just parked on the side of the street. Classy, like most of what we saw in Montreal, really.



There was better graffiti there than in Vancouver:



(this photo is just missing some impromptu breakdancing on cardboard)

The people in Montreal are all about 5 metres tall and have size US40+ feet. It was quite a shock and something I hadn't read about in any of the travel literature. That's how they get away with speaking French all the time.



One of my highlights was eating about 8,000,000 artery-hardening calories in one compact smoked meat sandwich, at the famous Schwartz's Deli.



We walked past this place a number of times during our stay and it was always very busy. Prior to chowing down there, we got some local advice that another smoked meat joint just over the road - "The Main" - was just as good and didn't have the line-up [it also has a booze license]. Still, there was only one 8,000,000 calorie sandwich you can eat in 72 hours so it had to be from Schwartz's.

We went for a wander up and around Mount Royal (allegedly the inspiration behind Montreal's name) and I was inspired to develop some solutions to the world's problems. Katie captured the moment. Can you believe it, a leaf landed right there? (I'm almost 30 you know.)



It was like a big leafy version of Mt Ainslie without the flies or the kangaroos. I have to say the view from Mt Ainslie is more impressive - as good as Montreal is, it's not really a nice city to look at.

A guy in a menswear shop told us: when the weather is good, everyone goes to the base of Mount Royal, bangs on drums, drinks booze and smokes weed. It seems like everyone in Vancouver smokes the wacky tobacky, but everyone's too scared to drink outside for fear of being locked up. Not in Montreal!



There was actually some pretty cool drumming going on here, but there was also some disturbing displays of movement in the appreciative crowd. Our favourites were "Ali G Raver Guy on Speed" (blue/white top with skullcap), "Hippy Mum Acid Casualty From The 60s" (black top/grey hair) and "Weird Pasty Man With Brown Tank Top" (er.. weird pasty man with brown tank top).

Like Vancouver, there were lots of excellent pub trucks on display. Most of them get locked up with locks that cost more than the bikes themselves.



Mmmm poutine (at Patati Patata).



On our last day, we stumbled across this awesome little cafe. I forget its name, but I think it was a TLA (Three Letter Acronym - insert geek laugh here).



We shared an oven-baked omelette and it was deeeeeelicious. Just about all the food we ate in Montreal was top notch - a refreshing change from Vancouver.



If it wasn't obvious, the trip ended up being a bad-in-a-good-way eating extravaganza. Luckily we averaged about 13km of walking most days to counteract the calorie intake.

We went to Montreal wondering if we could give living and working there a go, but we left agreeing that it was a great place to visit, but not really what we're after. The food, culture, sneaker shops and "just .. the vibe" was amazing, though.

Mega Update Post 5000

Oooooooooohkay!

Stuff we've done:

Found a Serbian butcher on Commercial Drive (not Polish but close enough for now)





Nanna Dziubinski would be proud. These Eastern Europeans really have this stuff down pat. I simultaneously felt my arteries hardening and the drool splashing on the floor. I'm probably going to die a few years sooner than I normally would due to this stuff. We picked up some sausage and some beef prosciutto.

Watched the gay pride parade. Robust lesbians, mincing gays, trannies, the works! Many rainbows.



It wasn't quite the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, but there were certainly lots of comfortable shoes on display.

Katie purchased a new bicycle (a Trek 7300)

It's been ridden twice. It looks really good sitting on the balcony* though.

* I should say patio. No one knows what a balcony is here.

Watched a skateboarding competition on Granville Street





Like, whoah, man, totally.

Katie found employment at BC Hydro (equivalent of ActewAGL) as a project coordinator on a construction project

Scoped out some sweet pub trucks



Matching his and hers Raleighs!

Won and then sold tickets to a big music festival



De La Soul were headlining, but other than them and one or two less interesting acts, we had no idea who was on the bill. That, and it was a bit of a logistical headache to get to the gig. Craigslist to the rescue, we sold 'em to some other guy who presumably loved it and killed a zillion brain cells in the process.

Met, shook hands with, and had a photo taken with Vince Neil from Motley Crue (Dale)



To quote an e-mail I sent to my old Lyneham High School mate Adam Stafford:

"So, I met Vince Neil today. Briefly. He came to my place of work and did some signings and photos. There was a signed guitar on offer too but I didn't win that.

I had two of these cardboard flyers for him to sign. I says to him "if you could make this one 'To Dale'", then I hesitated, thinking on the fly, and, knowing you're a fan, said "and this one 'To Staff' - S,T,A,F,F", spelling it out for him. He scrawled it out, caring not for what I said it seems - or he's deaf - and it ends up saying: "To Stauph" (or "Stavph").

I dunno if it was my accent or his years of rock and roll living. Clearly I should've gone with "Adam"."

Anyway, ol' Vince looked the same in every single photo taken that day. He had his "photo with the people" face on. He was a lot shorter than I expected him to be. I wonder if drinking 72,000 litres of booze stunted his growth? Nah, seriously, nice enough guy.

Went to a great live cooking demo and dinner at Granville Island

Caught the bus to Seattle and back for a failed shopping mission (but it was still cool)



..French food will kill you, eventually, but it'll be worth it.



..I didn't get a chance to try the goat wine. I wonder which part of the goat they make it from?



..Seattle had a serious case of crabs.



..Katie tried to justify the means (sugar extravaganza) to the end (apple), but I wasn't falling for it.

We mostly shopped, unsuccessfully, and ate, successfully. Seattle was cool. We'll go back at some stage for sure -- we only got a sniff of what it has to offer. Lots of stereotypically overweight Americans there.

Went to a BBQ with workmates on Bowen Island (day trip), danced the jig at Bowfest.










(bonus points for spotting the Coopers Sparkling Ale, making everyone go a bit silly.)

Went to Blood Alley, dodged junkies, went to a place "tasting bar" named "Salt" that serves only meat, cheese, condiments and booze

What more could you ask for? Perhaps minus the junkies. Blood Alley is in Gastown. You don't hang out at Gastown at night if you can avoid it -- it's not far from the infamous Main St and East Hastings St intersection in the Downtown Eastside area.

Went on a hike up Brandywine Mountain that destroyed my legs (Dale) for three days. I complained to anyone who would listen.








..here's me thinking riding 40km a day on a heavy mountain bike would reasonably prepare me for a hike like this. Nope! Could barely walk.

Spent the weekend at Victoria (British Columbia's capital)








(that's Captain James T. Kirk, er, I mean, Captain James Cook, of the Starship Enterprise, er, I mean, of the Ship Endeavour!)








..afternoon tea!



..a squirrel (we're still fascinated by these things) -- not part of afternoon tea.



..the ferry to/from Victoria is quite pleasant.

It's been a busy time!

Over and out.