Day 1 in Montreal
Trip Start
Nov 24, 2008
1
5
Trip End
Nov 30, 2008
Montreal,
Quebec,
Canada
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
- 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 little things like a toothbrush.
Were exiting the bus terminal and it's raining a bit. We decide to head toward the hostel we booked in advance. So I pull out the map since I had the address trying to understand where we were. It was obvious we were tourist. A man passes us and starts speaking to us in French. I have no idea what he said and I just say "English?" He switches to English and asked if we needed help. He had a difficult time giving directions in English but he was really helpful and pointed out the way. On our way to the hostel, we decided to stop by a Cafe to grab some breakfast. I was a bit nervous walking into my first French speaking store hoping they speak English. Lucky enough, they spoke perfect English and I ordered the best coffee I've ever had. Teresa ordered a muffin which was delicious as well. So we finally get to the hostel and it's about 8-9am. Were there way too early and was told to come back by 12. 4 hours to kill with this backpack and it's dragging me down because of its weight. We decide to just walk around town exploring. After walking around aimlessly for a few hours, we check in to our hostel. Since neither of us has stayed at a hostel before, we decided to get our own room instead of a shared room. It was this little cabin outside that had a bed, chair, a small table, garbage bin, heater, and a lamp. Perfect, didn't need anything more. The Hostel itself was perfect too. I'm dead tired at this point and took a nap for a little while before we start our day.
We start our day by walking down Notre Dame in Old Montreal. Just taking in the scenery, we end up at Notre-Dame Basilica. The most beautiful church I have ever seen. The amount of detail they put into this building was amazing. With its multiple rooms, I felt like I could get lost in there. We continue to wonder around and end up at China Town. Very small area but has a great vibe for the Chinese culture. I'm not sure why but I found it strange and amazing hearing the Chinese speaking French. This would mean everyone there spoke French, English, and Chinese. I was in the mood for bubble tea so we walk into this lounge that had couches, TVs, computers, food, and drinks. Very laid back and one of those places you really need to explore to find. Bubble Tea was the size of my head and I could not finish it although it tasted great. We keep walking around going into random shops, malls, and just getting to know the area. We head back to the hostel pretty early because our legs were killing us and to get an early start for the next day. For our first day, it was perfect.
Full album can be found here http://picasaweb.google.com/vskylabv/200811Montreal#
