Our Montreal road-trip couldn’t have arrived at a better time. My class was wrapping up, the Christmas season was starting to move into full swing, and I was starting to really get tired of the daily grind of life. It was time to get away and see something new and different.

The trip started off smoothly and we were eating up the miles, even with a stop at Chick-fil-A, making it to Montreal in record time. I even managed to remember the way to the hotel without any directions. We quickly checked in early Friday afternoon, parked the car for the weekend, dropped our bags in the room and went off to explore. Even though we have been to Montreal a few times already, it’s large enough to have had plenty left for us to see.

With the weather being a sunny, seven degrees Celsius and because we just finished a 3 hour drive, we decided to head outside and walk to Downtown Montreal and then on to the Golden Square Mile. The last few times we were here the weather was cold, damp and rainy, (not at all conducive for being outside), so we missed a few things. This time however we were able to see some of the things we missed, including McGill University (with a student protest!) and the Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde. After wandering about for a bit, looking at buildings, people watching and window shopping, we took a break for coffee. With a coffee shop or Starbucks seemingly on every corner, we had our choice of places and settled on a small shop for our coffee before heading to the Métro de Montréal to catch a train.

Our Metro ride (followed by a short walk) brought us to the Atwater Market, located in between the Little Burgundy and Saint-Henri districts along side the Lachine Canal. Atwater Market is set up inside a hall-like, art deco styled building complete with a clock tower at one end, seemingly keeping an eye on the neighborhood. The place is filled with cheese shops, fresh produce stands, butcher shops, small restaurants, and coffee shops. We walked around for a bit looking at the wares being displayed before picking up some chocolates for the train ride back downtown. Everything looked and smelled amazing and it was worth the ride to check out.

Once we made it back downtown, it was time for a late dinner at one of the many Asian restaurants scattered throughout Montreal. We decided on Qing Hua Dumpling, located on the Boulevard de Maisonneuve. It was casual place filled with groups of students and couples out for dinner. We ordered Chicken & Mushroom dumplings, and Beef & Cheese dumplings with a pair of Tsingtaos. When the dumplings arrived they were steamed perfectly and were absolutely delicious. Once we finished with dinner we started making our way back to the hotel, stopping at Hurley’s pub for a nightcap, before catching the Metro back to the hotel.

Saturdays’ weather was not expected to be as nice as Fridays, with rain and wind headed our way. Once we got up, it became apparent that the meteorologists were correct, but the thing about Montreal is that inclement weather never puts a stop to getting things done or going to where you need to go. Not only is there the Metro for transport, but Montreal has an “Underground City” to boot! Most is technically not underground, but is an indoor, interconnected network of hotels, malls, offices and stores that has everything you could possibly need. Our plan was to spend the day walking inside and set foot outside for no longer then the time it took to get to an underground entrance from the hotel.

We started walking at the Palais des congrès, browsing the shops as we went along. From here we continued down some hallways and escalators to the Centre de Commerce mondial, grabbing a coffee en route. Our trek took us into more hallways and tunnels as we headed toward the Place Bonaventure so we could visit a Christmas craft fair. The craft fair was packed with people buying things, as it should have been, with the amount and quality of vendors present. We looked at some of the items for sale and then headed off to our next stop, the Le 1000, so we could check out the indoor ice skating rink on the main floor of Montreal’s tallest building! From here our path lead us to the Eaton Center to shop and grab some bubble tea to refresh us. Unfortunately our master plan of not stepping outside failed since we were both beat, so we stepped out into the elements at La Baie to return to the hotel via the Complexe Desjardins and the Complexe Guy-Favreau. After 10 miles of walking on the day, it was time for a nap before the Habs game at 7 p.m.

This years version of our Habs game was definitely more in line of what a hockey game should be. Last year the score was 10-1 (Canadiens) or something ridiculous. This year it was Detroit taking the game with a more reasonable 2-1 scoreline. The game was still pretty good even though the Canadiens lost. They had some chances, but couldn’t capitalize until it was too late. The real highlight of the game was when a fan had one chance to win $50,000 by shooting a puck through a tiny cutout blocking the goal during the second intermission the game...and he fucking made it. The whole place erupted as if each spectator won along with the guy. Meanwhile, the on-ice announcer fell down, he was so excited. Talk about life changing!

Sunday was our last day, so we packed up our stuff, hit up one of the Asian bakeries for some breakfast pastries and headed off to see one last site, the Allan Memorial Institute, before the ride home. The Allan Memorial Institute is part of the legacy of the CIA’s MKUltra Project. I won’t get into too much about it but recommend if you’ve never heard of that project, Google it, and prepare to be disturbed. At this former mansion, scientists funded by the CIA worked to find a chemical agent that would break down patterns of behavior, or a person's personality/memory, while also inserting new behaviors and mindsets. Patients were subjected to high-voltage electroshock therapy several times a day, forced into drug-induced sleeps that could last months, and injected with megadoses of LSD. Goes to show, you can trust no one…especially not your government.

After taking some pictures at the “Allan”, we hopped back into the car and headed home, another trip in the books!