Montreal

Montreal is dubbed as the sin city of Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. It is said to be the second-largest in Canada and the 8th-largest in North America. There’s so much to see and do in Montreal… it would probably take a month or so!

Little did I know that I would be in for a challenge when my Popster friend, Mydzz, and I decided to go to Montreal via train (VIA Rail) last October 9th, 2012. Thanks to Google, Mydzz found the a number of popular places in Montreal to visit in our 4-hour time frame.

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As expected, we had several bloopers during our trip…

1. Confused!
We nearly got off at the Dorval station, one stop away from Montreal, because we got confused with the announcement for the next stop.

2. Photo oppsie!
I was taking my photo (a.k.a. “selfie”)  with the Notre-Dame Basilica in the background when a guy across the street offered to take my photo. His shouting was so loud and animated that I ended up being the center of (unwanted) attention. OMG! Mydzz laughingly walked away and pretended not to know me. O_O

montreal-notredame--- Montreal-NotreDame-selfie

It’s a good shot though…. 😀 Hmmm… better than my “selfie” on the right… Don’t ya think?

3. Train seats mixed up.
We were finally settled in our designated seats when the VIA Rail officer asked us to move. Our fellow passengers told us that there was a glitch in the online booking system that mixed up the seating arrangements.

4. So French!
The VIA rail employees were talking to us in French while directing us what car to take. All we could do was to smile and say thank you. “Car 4” was the magic word that we needed to hear to put together all the things they were saying.

5. So lost!
Our million dollar smiles opened the hearts of strangers, happily chatting with us and helping us find the best views in the city.

Below are some of our snapshots:

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montreal-science centre Montreal---
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montreal-archeology Montreal-Mydz
montreal-coloredbuilding montreal-justicepalace

Notre Dame

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Surprisingly, we covered several tourist spots in 3-4 hours with no tour guide. Ha! We spent an hour having lunch in a Chinese buffet… we pigged out at the Jade Restaurant! :p

The trip to Montreal proved to be enjoyable after all. Until next time! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmwa!

New York!

After the road trip to Washington DC (click this link to read related article -> “bullet holes”), my cousins (Vilmor and Freddie) and I decided to embark on another adventure…  this time to New York!

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Statue of Liberty from afar

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Hopkee

Who wouldn’t want to go to New York? Come on! The Statue of Liberty and “the Big Apple” with sky high buildings are such a “wow” for a naive small town girl like me. :p

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You betcha! With our backpack in tow, we all boarded a bus from Virginia (Va) to New York (NY). The 6-hour travel was a breeze because it was utilized for snoozing. Zzzzzzz…

Kuya Romeo, one of our relatives who lives in Manhattan, kindly picked us up from the bus drop-off point near Chinatown. He drove us to Manhattan and bought us a fancy breakfast before doing “touristy” things. 🙂

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breaky!

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with Kuya Romeo

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my turn! 😦
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NYC cab

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NYPD

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Seaport

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balls! (near Wall Street)
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Japanese Buffet

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with Gladys
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So… what else did we do in New York? Check it out on my next post (New York Tour! (1 of 2))!

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P.S. TheCuriousMe would like to thank the following for making this trip possible:

  • Vilmor and Freddie for covering my return ticket (Va to NY and NY to Va) and some foodies
  • Ate Cel for coordinating with Kuya Romeo and Gladys
  • Gladys (and Rhyan!)for the accommodation
  • Kuya Romeo for patiently driving us around, buying our breakfast and supper, and for providing us a tour guide

Thank you so much for your valuable time and for making the trip to New York memorable as well as free of charge! I’m one lucky girl! 😀  XOXO 
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