Hello from Canada, hope you all had a very Merry Christmas?!!

Well what can I say about this place. . . ? Rumour has it, it’s a really busy bustling place, well not on Christmas Eve. . . Not like in the UK.

We got here, as I said before a little later than anticipated, so dumped the stuff in the hotel and had a chat with the receptionist to find out which place to hit first. . . . and. . . . . .Doh. . . (So, why did you guys leave NYC to come here?) she said?. . . The place is dead over Christmas. See the culture here is for families and staying in or going to the church. . . OK, we thought, Come on, someone’s gotta break the rules a little? Surely?!?! Well she said, you can head here or here, these are the busiest parts of town, which fortunately are close to where we are. . . !

So, feeling slightly perturbed we went off in search of people and a bit of fun for Christmas Eve (God, I so wanted to be in Seymours!).

Well if this was the busy area, we were stuffed. . . . !

We stopped at a place called ‘Thursdays”. This was supposed to be one of the best places. . . hmmmm? Music (shocking), barman friendly, but again had that look of (So, you guys left where to come here?). Needless to say, the place was 1/10 full of couples not talking and single old men?!

We were however befriended by a guy called Marlon (As in Brando, he said), I thought more Marlon from (was it Emmerdale?). Anyway, really friendly guy, from Cuba, lived in Montreal for 3 years and recommended a few places. . . But said it would get busy towards the end of the week (which happens to be when we leave!). So, I now thinking, maybe a little R & R. . . . Whatever! It won’t hurt. . .

However, before writing things off completely, we left the all exciting Thursday’s bar in search of stimulation and found ‘Hurley’s’ Irish pub! The luck of the Irish was shining on us. . . . Great Guinness, friendly bar staff, we chatted to everyone, played darts, drank far too much and Blimey it 4am again! Doh! Happy days. . . So for the first time in years I haven’t woke up at 6am on Christmas day all excited and wanting to give and receive prezzies! Arrrrrrr. . . . ! No, today I woke up with a sore shoulder and a stonkin head ache!

Stilll, live the dream right!?!

So, in summary a great night was had by all (well me anyway).

Christmas day. . . . Main agenda (OK, only agenda – FOOD). Now, the thought was. . . Are we gonna get anything other than Maccy D’s? We were somewhat concerned I might add. . .  But hey, the luck of the Irish was still with us (or was that the Jameson’s?). . . Anyway, No, it was more luck of the French (if there is such a thing?). Oh my god. . . . Or Jesus, as Dave said a lot today (and explained that it was probably because it was Christmas and Jesus’s birthday! – Whatever!). Yes, Jesus, did we stubble across a great restaurant or what?. . . . Now then. . . . The following 3 hours are pure gluttony. . . Where do I start. . . erm. . .

5 courses. . . Not a set menu. . . !

I had the Veg soup to start. . . very nice, but not as nice as Dave’s French onion soup. . . .

Then into the main, I went for the Lamb and Dave had the Duck. . . arrrr to die for. . . . .The meat just fell apart. . .it was gorgeous!

Then we went for dessert. .  Now I don't normally have dessert, but hey, it Christmas. . . .We shared and Chocolate thingy and a Creme Brulee. Oh my god. . . yum yum. . .

Oh yeah, sorry failed to mention, the very nice Red wine we were washing it all down with! (2 Bottles – hmmmm?)

So, after the dessert, we were very full, but managed to destroy a cheese and fruit board. . .Then double espresso coffee's, then we rolled home and crashed. . . $300 lighter I might add!

Gonna go out later again and probably end up in Hurley’s, but need to chill for a bit now. . . !

So we did go out and surprisingly, we didn’t end up in Hurley’s. . . We first went for a bit of a walk to wake up after our siesta, then headed back to the busier area, which again wasn’t that busy!  We ended up in a bar across the street from Hurley’s called the Mad as a Hatter (or something like that). It was ok for an hour or so, friendly barmaid and ok music. . . But it was a bit of a grungy place and it began to get more filed out with wierdos. . . So we left there and headed back up the street and popped into ‘Thursdays’ (which is said to be the best pick up bar in Montreal). We just wanted to check if it was as bad as we first thought?! The answer: Yes. . . Savage! Very funny watching the singles eye each other up! Anyway, we left there pretty quickly and went to a bar just up the road called ‘Sir Winston Churchill’s’, again to be honest also a little savage! Not too impressed really! So we left there and went to a more up market bar and had a good chat with a chap from Seattle and the barmaid. . . The evening improved no end!

So the bar / lounge was called ‘Newtown’, which is supposedly the translation of Villeneuve, as in Jacques Villeneuve, the Formula One driver. Well this is his bar, however he wasn’t there! We met another couple who know him and they were very friendly and gave us some more recommended bars that we will definitely try tonight.

Following there, we were struggling, so thought we would try Churchill’s again. . . hmmm mistake! Even more savage than before. . . For some reason, I was feeling so good so we left to get some fresh and maybe try somewhere else. . . hmmmm, couldn’t find anywhere, so just had a wander and passed one of the many adult entertainment clubs, where these guys stand outside and try and get you in, however as we politely said no thanks, we got verbal abuse and accused as being gay. . . Now this is where Montreal is let down! Too many dopes / tramps / bokers on the streets, in your face asking for money and also Tw*ts outside bars abusing you! Needless to say I was not happy and. . . . Aaarrrgghhhh. . . Lets just say I was not happy! Dave actually wanted to go back and stand on his neck, but hey. We are better than that!

Anyway, that’s my only gripe so far on this whole trip, so, lets be realistic, I am gonna meet some people that I do not like and in Montreal, there are plenty to choose from! Let’s hope this place improves today?!?

Some good news. . . It’s snowing! How cool is that? So gonna go out shortly for a walk and some food, etc. . . Hopefully get some nice photo’s. . .

So, ciao for now!