This weekend, I went to Puces Pop Printemps at the Ukrainian Centre on Hutchinson and Parc in Mile End.

As always, we enjoyed some Clever Cupcakes - including vegan chocolate with peanut butter frosting, and red velvet.

I was so happy to see Elaine Ho's Jewelry, I picked up a silver "Circle Bird on a Branch" necklace, it's so pretty and suits me perfectly.

I had brunch at Cafe Local on St-Viateur, it was pretty yummy. We walked pretty far and ended up downtown, perusing the shops, checking out all the Betsey Johnson jewelry and night clothes at the Bay, smelling colognes and perfumes, seeing strangers and friends, and such.

I ended my night at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel's Bar - Les Voyageurs, where we sampled many of their signature drinks, including the Cupidon, Yoko Fresh, Pomegranate and Cucumber Mojito, The Olympic Flame, Arc-en-Ciel Portugais, a Gin Gimlet, and more... needless to say, we closed the bar, and enjoyed good conversation!

Today, we atoned for our transgressions with mass at St. Patrick's Basilica, a light lunch at Le Commensal, and some coffee.

All in all, a nice weekend, despite the rain and chill!

I have found a few great sites for shopping for brand/designer labels and fun stuff online, and thought it might be worth to share them:

First is HauteLook, which has everything from Sigg Bottles to Burberry Handbags. I have bought one baby present there, and friends have bought Demeter Hello Kitty Perfume. The shipping is decent, and it takes up to three weeks for things to arrive.

With BeyondTheRack, I have fulfilled a few Betsey Johnson desires at a majorly reduced prices. I was at Ross in Florida and got this Starring Betsey Tote for $45, which was neat, because I had just ordered the matching clutch for $15 at BYTR. I also got these sunglasses for $25.

I am a tough consumer, and I will wait and poke and save to get what I want, and so far, I am quite happy with both HauteLook and BeyondTheRack. My biggest issue is the shipping costs. Luckily, I entered a contest on SweetSpot.ca that gave me credit at Beyond the Rack, and HauteLook had a free shipping offer during Memorial Day weekend.

Be a smart shopper, and reap the rewards :)

Very cool! I wish I could use him.

http://mileendings.blogspot.com/2010/05/line-of-poetry.html

I keep saying I am going to start this thing back up, if nothing else, for a timeline of things.

Not that anyone reads it, but maybe I'll start posting links I like.

I am terrible at blogging.

Well... it's been two years since I posted.

Maybe I'll start again

Montreal Visitors - July 2007

This is for Mum & Dad & Chris & Warren that are coming to visit soon. I figured a bunch of links would help make some decisions.

Anyone that wants to - please add comments/suggestions!

TO SEE LINKS - The best thing to do is right click on the link and open in a new tab/window.

So... here we go:

Shopping

Downtown, there are a gazillion places, like Eaton Centre, The Bay, Ogilvy, Simons and tons of stand-alone stores.

In Westmount, there are a bunch of amazing little shops with everything in them - like Hogg Hardware, Zone, Ritsi, bead stores, housewares, clothes etc. There is even Bon Appetit that sells just cookbooks.

Activities

There are a tonne of museums and places all over the city - so a Metro/bus pass or tickets are a must.

Everyone is going to see BodyWorlds. It requires booking in advance.

One very cool idea is the Montreal Museums Pass - which gives you three consecutive days of access to all sorts of attractions all over the city, and includes a 3 day pass for public transit. At $45/each, it's not bad, because some of the museums are up to $10/each anyway... The Museums include: Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, McCord Museum of Canadian History, Montreal Biodôme, the Montreal Botanical Garden, The Montreal Insectarium, the Montreal Planetarium and the Science Centre.

Some musts include

The Old Port
Chinatown - where we might have Dim Sum
and the Little Italy/Jean Talon Market area

And there's also churches... in my favourite order: St.Patrick's/St. James/Mary Queen of the World/St. Joseph's Oratory/Notre Dame

There's also the Sun Life Building, the Old Forum, the mountain.... the rag district?


And now...

Food

One great guide...

Dad says he must have Bar-B-Barn. I suggest going before 5pm - it's cheaper.

Dim Sum - Chris to fill in!

Fondue Places - Chris to fill in!

Schwartz's - for smoked meat and atmosphere.

St. Viateur Bagel - because it's not Montreal without bagels, and the one on Monkland has an amazing lunch place

Mesquite is a new favourite of mine... such good southern BBQ

Nouveau Delhi is my favourite Indian place... mmmmmmm

Orange Julep - is something to see and try

Amelio's - amazing oven-fired pizzas

Ben & Jerry's - creme brulee ice cream, please

Chalet BBQ - an institution and a must

Juliette et Chocolat is apparently sinful

Alto - delivery poutine

PLEASE feel free to add comments, questions, etc.

Whoops!

So I think I offended Hydro Quebec, well, a guy there anyway.

First of all, on the automated answer system, I selected 9 for ENGLISH. So all my pre-recorded messages were in English, fine and dandy. Then I get an agent - and HE SPEAKS FRENCH TO ME THE WHOLE TIME! Why would I select ENGLISH if I wanted to speak French to the guy?

Anyway, I'll get my bills in English from now on... I think. He gave me no confirmation. He was more interested in getting me off the phone.

I am a maudite anglais!

I used to be such a sweet, sweet thing 'Til they got a hold of me...
(Thanks Alice Cooper)

So this is coming on to my third year of living in Montreal. This is my third winter here.

Now public transportation was just a convenience when I lived downtown. Usually, I walked everywhere, and used the bus or metro to get to other areas when I needed to. Now that I live about 5km from downtown (aka where I work and everything is, mostly) I depend on public transport to get me places.

When I first started taking the bus and metro, I was polite. I let people ahead of me in line for the bus, I let people scoot in front of me and take the seats on the metro. I was nice, and Pictou County smiley and so on.

The first incident was the "molesting." This happened on the metro once, and then on the bus. Standing on a crowded bus/metro with many bodies all together means nobody can move or see very much. That means if you can get a seat, you should damn well grab one.

So I learned my lesson. In the interest of my own safety/paranoia, I now try to be at the head of the line when I get on the bus. I dash for a seat. When I get on the metro, unless someone is pregnant or elderly or with crutches or something, I take a seat. I usually don't have problems with that... but then there are times like yesterday.

I like to take the 24 bus (it goes up and down Sherbrooke), because it takes me almost to my doorstep. Also, taking the bus means I don't have to switch like on the metro, where I have to move from green to orange lines at Lionel Groulx. The ride is about 20 minutes, and it's generally relaxing.

One day, I had a load of groceries and was obviously struggling. There was a lady sitting on the outside of a two-seater, and I stood beside her, hoping she was getting out soon so I could shuffle in. Five stops later, she still sat on the outside, so I tried to get to the inside seat, saying "excuse moi" "pardon me..." etc. She still didn't budge. BIOTCH. I ended up struggling to keep my balance and my groceries all the way home.

So yesterday, I get on the 24 at Sherbrooke and University, and I'm second in line. First of all, this guy with a laptop bag buts in front of the old lady in front of me, and dashes to a seat in the back. I let the old lady take the only seat left in the front of the bus, and I go in search of a seat.

I climb up the stairs to the back section, and the only three seats available are the one beside laptop guy, and the ones that face backwards in front of laptop guy. I don't like sitting backwards, so I try to sit beside laptop guy. The thing is, he has set his laptop bag on the seat beside him. NOT ONLY THAT, he has his legs extended so the seats in front of him (the backwards seats) are blocked.

The old me would have held on to the poll and waited for another seat to vacate at the next stop (tough luck, it's the McGill stop where a million more people get on).

The new me, feeling some mix between rage and bravery, clibs over his legs, picks up the laptop guy's bag from the seat beside him, hands it to him, and sits beside him. Of course, this being Montreal, he says nothing, and we sit in silence the rest of the ride.

No more Mister Nice Girl.

(Also posted here)