Montreal

Last week was our 4-year anniversary, so Nilda and I took a trip to Montreal for a long weekend. We chose Montreal because we wanted to take a trip in the car, our first long road trip. We had a great time, and here are the highlights:

• The key to getting along on a long car trip is an amicable distribution of music. Although we both agreed that the "new music" I got specifically for the trip pretty much sucked.
• In my head, I understand that Montreal is French Canada and that they speak French. I still got confused every time I heard "Bonjour." Yet, somehow, watching Family Guy in French made sense.
• We thought it was weird when the waiter at dinner our first night there asked us if we wanted one check or two. When it happened every time we ate, we realized that Canadians are just weird.
• We had a great dinner at Garde Manager, which I only know about because it's the restaurant from "Chuck's Day Off" on the Cooking Channel. I knew it was going to be good when it started off with a huge spicy bloody mary with a crab leg sticking out of it. For dessert, a deep fried Mars bar with ice cream. (Note: Canadians call Milky Way a Mars bar. I don't get it either.)
• There's something about hotel tv that makes shows better. I now understand the appeal of Cash Cab.
• Montreal is a hip city with a larger neighbor (Toronto), that has a lot of history and an "old" section. It reminded me a lot of Philadelphia.
• Montreal is freakin' cold! We thought, it's May, how bad could it be? The answer is COLD!
• McGill University is located in Montreal and actually has a really nice campus. I say "actually" because it's located in Montreal and is freaking COLD!
• The key to a great trip is naps. My parents are on the other side of the world right now on vacation in China and I don't have the stamina for their schedule. I can't keep up with my parents, and they're AARP members.
• Being in Canada gave me a sudden and unexplained desire to name all of the Canadian ice hockey teams I know. The Quebec Nordics moved to Denver in 1995 and became the Colorado Avalanche, winning the Stanley Cup in their first season. These are the facts Nilda needs to know.
• We usually go to Spanish-speaking countries where Nilda can communicate with everyone. It was nice to see Nilda be in a country where she was dependent solely on her memory of her high school French class. For the first time, I saw Nilda's efforts to speak the local language fade like MC Hammer's haircut. I know, sweetheart, I know.
• We put 732 miles on the car, door to door. We started with a full tank and filled the car twice, with most of the third tank left over. These are the facts my dad needs to know.

Happy anniversary, Nilda, I had a great time and I love you. Here's to many, many more anniversaries. But next time there better be a beach involved.

PS - On a side note, damn, I feel good about Osama Bin Laden being dead. Obama gave the order for the SEALs to kill Bin Laden, then toured the tornado damage and gave a speech at the White House Correspondent's Dinner. That is bad ass.