Culture, Cubans and Cuisine

For Sam’s next great weekend, we travel north of the border to our friendly neighbors!

Bienvenue a Montreal!

Friday afternoon: Sam goes to Paul Patates for Quebecois food. She gets frites avec frommage. And that’s all topped with gravy and washed down with Spruce Beer. Is that like root beer? The patrons tease Sam for how slow she is eating but she is the one who gets a backstage tour to see how the store makes Spruce Beer. Apparently, the recipe goes back to Benjamin Franklin (legend has it) and Sam tries to find the secret. They don’t give it to her, but they do let her help bottle the drink.

To work off all those calories, Sam goes ice skating. She wears socks adorned with the maple leafs. She gets some help with her skates before hitting the rink for some disco ice skating. There are people skating in short sleeves. Seriously? Sam manages to do a twirl and not fall down!

Friday night: Apparently, Montreal is the bachelorette party capital of Canada. I guess they need something if they can’t fly to Vegas, right? Anyway, Sam decides to avoid all the about-to-be-weds and go to the Casa d’Havana, a store full of Cuban cigars. And she’s going to smoke one. Bad, Sam! Well, that’s one store I’ll never go to. I don’t smoke and you can’t bring those back over the border. The owner lights cigars with a blow torch. He advises her not to inhale.

Coming up: CRICKET!

Saturday morning: Sam finds a game of Cricket, a cousin of baseball. It is also highly mesmerizing. It almost made my professor and several of us miss the Tower of London. Sam gets an explanation of the game and I didn’t understand a thing. Neither did Sam, though, so I don’t mind. Sam at bat. Swing and a miss. She tries again. Swing and a miss. Swing and a miss. She hits the next ball, runs, but she’s out. But they applaud her anyway.

Saturday afternoon: From the sports field, Sam hits Montreal’s fashion district. She meets Caroline and Jeffrey, who tell her about Montreal fashion sense. She tries on the “bag dress.” It looks pretty good. I like the pant ensemble Sam tries on next. She makes them repeat their compliment in French before turning the Montreal streets into her person runway.

Next: FOOD!

Saturday night: Sam goes to Joe Beef, named after a Montreal tavern man. He would send people out to gather the drunks and give them a place to sleep it off. Sam says that Joe used to let people work for meals. They let her in the back to shuck oysters. She gets some tips from one of the workers at Joe Beef’s before trying it herself. He tells her she going too small and earning a small steak. Sam blames the oyster; he doesn’t believe her. After she fails, they still let her eat. Sam says she didn’t have to work hard for her meal. The owner says it doesn’t hurt to show up with a camera crew.

Sam then is drawn to the bars. Surprise, surprise. She goes to Hurley’s for some Irish music. As she enjoys a pint, Sam makes friends with some locals. Sam gets pulled on stage, courtesy of her producer. She tries her hand at the drum and is pretty good at it. A round of applause greets her.

Coming up: Dance lessons!

Sunday afternoon: Sam decides to get Burlesque lessons. She learns how to walk properly before getting a boa. Sam finishes off her lesson with a giant feather fan.

Sunday night: Sam goes to the Chinese Botanical Garden to enjoy the annual Magic of Lanterns festival. It is beautiful, celebrating Chinese acrobats.

Montreal looks beautiful. When I went to the Canadian province of Quebec, I went to Quebec City. It is a beautiful city with great history and a mixture of France and Canada, old and new. But Montreal looks like a great place to visit as well.

Quote of the Episode:

“We have two seasons: winter and July.” –Montreal native about the weather. Don’t let them fool you. I went to Quebec twice in May. The weather was beautiful—sweater weather.