Wet, cold, bonjour from Montreal

It's cold, the streets are wet, my sandals are not doing my toes much good, and the sundresses I am wearing are sheer torture in this weather. Lucky I had brought some shawls, a few cardi's, and a quilted jacket. For the lower extremities, I have tights. But the whole wet and cold late spring wear is still not enough to stop this tropical girl from chilling out in a bad way. 10 degrees Celcius, with a wind chill factor of another minus 5, so it's cold. At times unbearably so.

Montreal has an underground maze, connecting all the hotels, including the one I'm staying in. But as it takes twice as long to get to the conference center or any of the major hotels where some of the sessions are taking place, it doesn't look like a favorable option when I need to get to work. Get soaked outside or be late inside? Quite a choice. Looks like taxis for me this week.

One of the best parts of attending this annual event is seeing friends I only get to meet once a year. JC is my roommate, so we are set for more bonding over chocolate and general gossip. Two of my favorite male buddies are here as well, both haven't changed that much, still as immature as the get go.

So far, we've had cocktails at a bistro made famous by Brando (Le Soubice), a creperie in the middle of the Vieux Montreal (probably too touristy for most, but it was a safe haven in the middle of a bad rain storm), and a Viet-Thai deli not too far from Place D'Armes. The only bagel I've had has been disappointing but will continue to hope for the best. And I have heard great things about the markets so I plan to try the Jean Talon and the Atwater (unsure of the actual name of this one but it's on the map) soon to buy cheese and other Quebec products.

Met up with R on Friday night. Probably not a good idea as nothing has panned out since we last saw each other. Looks like R doesn't want to communicate but I have left messages so it can't be said that I didn't try. C'est la vie indeed.

Friday looks the only day that I can visit the city a bit. I hope Julie gets time off to sit and chat. It's been years, and I think she has a baby. Will keep my fingers crossed that Carl and Weiya are around.

Brrr, must take a long hot shower and sleeeeep.