A prompt trip recap? Unheard of! Yes, my Japanese recap is still in note form… I went there in 2005.

I went to Montreal this past weekend for what was the final bachelor party in my group for the foreseeable future. There’s still one to go, but, well, Jakedog. To recount the trips over the years: Vegas (twice, I think? They tend to blur together), New Orleans (twice, including mine), Louisville, Miami… I have to be missing some because there are more than six of us. Oh well. Suffice to say, there’s been a lot of travel and debauchery from these over the past few years, and while I’m sad to see it end, I’ll also welcome the extra few $k in my bank account each year. Someone did the math on the total cost of them all over the years and it was fairly sickening. We’ll just say I’d have been close to that mid-90s 911 I’ve been wanting.

Anyway, Montreal. Not a place I’d visit otherwise (saying that after visiting… before visiting, I would have probably planned a trip at some point). I think the most accurate description we came up for it was “Pittsburgh with better looking women.” It was dirty, there was only about an hour’s worth of charm, meth-heads down every alley… Not to say I didn’t have a good time, but it wasn’t the pretty little slice of Europe that I had expected.

We stayed at an absolutely horrible hotel, ate some great food (it does have that going for it) at Kantapia (Korean quick lunch), Place Milton (cafe/brunch), Les Deux Gamins (French dinner), and Gibby’s (steakhouse). There were a few other spots sprinkled in, but they’re not worth mentioning. I would recommend all that I listed.

The morning after the first night, which was a quiet one since only a handful of the full crew were in town at that time, I went for a run. Made my way over to Old Montreal to see Notre Dame, the port, some old buildings, and was able to add a few flowers to my collection [1 & 2]. I love running in new cities. A lot. Later that day, we hiked up Mont Royal, which was very cool. A pretty steep hike, but it offered a panoramic view of the city just a couple blocks from downtown. [Gallery]

The rest of the trip was partying and laying in bed to recover. Good times, as always.

Some parting thoughts on Montreal:

• The fact that they speak French and English is very weird. Often times, folks will greet you in both languages (“Bonjour good morning” [no comma]). I didn’t know if they’d rather me butcher my way through a conversation in French [like they would in Paris] or just get it done in English. I opted for English most of the time unless I knew the conversation would be a simple one (cashiers, ticket checkers at the airport, etc.). I wish they didn’t speak English at all because French is so beautiful and would add an air of sexiness to the place. Note: They do protect the French language, but I approve of protecting it more.
• Aside from the few downtown spots mentioned, I didn’t see anything of the city. That said, a quick bit of research said there wasn’t much. I feel safe in telling you that Montreal is not a place to schedule a vacation around and it’s too expensive (see my Facebook post regarding the countless surcharges and taxes on my airfare) for a quick weekend.
• I did have an Alexander Keith’s IPA per Chris‘ recommendation. It was good, but reminded me more of a higher quality American pilsner than anything else.
• The women are beautiful, and not only the strippers (they were too). The ordinary woman has some European sexy flair to her that’s difficult to describe.

Happy marriage, Craig! It was a blast to see you off.

… it will also be a blast to see off this 10+ pounds I’ve added since breaking my wrist. Race to lose 15 STARTING NOW!