On Monday night, I went out with three friends to a piano bar for dinner. Unfortunately, there was no piano man, just the TV playing. Kinda disappointing, but a fun evening nevertheless. On Tuesday, all INSEAD students were invited to dinner by a top consulting firm. It was a good chance to meet several consultants, including one from the Montreal office who came down specifically to speak with Fred and I, both being from Montreal. After mentioning that we were going up to Montreal on Thursday, he invited us for lunch at their offices to meet a few more people. I accepted the invitation right away!
On Wednesday night, I went to a 76ers game at the Wachovia Center. The sixers were playing the Atlanta Hawks, the single worst team of the league. At least a third of the seats were empty. It was my first pro basketball game so I had a good time.
On Thursday night, we left Philly around 9am, and arrived in Montreal around 5pm. Long day driving… My sister was not home yet, so Ben and I went to the Verre Bouteille for a pint of Cheval Blanc. When then dropped our stuff at my sisters, and went out on Mont-Royal to buy what would later become a feast. We had wine, strip loin steaks, vegetables, cheeses, port etc etc. We were so full that everyone was sleeping by midnight. On Friday morning, Ben and I had a large breakfast at Madame Bolduc, and Ben went to walk around the old port while I attended the company lunch. It was eventful but very nice to meet the people I may be working with in a few months. Everyone was very humble, down-to-earth, welcoming and fun to speak with. After lunch, Fred drove me back to my sisters, and we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We went for drinks with my sister and her roommate at a small bar on Mont-Royal. Ben and I walked over to Ouzeri, a very nice and cheap Greek restaurant on St-Denis, to have dinner with some friends. We had Saganaki (not sure about the spelling), a Greek cheese on a hot pan, flambéed with ouzo and with a lemon squeezed on it. It’s fabulous! We then enjoyed grilled octopus, veal and two other great meal courses I can’t remember, along with a bottle of Kouros. After dinner, we went out to Tokyo Bar and Radio Lounge before taking a cab home.
On Saturday, Ben, Dominique, roommate and I went for breakfast at Mere-Poule. It was 3pm by the time we finished eating. Ben and I walked to the Mont-Royal and climbed all the way to the belvedere. We then walked back down on the city side, and had refreshments at NewTown. We then walked to the Bell Centre to see if we could get some affordable scalper tickets. No such thing when the Canadiens play Toronto. After walking around a bit more, we went to Baton-Rouge next to the Centre, where I figured it would be a good place to watch the game. It was completely packed when we arrived, and we had to wait 30 minutes to get seats at the bar where you could see the 4 small TVs to watch the game. To my surprise, by the time the puck dropped, the place was completely empty. I wanted a bit more atmosphere so we crossed the street to the Cage au Sport at the Bell Centre. The restaurant has two exits, one for the street and one for the stadium. By the end of the second period, the Canadiens were up 5-1 and I started chatting up three people from Toronto. After a couple of minutes, I figured out that they had tickets and were too ashamed to go back inside, so I asked if we could use their tickets. Sure enough, they said yes and there we were, in the Molson Ex Zone, watching the Canadiens kick Toronto’s butt. There were two or three fights on the ice, and at least two fights in the stands nearby. Right at the buzzer, a Toronto fan sitting 5-6 rows behind me splashed his beer right at the Canadiens fan sitting behind me. I was completely soaked in beer. The guy behind me started climbing the seats and they started throwing punches. I took this as our queue to leave for our next destination: the Peel Pub. This Montreal institution has been fined for recycling beer in the past, but the location and prices make this place a popular spot for people of all ages. After a quick pitcher, we walked over to PVM (Place Ville-Marie) to go to 737, a restaurant/bar/club on the 40th floor of the building. I had never been there before. There was a 20 minute line-up when we arrived, and I started talking with 6 18-year-old girls in front of us. They were on the guest list and managed to get us in for free as well. I was on a roll to get free stuff! We enjoyed the outstanding view on the city before coming back an hour later. We continued our expedition to St-Laurent Street and ran into some friends from Wharton who were visiting Montreal. Coincidence coincidence… After walking around with them for a few minutes, we went to Baloo’s for a last drink, and had some $0.99 pizza before going home. What an exhausting day!
On Sunday morning, Dominique prepared an absolutely amazing breakfast, and it was already time to head back to the city of brotherly love. After a little trouble at the border because I didn’t have my I-94 which was never given to me when I arrived in JFK, we jumped back in Fred’s very comfortable 330xi and arrived in Philly around 10pm.
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