So Darrell and Adrienne came this weekend for my Birthday. What a great time we had. I would have to say Friday night was one of the most epic nights of the entire trip. From the litre of beer at Trois Brasseurs to the awkward situation at the jazz club, to the many “ophile” usages, twas a night to remember.

Finding their hotel was an exercise. I got off the metro at Place D’Armes like Adrienne said and walked toward the river, past the Notre Dame, to Rue Commune, but then turned right instead of left. About ten minutes later, after feeling like I had walked into the 19th century, I hit McGill and knew I had missed them or had gone the wrong way. So I called Darrell and he met me half way. We ran toward each other like lovers in some cheesy old movie. And with the snow falling and everything, it was a great start.

Maybe I should explain the jazz club. When I got to their hotel it was already around 7:00. They had asked the concierge for a nice place the night before and she had sent them to this expensive jazz wine bar. We asked her to phone them for a reservation, but couldn’t get one till 9:30, so we went to Trois Brasseurs, a micro brewery, for dinner instead. The plan was to go to the jazz place for dessert.

When we got their and asked for the dessert menu, the waiter was obviously perturbed. He made a comment like, “usually people order dinner first,” and walked away. It kind of annoyed us, but we laughed it off. He went off to tell his snooty waiter friends about the BS table he was serving and they all proceeded to glare at us all night. Most impressive. And when Darrell ordered the 2005 bottle, he was given the 2007. Very classy. The lady could sing, though. The band was hot.

Saturday we went to the Andy Warhol exhibition. That guy was completely obsessed with celebrities, which was pretty odd seeing as he was one. Some of his stuff looks fantastic, and I appreciated what he did for art, but he’s not the kind of guy I would want around me much. He seems very superficial. He even said so himself.

My Birthday began with a trip to Nottingham and Sherwood Forest. It’s a toss up, but I think Robin Hood has to be one, if not the, best cartoon full length film of all time. I never get sick of it. Great movie. We walked around the city a bit in the afternoon, had dinner at this surprisingly trendy bar on rue St. Denis. Everything was dimly lit and all the beer had specific glasses. Afterward we went to the Cremazie apartment where Adrienne baked cookies for everyone and we spread the Tim Tam “little g” gospel to everyone. There were no complaints.

Monday, Darrell Adrienne and I decided to be adventurous and walk up Mont Royal in -16 to -20 degree weather. Pretty dang cold, but we made it. Spent an hour or so playing Go Fish and sipping our chocolate chaud in the chalette on top by the viewpoint. On the way down we got so cold that Adrienne got a stomach ache from it. Intense. We walked through the underground mall to keep away from it and so Adrienne could see what was all down there. I haven’t spent much time in there. It’s friggin’ huge.

Tuesday was the last day we had together, and it was mostly spent doing practical things like trying to get me a new hard drive for my computer. There’s an actual Appleâ„¢ Store on St. Catherine, so we went there, thinking we could get one there. No go. Two floors that make you feel like you’re in an ipod and they can’t sell me a hard drive. I even set up an appointment to talk to one of their “geniuses” and everything. What a disappointment.

Anyway, we went back to the apartment afterward. They called a cab and finished packing their stuff. 45 minutes later the taxi finally pulls up and we all get in the back. By now it was rush hour, plus we were in the middle of a snow storm. What a mess. And every time the lady taxi driver tried to find a way to the airport, it was jammed full. At one point we spent 20 minutes in one spot, trying to turn left. And we were only around five kilometres away. So stressful. Adrienne ended up calling Mom and then WestJet to let them know they were still coming and could they hold on for just a couple minutes. We actually got to the airport 25 minutes before the plane was supposed to take off. They almost didn’t let them on. Other than a girl who had a Plants and Animals LP for her sister for Christmas, they were the last ones on. Needless to say, my bus ride home was not as exciting.

Anyway, that pretty much raps up the weekend. We had an awesome time, eh? Thanks for coming, guys. You made my 22nd special. And thanks for all the groceries. The spekulaas and chocolate chip cookies are a real treat.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 at 3:33 pm and is filed under Montreal, etc.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.