A Good Time

I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I didn't enjoy my holiday.  I suppose I'm a dark sort of fellow.  For example, look how grim I am when taking a selfie in front of our hotel:

I dislike the idea of taking selfies; people always look foolish doing it.  I suppose that explains my expression; I was worried about getting the placement of the hotel in the picture, not self-aggrandising myself.

The "Hotel Birks" was a very nice hotel, owned and operated by the Birks diamond concern.  Plenty of luxury, with a gas fireplace in the room, the softest, sweetest beds, wonderful pillows ... and the shower was a religious experience.  Waking up in such a place each day, retiring back to it, with a very prompt and enthusiastic staff, making us feel welcome.  I can't say anything good about the restaurant; we learned the first night that chef Henri is one of those in the industry whose opinion is "fuck your tastebuds, you will learn to taste food properly."  I worked with many such people.  My Tamara has extreme dietary needs — no sugar, no salt — but apparently these issues don't exist in the chef's universe, because we struggled explaining our need for the cooking of FRESH vegetables and meats, without sauce or marination.  We spent the rest of our vacation eating elsewhere.

Montreal is a rich, lively city, full of multiple cultures and ideals.  It's the second largest French city in the world and as such, is host to people from countries all around the world that were once French colonies, where French became the premiere lingua.  We met folks from Cameroons, Vietnam, Reunion, Guinea, Benin and Algeria.  Virtually everyone also speaks English, except plainly those who have been patriated to Canada so recently they haven't had time to become bilingual.  Alberta, some 40 years ago, was resented deeply by Quebec because of statements made by my province's ignorant right-wing politicians, but that has all plainly evaporated.  We met no resistance against our speaking primarily English, while my small amount of polite French was welcomed and appreciated.  No one corrected my pronounciation of anything, and when I ask for a translation of anything, it was instantly supplied, with smiles.

So we had a great deal of fun, rushing from place to place, spending too much money on taxis, buying very expensive dinners and otherwise setting out to bankrupt ourselves within reason.  We were strained in seeking out dinner each day for Tamara, as we were in the heart of urban Montreal and far from the many freshwater markets and independent groceries that we were able to find at a great distance and costly cab ride.  We learned much about travelling, should we do it in the future, and know better how we'll ready ourselves next time.

But see?  Positive writing is nowhere near as fascinating as negative ... and at any rate, I cannot stop being observant, even though I'm visiting a "foreign" country.  The flights did leave from the "international" terminal, though we were going from Canada to Canada.  Thus, the posts I've written about anger and selfishness.  I could write others, because like any large city with more than four million people, that's always there.  Humans have trouble managing themselves in massive groups ... it gives so much opportunity for exploitation, conniving and despair.  And that is evident, for anyone with their eyes open.  I simply cannot be blind.  So if it feels that we didn't enjoy ourselves, don't think so.  I was simply aware, that's all, and interested in writing about that.  So I will, for awhile.

I have the return of my game on Friday, and things to prepare; everyone is very excited to be playing so soon after our last session, as am I.  I have work to catch up on, and book to write, and I'm somewhat tired from the journey ... but I'll try to write here once per day.