Working On Friendship

As I think more about the weekend, it's really all kinds of amazing. I mean, there was a certain point where Allison was finishing my incomplete sentences and thoughts and Caitlin told me I'd be an awesome first date. Ha!

In 2008, Corti had started a Zog football team of random's and called it Sweep the Leg. In 2009, most of the members that are still on the team joined, and we've all spent countless weekends playing football and bonding / drinking. I think it's a testament that so many of us were able to celebrate this amazing weekend and I even got to know some old friends even better.

With that being said, about three years ago, after I was about to opt out of some post-game drinking, Sunjay turned to me and said, "do you not care about working on our friendship?" A true testament to Sunjay's thirst for life and the many friends of Sunjay and Katie at the wedding!

So, as part of an STL tradition, and as part of my wedding gift to Sunjay and Katie, I updated the STL photobook. I originally gave the photobook to Corti last year for his 30th. So that others can see what the STL friendship is all about, here it is.... STL Photobook

STL Photobooth Moment

I'm So Happy Right Now

This was definitely the sentiment for the last few days. Caitlin would turn to me and say this at different moments of the trip.

All of it was fantastic: exploring Montreal, hanging out with everyone, meeting new people, and most importantly, celebrating Katie and Sunjay's commitment and love for one another!

On our last day in Montreal, Caitlin, Allison, and I woke up for the breakfast downstairs where we met up with other folks and chatted.

After packing up, we headed over to the Notre Dame Basilica that was nearby to take a look around and then headed to the airport with a few others to go back home to New York!

Despite the forty minute delay, Bloody Mary and quesadillas with fun company prior to boarding was great! Can't wait to see and hang out with everyone again!

Inside Notre Dame Basilica

Elephoose Wedding

Today is the day for the wedding of Sunjay and Katie! They have affectionately called it an Elephoose wedding - a merger of two cultures represented by animals - an elephant and a moose! We woke up for breakfast downstairs at the hotel and started getting ready. The ceremony was held at St. George Anglican church and was about a ten minute cab ride from our hotel.

The ceremony was about two hours and was Syrian Christian Orthodox which weaves in Keralan customs. It was so special to witness a beautiful exchange of vows and ceremony.

After the ceremony, Caitlin, Gary, Brendan, and I along with a few others went to the famous Beauty luncheonette where you make your own Bloody Mary's. I had a fantastic breakfast sandwich on hallah bread. To walk off the lunch, we strolled a few blocks and then hopped in to a cab to nap and rest back at the hotel.

The reception was beautiful. Sunjay and Katie had chosen a peacock theme so the hall was very colorful. We all had fun with the various props and photobooth and the DJ was awesome. We danced the night away, interlaced with shots and a great drummer. Sunjay had even performed with four other guys a dance to One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" as an ode to Katie! The speeches were moving (of course I teared) and it got so hot, many of the guys took off their shirts. Only in Montreal. I mean, when you look at the photos of topless guys dancing with all the girls, it looks like we're at Chippendale's instead of a wedding!

Truly, an epic wedding for a wonderful couple! So blessed to be a part of such a memorable celebration!

Tour de Montreal

In order to see the city, Allison, Caitlin, and I signed up for a bike tour by Fitz & Follwell called "Hoods & Hidden Gems." Starting at 10:30 am, we biked around northern Montreal and visited the villages. Sunjay's friend, Tom also joined us.

Although the tour started out a little slow, we enjoyed our friendly guides (Martin & Mimi) who took us through Mile-End, Outrement, and Little Italy. We got to eat at the best bagel shop called St-Viateur and had coffee at Cafe Olympique. Both were great and the bagels are supposedly closer to the original invention.

We then visited an amazing food market called Marché Jean Talon. The food was fresh and well-presented. We couldn't get enough of the fresh tastings of fruit - juicy orange slices, tomatoes which are in season, and peaches. We also treated ourselves to strawberry sorbet in this amazing market.

We also visited an old hardware store in Little Italy called Dante that sold typical stuff, but had evolved to sell top-notch cooking supplies and arms. Yes, there were guns and rifles in the back - one of two places in Montreal. Supposedly this is one of the top four places to visit in Montreal according to Anthony Bourdain. The other three being Schwartz's, La Banquise, and St-Viateur bagel shop. We have already hit all 4!

Cooking Supplies

Guns

We rode through parks, backstreets, highways, and main roads. When we crossed large streets, we did so in a Tour de France manner. In parks, kids cheered and were excited when we rang our bells. Truly a Tour de Montreal!

Throughout the city, you could see really interesting staircases to the 2nd and 3rd floors. This is done to maximize tenant space and so that people can walk straight to their doors. Also, houses are set back ten feet from the road, so there were lots of gardens and terraces.

We picnicked in Fountain Park after picking up sandwiches at an adorable bakery and buying some local beers. There are quite a few microbreweries in the area. The tour was suppose to end around 2:30 pm, but since we were enjoying ourselves and our group, it went closer to 4 pm. We had couples from Boston and Ohio also on the tour.

The bike shop is very close to Mont Royal, the mountain of which the city is named with a "Disco Cross" which changes colors and a famous lookout called the Chalet.

Caitlin, Tom, and I decided to rent bikes from the bike-share system which abounds in Montreal. The city is incredibly bike-friendly, so it was a great way to explore.

As we went up the mountain, we realized there was a big difference between the light road bike and the heavy bike-share one, ten speed vs. three speed, and that we were exhausted from biking since 10:30 am. Slowly but surely, we made our way up to a beautiful lookout to see the entire city. Well worth the effort and embarrassment (I mean, Denise managed to lap us on the mountain while running).

What was also nice was that we could bike down the mountain and then downhill to our hotel. All for $7! Plus the marijuana waft up and down the mountain was interesting. Smelled like Chinese herbs, as my dad would describe it.

So the plan was to nap, but Caitlin, Allison, and I proceeded to have a difficult time figuring out a place to eat, a place near the party tonight, or a place that would take a large group. We were starving as we had burned like 10,000 calories and ate only 800 according to Caitlin's scientific measurements.

We finally decided on Moutons Noir on St. Denis and went with Tom and Jeff. We tried to go to Au Pied de Cochon, but it was packed. The company was great and dinner was delicious with calamari, salads with duck confit, and lamb filets. The restaurant's specialty was lamb. It was also BYOB so we brought the wedding welcome bottle from Sunjay and Katie and another bottle meant for our bus ride up.

In the evening, everyone congregated at Macaroni Bar which was the rehearsal dinner venue. Seriously, Sunjay and Katie have so many friends! And I can't wait to celebrate some more tomorrow!

No Sleep Until Montreal

Last night, the overnight private party bus departed from Manhattan. Despite everyone having to hoof it to the 42nd st and 12th ave (but we ended up going up the upper east side), and surprisingly no one forgot their passports, the trip was a success.

This was key as we were all headed to Katie's homeland for her wedding to my Sweep the Leg teammate Sunjay. Montreal was a destination wedding for everyone and a compromise for all those traveling to celebrate this auspicious occaision! We have all been eagerly awaiting this expected-to-be epic weekend!

Munching dried mangos, drinking ice tea and vodka, and playing games, the 8 hour ride was relatively smooth and quick. We even met probably the best looking border agents you can imagine. Just not what we expected at 6 am at the Canadian border.

We arrived at the Hotel Place d'Armes - our hotel and wedding reception venue. As a group, most of us walked through Chinatown and previewed the party street called Rue St-Catherine. Here we ate at Eggspectations - a restaurant dedicated to eggs every which way.

Caitlin, Allison, and I were sharing a room which was still not ready after breakfast. We decided to head down to the Old Port where we ran into other guests. Kyle joined us as we explored the canals and for some reason Kyle got really excited about an old silo warehouse.

We then wandered Rue St-Paul where I pretty much walked by every restaurant recommendation given to me by colleagues and friends who have visited Montreal. We walked past Hotel de Ville (City Hall), the 3 Palaces of Justice, and Champs de Mars.

We made our way back to the hotel where our room was still not ready, understandably as it wasn't even noon yet. We rested for a bit in the lobby and were about to head out again, when our room was just made available. After showering and napping, we made plans to meet Brendan and Gary at Schwartz's - a Jewish deli famous for their smoked meat. Delicious! We then walked to La Banquise which had Poutine every which way. Poutine is a classic Montreal dish of fries, cheese curd, and gravy.

Gary, Brendan & Allison with 3 different types of
Poutines washed down with Boreale Blonde Beer

On our way back to the hotel, we walked by the Fountain Park where we observed a Rhythmic Gymnastics class for beginners. Not really, but they were doing interesting things with hoola hoops...

We tried to nap a little after returning to our hotel, but we quickly got ready for some dinner plans out. We ended up in Place Jacques-Cartier where we ate at Jardin Nelson with about 12 folks. The food was good and the service was great (the poor waitress took it in stride while being hit on by the guys). Post-dinner, everybody went to Big in Japan, a speakeasy bar. But I was too tired and headed back to the hotel.

Dinner at Jardin Nelson

So I wasn't planning on blogging like on my other trips, but after seeing the Pink Power Ranger who was also on the first season of Felicity in front of our hotel, I had to blog this weekend! Kudos to Caitlin and Allison for recognizing the Pink Power Ranger (aka Amy Jo Johnson)!