muckefuck | Montreal, Day 1.5

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travel

Montreal, Day 1.5

First of all, an important announcement for those in town: I have no bars anywhere in the city. All I can figure is that my lovably archaic phone is built with some incompatible technology. On the other hand, as you can see, I do unexpectedly have Internet access (albeit through a connexion so weak that a single video ad on a page basically overwhelms it). So if you'd like to get in touch, this is how.

I wish I were asleep. Between a long day, a strange bed, interpersonal frustrations, and--most significantly--killer reflux I did not have a restful night. We had the Come To Jesus talk this morning, so that should help; an afternoon nap should also make a big difference. Right now, the plan is a couple hours strolling through Vieux Montréal.

Yesterday, after getting dropped here after being picked up at the airport by a friend of Le Lutin, we basically never left the Village. It's outstanding--I hope to do a fuller writeup later. Dinner was a lovely meal at a popular bistro named Steak Frites. (It was, however, not until 9 p.m., hence in part the reflux troubles.) I really just wanted to curl up after that, but I had to check out Le Stud, the axis of M³'s social life here. Again, more later.

For now, breakfast at Lafayette. The weather is fantastic, hope I'll be warm enough!

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Is it possible your phone is set not to roam off network? Either to prevent massive charges, or because the carrier it's on doesn't have an agreement with a Canadian company to provide said expensive roaming?

(I know some Detroiters who have turned off roaming deliberately after some unfortunate charges at riverfront restaurants, where their phones associated with a tower in Windsor.)

hi,using American Cell phones in Montreal is an extremely expensive proposition, turn your phone off!
Also, just a reminder, debit cards rack up a per transaction fee for conversion, credit cards do not. The phone part I was warned about, the debit card fees I discovered on coming home..
Enjoy the Vieux Montreal, I stayed on the edge between Chinatown and Old Montreal, near the convention center.

Credit cards do generally have a foreign transaction fee these days, though it varies among vendors (even among the same umbrella organization). (E.g., Capital One not only doesn't charge a fee of its own, but absorbs the 1% fee Visa and MasterCard charges. Bank of America adds 2% for a total of 3%.) See http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/foreign-exchange-fees-going-up-1267.php for numbers as of February. (Discover used to be free, but is now 2%.)

Thank you for the clarification! I am likely going to Toronto next month and these sorts of things determine how I will go about transactions. My trip to Montreal was last fall, and it would be good for me to bear in mind the brave new world of fees that have rolled into place in the last few months....

if you don't have any kind of special "north american roaming plan," don't even think about using yr phone (tho i guess you can't anyway) - it's like 70 cents a minute if i try to use my american phone here. and gurrrrl, don't even get me started bout STUD, that's my jam.

What's M3?

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