Either
way, our second day in Montreal was new year's eve, and we had an
entire day and evening to fill before the big end of year send-off.
We ate a killer breakfast at the hotel, which was very nice, and we
were good to go for the day. As far as entertainment, there were
countless options but in many areas our interest's diverged. The
girls wanted to go to an art museum, which I wouldn't have minded but
N was not thrilled. It just so happened, however, that there was a
big hockey tournament going on at the Bell Center, which is where the
Candadiens play. It was the World Junior Hockey Championship, which I
hadn't really heard about but I think it's a big deal. It involves
the young players who are on the cusp of making it into the NHL, so
these guys are good. One step away from being pro. The game we were
seeing was Sweden vs. Czech Republic, and we ended up getting decent
tickets, though they weren't that cheap.
I
realize that NHL games cost a fortune, but do you really want to drop
the same kind of cash on an international tournament of junior
players? I'd almost see a college game instead for a fraction of the
price. I think Dartmouth games are $8, whereas online these tickets
were going for $70-80. Ridiculous, if you ask me. We walked to the
arena and got $35 tickets, which is still high but a lot less than
what we saw on the website. This is also a good lesson in
investigating all your options and not just accepting what is
initially handed to you as your only option. That is, of course, if
your goal is to save money. For me it's a not brainer.
Anyway,
N and I went to the game and it was fun, though the arena was not
full by any means. I would say it was about 2/3 full, and the upper
decks were completely empty. We didn't even sit in our assigned seats
because with so many vacancies we just grabbed some empty chairs.
Even if the rightful owners showed up, all we had to do was move a
few rows up or down. The game was fun, these guys were good. I think
they mentioned 17 of 25 of them were heading for NHL teams, so it's
the real deal. More importantly, we got to eat hot dogs and nachos,
which is always a treat.
After
the game we headed back outside into the tundra and went back to the
hotel. One thing I notice about being in the city is that the wind
seems to be unrelenting; I experienced this in New York, as well.
Throw in frigid temperatures and icy snow and it can be pretty
brutal. We trudged back to the hotel and relaxed a little until mom
and A showed up, which was about an hour later. It was nice relaxing
in the room. By the time we all reunited it was getting close to
supper time and we had to make a decision. Midnight was still 6-7
hours away, and we had to plan wisely in order to make it to the
golden hour. We chilled out until around 7:00PM and then did some
research and found a couple of restaurants that got good reviews. The
only problem was that one of them was closed and the other was booked
solid. We sort of forgot that it was New Year's Eve.
We
wandered around a bit in search of vittles but it was difficult due
to the crowds. Places were either closed, too crowded, or had special
New Year's Eve specials going. We could have eaten pizza (fine by me)
but that wasn't really an option. Finally we landed in a Chinese
restaurant, of all places. It was more of a noodle shop and we all
got big bowls of steaming hot noodle soup, which was nice on a cold
winter evening. The food was good but not great, sort of like all
Chinese food, in my opinion.
After
dinner we still had several hours to go, and it was way too cold to
spend it all outside, so we went back to the hotel and chilled out.
We realized that once we settled in there was the distinct
possibility that we were not going to make it back out, which would
have been A-okay by me, but that wouldn't have been fair to the
kids... I think. I know A was itching to be the thick of the
festivities but I'm not completely sure how N feels about it. Either
way, around 10:30 we put on multiple layers of warm clothes and made
the final trek of 2016 outside.
The
city was definitely alive, and there were thousands of people out by
the river. Way more people than in Quebec City, but somehow not as
festive. Maybe because there is so much going on in Montreal, or
they're more cosmopolitan and jaded, but in Quebec City it seems more
lively. People in QC are all out in full force as if this was the
only game in town, dancing and having a good old time, while in
Montreal people were hanging but more subdued. In Montreal I
definitely smelled more pot being smoked.
Our
timing was good because within about 30 minutes it hit midnight.
Everyone was happy, the fireworks were nice (though again, not as
nice as QC), and then we headed home. That was it. This could me
totally misinterpreting things but I think A was a little
disappointed. She's at the age where parents are boring and spoil the
festivities, and she would probably have much preferred to be with
her friends. I totally get that and I think next year we might do
things differently. For now, it's nice to still be able to do things
as a family, a situation that is slowly becoming harder to do as the
kids get older.
One
nice vibe I got was as we were leaving we took a short cut and had to
climb a railing that was sort of high. I was all bundled up and it
was icy and slippery so I had trouble climbing up the wall. Some
stranger reached over and helped me up, and believe me when I tell
you he really had to put some muscle into getting me up that wall. I
sure was grateful for a little assistance to ring in the new year.
For the record, mom and both the kids had no trouble scaling it.
Oh
well, nobody said aging is kind to the old. Happy new year to
everyone and best wishes for 2017.
And
thanks for reading, and thanks to GrrrLZilla for the pic.
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