rom the airport we drove back to his apartment because he rented me the guest suite in his building where I could drop my bags off and then he gave me a quick tour of the place. He lives in an exclusive apartment building which is on a completely private street, 1 block from the touristy Old Port. Flats in the building are extremely difficult to get and obviously ridiculously expensive. Apparently a bunch of the Montreal Canadian’s hockey team players live in the building which also makes it that much more desirable (to some). Driving into the underground parking lot was like going into Jay Leno’s garage, and if I knew anything about cars I would name some but to me I just saw dollar sign after dollar sign next to double dollar signs on wheels.
The entrance to the apartment was stunning; a gigantic foyer with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the gorgeous blue river. There were glass staircases on both sides, with a posh lounge area which was obviously just for looks. The building had its own wine cellar just for the tenants, a full sized crystal blue pool complete with water fountains and a stone cave sauna, pool table room, social room, and a completely private walk out patio just inches from the water and equipped with barbeques and lawn chairs for enjoying the sunshine (because unlike the cold miserable rainy weather we have in Vancouver, it was over 30 degrees in Montreal).
My suite was obviously gorgeous. I felt like I couldn’t touch anything but at the same time I had this strong desire to touch everything! I would wake up each morning and open my French doors out to my private patio and sit and enjoy the view and sunshine. Yachts sailing by, tourists taking pictures from across the water, me trying my best to fit in (in spite of my thrifted clothes and 2 for 20$ sunglasses). It was at this moment I felt exactly like a housewife of orange country, only from Montreal.
I totally felt like I did not belong amongst all these rich French people. Even more so when they actually tried speaking to me in French and all I could do was look stupid and say Sorry, no French! With one man in particular, it probably would have been better if I didn’t understand him, because it turns out he was asking if it was my suite he was sun tanning in front of, and when I said yes, but that I was just visiting, he said “oh okay, I felt kind of creepy because I keep staring into your bedroom”.
From then on I kept the blinds closed.
Anyways, that night we walked through Old Port which was my favorite! It’s all old cobblestone streets with little café’s and vendors etc. I couldn’t believe how many people were out in the village square watching street performers, and sitting out having drinks, etc. It reminded me so much of Europe.
After showing me around he took me to some famous little bakery that sold “queues de castor” which are basically pastries made of heaven and sprinkled with cinnamon/sugar. Mmmmmm. This was not a diet weekend.
Being that it had been a long day for me, I wasn’t up for hitting the famous Montreal club scene just yet, so we just went back to his apartment and watched a movie. I know what you’re thinking. we JUST watched a movie people, no funny business!
The next morning he had planned to take me to Mont Tremblant which is a quaint little skiing village in the mountains about 2 hours outside of Montreal (although much less when you’re driving what felt like the speed of light). I absolutely fell in love with this little village. It is the cutest place I have ever seen; if it had cheeks I would have pinched them. There was a ton of tourists, a live band, little cafes and shops all over, and a bicycle race going on through the town center which we had to stop and wait for before we could cross.
I will definitely return to Mont Tremblant one day!
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On the way back he drove me all through Montreal, including to the top of a prestigious area called Westmount where I saw some stunning homes and an even better view! We also went through downtown and the Latin quarters etc. It was all so lovely! It’s weird that this place is part of Canada, it seems so different!
After we went back and dropped off the car, we walked to Old Port where he INSISTED, against my protest to get a horse drawn carriage to dinner. I was mortified! I am someone who really doesn’t find them all that romantic and think that they are a terrible idea! Not only do you have people pointing at you and you are made a complete spectacle of, but you also stop traffic because you are riding a fricken monster that doesn’t make the sharpest of turns, not to mention it takes years to get where you are going.
For dinner we went to a nice Italian restaurant and after that went to a fancy club. The nightlife in Montreal is a million times better than it is in Vancouver, it would be a great place to do a girls weekend! It was so much fun!!
The next morning he took me Downtown because he was insistent that I not leave Montreal without going to Schwartz’s restaurant. This tiny little deli is apparently world famous and a landmark in Montreal, which wasn’t hard to believe with the 3 block line up to get in. I was told that the only thing to get at this place is a smoked meat sandwich with a giant pickle on the side and completed with a cherry cola. For someone who is mostly vegetarian, I have to admit that it was delicious.
We picked up some extras to take over to one of his friend’s who had been in a car accident the night before. I was super nervous to meet his friend and didn’t really know what to expect but luckily she was really sweet and being a nurse, I had lots to talk to her about.
From there we went to Cirque du Soleil which I had been looking forward to the entire weekend! I had always wanted to see one of their shows and being that cirque du soleil was started in Montreal, it was a must! It was everything I had always heard it was and more! I am still in shock of some of the things that they can do. I can’t even imagine the training that goes into putting something like that together. Oh and it didn’t hurt my overall opinion being in the best seats one can get, and having some free wine and appy’s from the VIP tent probably helped too. Oh the life of a desperate housewife, it’s a hard one.
After the circus we went out for more drinks and dinner. We picked up some Pho, a type of Vietnamese soup (which I had never had or even heard of before but was his absolute favorite) to take back with us. He knew the owner really well, as he obviously ate at this place a lot so he just had to text in his order and tell them when we would be there. The owner saved us a parking spot out front, came out to give us our food, and we never had to pay a cent. Why is it that rich people get everything for free?
Since my flight left at 6am (as oppose to 6pm which we originally thought), we decided to go home and watch a movie while eating our Pho before heading to the airport at 4am. The soup was soooooooooo yummy!!! I hope that this place wasn’t like remarkably above average so I can still enjoy it back in Vancouver.
And that was pretty much the end of my trip! He took me back to the airport and we said goodbye and I was off! It wasn’t an awkward goodbye either, which was good, it was just a casual hug and au-revoir Montreal!
I officially made it through the weekend without being kidnapped or raped. Win! Actually aside from still talking a lot about money he was quite a gentleman throughout the weekend.
When I returned, a girl in my class’s reaction was “OMG. The LEAST you could have done was given him a blowjob!!!”
I most certainly disagree!
So overall I am glad I went and I really did have a good time (aside from working myself up everyday worrying about maybe feeling pressure to have sex). As fun as it was, one weekend of living this extravagant lifestyle was enough for me. Actually, I thought that I would enjoy all of the luxuries a lot more than I did in the end. It was really weird and felt almost guilty and so much of it just seemed so unnecessary. I mean, I definitely liked the freedom that came with not having to ever think about money and being able to do anything you want but at the same time it just didn’t feel right.
So that was it! I still don’t have a strong desire to be romantically involved with him but it was a really fun weekend and he made good company. I am pretty sure that he thinks he likes me more than I him but at the same time I think he is just lonely in his life and likes the companionship more than anything.
C'est la vie
'If it had cheeks I would have pinched them.' I love that, excellent work.
I am, however, massively jealous of you and think you're missing a trick here. Put on a red dress, fly back out there, and have him climb a ladder to give you flowers.
I'm joking, obviously. What a way to see a city for the first time though - someone who's local and rich. If anybody ever came to visit me, they'd probably have to make do with a couple of pints in the pub and a kebab.
Wow! That was really a wonderful experience. Don't it feel great to be rich even for one day? Glad you had a great time.
Yay! Good for you! There are too many girls I know who feel they need to THANK every guys whos ever been nice to them with some sort of sexual favour. Its rediculous! I'm also glad he didn't kidnap or rape you haha! Sounds like you had an amazing weekend!