Whoosh! Part 2 - So much merriment

I wanted the title to be "Eat, Drink and Be Merry", but it would have made the link too long. As the title suggests, April and May continued to have a lot of culinary and related events.

One MeetIn member is a pastry chef and he holds pastry tasting events every couple of months. I was finally able to attend one in early April. For a nominal charge, we sampled artisan tarts, mousses, cakes, chocolates and truffles on a Friday evening. Loaded up on sugar, we then headed out to Les Deux Pierrots for some merriment. It was described to me as a traditional Old Montreal hangout. The crowd spanned all ages, all there to have some drinks, listen to the live music and, if the music is good, dance. For those of you with some Kingston context, it's kind of like the Wellington (circa mid-90's) mixed with Clark Hall Pub on two floors. The music covered traditional Quebecois music (which is very similar to traditional Irish, Celtic, Newfie, etc. music) to rock covers spanning the 60's to this decade. We were the group of 30-somethings dancing off to the side while the students crowded the stage. I had so much fun that I went back with my Vancouver visitor over the May long weekend.

The "In Search of the Best..." theme dinners continued. They fill so quickly that I often wasn't able to RSVP in time. Still, my culinary adventures included Japanese shabu-shabu (fondue), traditional Mexican (think: mole rather than fajitas), Tibetan, a very unique wine bar (every hear of candy cap mushroom milk foam in a dessert?) , couscous, and Greek. Outside of the official MeetIn theme dinners, I also experienced a more traditional fondue place and a couple of terrasses in Old Montreal, an Irish pub, a fine Italian restaurant, and an all night Chinese food place after one pub night. Although it seemed like a good idea at the time, I'm not sure about the last experience. Next time I'll stick with poutine. I've started collecting business cards from all the restaurants and will keep a scrapbook, just so I remember where I've been.

As much fun as the restaurants have been, I wanted some more culture in my life. In April, I attended "Shakespeare Unplugged" at the Atwater library. The two-person play expertly wove together scenes and lines from a variety of Shakespeare's best known plays. I was surprised at how many I recognized.

The first Friday in May, I hosted my first MeetIn event to attend a concert/cocktail party at the contemporary art museum. That was a unique experience. For the price of admission to the museum ($8), we could sip yummy cocktails from the cash bar, enjoy the museum (which we didn't manage to do) and attend an hour-long concert in the performance hall. The museum holds the Vendredi Nocturnes every month and it's so popular that they don't announce the name of the band until the day of. We saw Bob, a dark, eclectic local band which included "go-go boys" (read: performance art) in their act. The band was excellent, though not exactly my thing. A picture of a "go-go boy" and a toy reminding me of a Replicator from Stargate SG-1 is below:A little more of a traditional cultural event, a friend from MeetIn and I went to see Neil Simon's The Odd Couple at a small theatre. The acting was fantastic and the intimacy of the theatre put G and I in the "splash zone" of flying beer spray and chips as Oscar was demonstrating his typical hosting style.

Working for a company that builds games for licensed movie franchises has its benefits. Our social club sponsored two movie nights to see Iron Man and Indiana Jones. Both movies were great fun. We'll be going to one more movie in June.

Since moving to Montreal, I've been watching Sex and the City reruns on TV. May was capped off with a girl's night out to the Sex and the City movie last night. I'm pretty sure every woman in Montreal was at the movie theatre last night. The movie was great, which we discussed over cosmos (what else?) and martinis at Jello Bar. Once again, I wish I had had my camera. The lava lamps were mesmerizing. Ah... more for my cell phone photo gallery.

Stay tuned for Whoosh! Part 3...

Woosh! Part 1 - So Many Photos

Woosh! Where did April and May go? There were a lot of adventures and they are becoming a blur. I thought I'd write my updates in several parts, based on some major themes this spring. Montreal went from winter to spring/summer almost instantaneously. With the warm sunny weather, my camera has been getting quite a workout.

The first weekend of April was gorgeous, so my camera and I walked around Old Montreal. Basilica Notre Dame, Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel, architecture spanning about three centuries, cobblestone streets, and fabulous art galleries were all part of the 92 photos I took that day. I also started coveting digital SLR cameras that day. Everywhere I went there were other locals taking pictures with some pretty cool cameras. Suddenly, my little Kodak felt limited. I'm still very happy with how my photos turned out. I've been consistently posting my favourites on Facebook. I'll put fresh ones here.

The next week, a few of us from Meetin went to the annual butterflies fly free at the Botanical Gardens. I was like a kid in a candy store, taking 135 pictures of plants, flowers and butterflies, as well as thinking about which plants I want to make part of my soon to be jungle at home.

The photo above is a blog exclusive. I didn't put my photos from the Cabane a Sucre and hike on Mt. St. Gregoire. Cabane a Sucre, or Sugar Shack, is a Quebec tradition, involving a lot of food and maple syrup, but not so much on the shack part. The feasting occurs in very large halls reminiscent of those used for Oktoberfest. It was during the hockey playoffs, so there were a lot of Canadiens jerseys and "Go, Habs, go!" chants. To burn off our meal, we hiked up Mt. St. Gregoire. The views were beautiful, but didn't translate so well on camera - the browns and yellows really washed out in the sunshine. It was only the end of April, but I got SO sunburned.

I wore my sunscreen a couple weeks later for the hike on Mont Royal and the tamtams at Parc Mont Royal. The views from the mountain (relative to the rest of the geography, it's a mountain) were fantastic. One guy described the tamtams as a timewarp back to 1967. Every summer Sunday people gather at Parc Mont Royal, play drums, dance, play, partake in Vancouver's finest export (grown locally, I'm sure), whatever. There was even someone dressed as an apostle, carrying a flagstaff. I still need to edit that photo.

Fabulous friends visited from Vancouver over the long weekend and into the next week. It was an action-packed tourist weekend, including partying in Old Montreal, shopping downtown (and buying the perfect dress), a boat trip from Old Port, and La Ronde in the rain. I think I saw more of Montreal in four days than I have the previous four months. Thanks, J! Both sets of friends are also BSG fans. I now have a renewed passion for the series, just to see whether our speculations were right.

The last photo adventure was a walking tour of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve last weekend. In addition to pictures of the Olympic Stadium, Marche Maisonneuve, and a variety of other historical buildings, I also added to my collection of pictures of doors and front stairs. I'll be printing my favorites and replacing some vacation photos soon.

The walking tour wasn't the only adventure last weekend. A group of us, all from MeetIn, went on a foodie roadtrip to the Eastern townships. We planned to go to the chocolate festival in Bromont, but didn't quite make it. We wound up touring farms and towns... and I forgot my camera! I've got a great picture of a goat on my cell phone.

Stay tuned for Woosh! Part 2...

In Search of the Best...

A couple of foodies from MeetIn launched a series of theme dinners called "In Search of the Best..." and fill in the country. I thought it was a good way to summarize my non-bureaucratic adventures in March. (This might be a good time to note that I still haven't received my Quebec health card.)

The first theme dinner was Afghan food at Khyber Pass on the Plateau, near where I bought my condo. The best way to describe the food is Mediterranean with a taste of India - spicy, flavourful food, no curry, not hot. I had lamb braised in a tomato sauce with three kinds of basmati rice. It was also my first experience with a BYOW (bring your own wine) restaurant. Everyone but the hosts brought wine and everyone shared. We also wound up having a great conversation about wines of the world. The other cool thing about Khyber Pass was the atmosphere. At first I was a bit worried when I entered the restaurant and then told to go outside and two doors to my left. Group parties were in the basement, which was made up to look like a cave. It was wonderful and unique. It was a warm, snowy night, so I decided to walk home and explore a bit of the neighbourhood. I am so glad I bought on the Plateau. There were all sorts of interesting stores, restaurants and theatres. Even though it was snowing, there were a lot of people out on the street, spending the night on the town.

The next week was an evening at the House of Jazz. It's a Montreal must-see. For a $5 cover charge you get an excellent live jazz performance with dinner. The food is one step up from Swiss Chalet, but you really go to the House of Jazz for the music and the atmosphere. We had a perfect view of the stage and the spectacular chandelier featured on their business cards and marketing material. I can recommend the experience. If I ever go by myself, I'll probably just sit at the bar.

Easter Weekend had several adventures. Friends from Toronto came to visit... bearing goodies from their stop over at the Big Apple. For those of you who travelled the 401 between TO and Kingston, you know the landmark. Well, we had no shortage of apple pies, apple cheesecake, apple teas and apple jelly for the weekend. Good Friday we went to Atwater Market where we emptied our wallets on all sorts of treats. That evening we met up with a couple of MeetIn friends at l'Entrecôte Saint Jean, considered a Montreal institution. They only serve one thing - steak-frites (steak and french fries) - and they do it very well. Afterward, we walked to the Planetarium to catch the show "The Milky Way: Our Galaxy". The next day was Dim Sum, again with a group from MeetIn, at Kam Fung in Chinatown. Dim Sum is always best done in groups since you get to sample a little bit of everything. We started off very hungry and wound up leaving very full. We certainly weren't hungry an hour later. I capped off the weekend by cooking a roast lamb feast in what I swear is the tiniest kitchen I have ever cooked.

Last weekend was Peruvian cuisine, at Villa Wellington, followed by tea at Cha Noir, in Verdun. Both places smelled wonderful as soon as you walked through the door. The conversation over dinner was lively and covered a variety of fairly intellectual topics, which carried over to the tea house. The monthly Meet-n-Greet the next night at Brutopia had a record 57 people turn out. I swear, we found 57 of the most interesting people in Montreal and brought them under one roof. We played a mingling game where we had to match interesting facts to the people. I chatted with someone who had tea with the Queen, someone else who had met three Prime Ministers, and someone else who had climbed a volcano in South America. That list barely scratches the surface.

Hmmm... after reading what I've just written, I should consider posting my reviews to Chowhound. The theme dinners continue out to the end of May and I'm pretty sure all the dinners in April are fully booked. It's going to be a yummy spring :) Oh, yeah, and I'm still losing weight, even with all these great dinners. I completely credit all the walking I've been doing since moving to Montreal.

Adventures in Bureaucracy

There is a whole new layer of fun that comes with moving to a new province which can be like moving to a new country. Since this is my 4th major move, I thought I would share my perspectives on navigating a new province's bureaucratic system.

Today I got my new driver's license, which was a pleasant surprise. It wasn't because Quebec has a new form of driver's license photography that makes my picture look less like a mug shot. The surprise was that it took less than a week to get my plastic license. This was even over the Easter long weekend! This coming from an office who asks you to make an appointment, sends you across town, but you still have to stand in line, take a number and wait your turn. Fortunately for me I had been told, by a friend, that my driver's licenses has to be in my maiden name so I came with the appropriate documentation that the SAAQ didn't specifically tell me to bring. Am I the only one who finds in mildly amusing that the abbreviation for the department of motor vehicles (SAAQ) is one letter off than that of the liquor store (SAQ)? Importing a car into Quebec, even from within Canada, requires a mechanical inspection from a specific inspection shop. I got to see new areas of the city with this adventure, including the antiques district where the inspection shop is.

I applied for my health card at the end of February. Still waiting for that card, though going through the application process was a very pleasant experience. Because I was forewarned about the maiden name thing, I had all the appropriate papers and was in and out of the RAMQ office in 30 minutes. Considering if I want to see a doctor I have to go to a private clinic, I'm wondering what is the point of having a Quebec health card. I've decided to postpone any adventures with the health care system, beyond getting the card.

Banking and property laws in Quebec are completely different. Montreal is on RBC's eastern banking system, so now I've lived in all three of RBC's banking districts, causing no end of confusion. Notaries have a lot more power than anywhere else I have lived. Everything connected to purchasing my condo had to go through the notary, including signing the mortgage, which I did at the bank in BC. Beneficiary designation on existing investments is nullified. Only a Will, recommended to be written by a notary, can designate beneficiaries. Family laws are also different. I guess I will be navigating that later this year.

Provincial income taxes are definitely higher than anywhere else I have lived. One other recent BC transplant at work is setting up a support group for all of us who have recently moved to Quebec and have to file our first tax return here. Apparently, how that's done is different, too.

I have done a few moves that were within the same province or city. By comparison, they are much easier since you only have to pack, move, unpack and do a change of address on everything.

Spa!

The move to Montreal took a lot out of me, so I was definitely ready for some rest and relaxation. I took a few well earned vacation days and hopped on a train to Toronto on a Wednesday afternoon. From there, friends and I drove up to Port Severn to the Inn at Christie's Mill. Even in the middle of winter, the Inn can only be described with one word: wow. It was a beautiful drive up to the Georgian Bay with the fresh snow and bright sunshine highlighting the bare trees and rolling hills. The Inn is on an inlet where ducks and swans swam even in the middle of a snowstorm. With three of us we booked a suite, which had a gas fireplace, luxurious, majestic beds and a bathroom that would appeal to anyone's inner diva. Going to the spa in the middle of the week not only saved us a bit of expense, but it was also a lot more peaceful. I think there were a total of five people at the spa, including us, and maybe ten people at the Inn. The weekends are nuts, according to the staff at the spa.

Thursday afternoon we all indulged in a reflexology and pedicure treatment, making our happy feet quite photo-worthy. I also indulged in a Swedish massage to work out the kinks in my shoulders. Heaven! Our spa day was bookended with a swim in the salt water pool and soak in the salt water hot tub.

Dinner was included with the spa package. We all went for the beef tenderloin with exotic mushrooms, which was so tender it didn't need a steak knife. Judging from the face of the one who ordered it, the chocolate mousse dessert was... well... better than sex ;) For those of you in the Toronto area, it's worth driving up to Port Severn for dinner alone.

No one goes to country inns for the night life. We spent the night in, playing Scrabble and enjoying chocolate martinis, which was a little less good for the body but oh so good for the spirit.

The inn was still quiet on Friday, so the staff encouraged us to stay and enjoy the facilities for awhile. We checked out, went for a swim, had lunch at the restaurant (best burgers ever!) before heading back to Toronto for a weekend of hanging out and watching classic movies. Ahh... a lazy, girlie weekend... how luxurious!