Le Sous Bois Montreal

How does a Canadian consider himself? As an unarmed American with health care... Ha ha. Very funny indeed. And YES, we finally made it to Montréal, Canada. Wow, this is a COLD place! Just like being back home in Norway, perhaps even colder! Quite a transition from Hawaii... We arrived 30 hours late in Montréal and wanted to make the most out of our already short stay. We lived in a charming hostel "Le Sous Bois" in the old city, an area where the architecture gives the city a very European lo...

So i'm still in Montreal. I went to the body worlds exhibition yesterday which was really good if a bit kinda gory when you think that the bodies and parts are actually real but the guy has done wonders for modern medicene with his research and the place was packed with loads of people including small kids who were equally as fascinated. I'm not sure whether I would want all my bits on display like that though but loads of people were filling in the forms to donate their bodies for plasinatio...

This hostel wasn't quite finished when I was there but was promising to be AMAZING! Don't expect to get any sleep though as it's all open plan and people stay around the living area chatting ALL NIGHT! The bunks are great though and the quirky little hand built trailers outside are amazing! I stayed in the old town for most of my trip as frankly I was too exhausted to explore further afield!

Well I did Montreal. Wasn't too interested in the buildings etc. more the people I met. Le Sous-bois was a bit basic but did the job for sleeping. I was lucky not to be assigned one of the beds that had bed-bugs that meant several people being bitten. Saying that though I did end up sleeping in 4 separate locations during my stay. Originally I was in only in for 2 nights as I had hoped to transfer to the HI Hostel on the other side of downtown but they were full, so I was bedded in section E,...

It was, I have to admit, a slight feeling of apprehension that I arrived in Montreal, not really knowing quite how much French people really speak and wondering if my rather rusty A Level skills could hold up! I had been making the effort in Toronto to read the French version of signs and leaflets in order to remind myself, and I'd picked up a French phrasebook in the US, just in case!

The hostel, Le Sous Bois, is quite unlike any hostel I've stayed in before, mainly because it's a sm...

I left a cold and rainy Boston at 11pm on a Greyhound bus. Arriving at the border at 2am, there was a little snow, but it wasn't overly cold. But there was snow! the first snow Ive seen since hiking in Huaraz in Peru, all those months ago. The border was super easy. Where you going? How long will you be there? What will you do there? Will you go back to the USA? And that was it. BANG.. thats the sound it makes when you get a stamp in your passport. The Old guy with the long Grey hair wasn't s...

We arrived in Montreal at around 6am after an 8 hour bus ride on Greyhound sleeping the whole way here. We really had no itinerary and only knew of a few places we wanted to go to. We wanted to be as random as possible. Were depending on locals and the LP book to guide us. Some of the things we have: - Lonely Planet City Guide book - One large backpack, medium size, and small day pack. - Winter clothing. This filled our packs because of jackets, sweatshirts, pants, etc. - And all the other li...

We start off our day at another café. Breakfast was yet again amazing. I've learned quite a bit of French lately too. I noticed that if you say "Bonjour- Hi" then they will know you speak English although sometimes I do say "Parlez-vous anglais?" which means "Do you speak English?". We decide to go to The Mountain which is a huge mountain in the middle of the city of Montreal. The guide book is telling us to take a bus or take the stairs up. Well I couldn't find either so I decided to just wa...

Woke up pretty early again and walked around Old Montreal. It's very old fashioned European style area. Cobblestone narrow roads, many café's, and you just get a good vibe in that area. I noticed the area was filled with touristy shops as well all trying to represent the Canadian feeling. We went to this desert place that sold everything maple syrup. They had all kinds of flavors that I had no idea existed. I decided to try out the Apple Pie Maple Syrup desert. Heavenly good. We buy a few thi...

We woke up a little later today due to last nights party. Today was a bit more relaxing. Our legs have been killing us from all the walking these past few days. We decided to take it easy, go out to eat, and hang out with our new friends at the hostel. For dinner we had this great pasta meal that we got to create and add all types of sauces. At night all the people we met gathered up at the hostel lounge area again and most of them started drinking already. I wasn't planning on drinking much ...