Montreal, June 2010: Accommodations and Food

Here is where I stayed and ate in Montreal!

Accommodations

As the Pattern Review Weekend activities were held on the campus of the Universite de Montreal it was recommended that we stay at Les Studios Hotel, a dorm that converts into a hotel in the summer. This option is not for everyone. The rooms are small, very small. My room was quite dusty/dirty and had an unpleasant dank smell (luckily the window could be opened and that took care of the smell). The bath is shared and there is only one toilet per sex per floor (10 rooms). The beds are rubber futon-style mattresses and the single plastic-coated pillow is rather small. Do NOT try to share one of these rooms. However, it was very cheap at $40/night (internet extra) and nicely situated at a five minute walk from either the Edouard-Monpetit or the Universite de Montreal metro stop.

Food



Poutine at La Banquise, a classic spot for a vegetarian version (rare) of this classic local specialty. $7.

Punjab Palace for cheap, metro accessible, perfectly-acceptable-but-nothing-to-write-home-about Indian food. $9.

Lola Rosa for mid-priced vegetarian fare in a quaint restaurant in a cool part of town with great service and good food. $12.

Premiere Moisson, a small chain of bakeries with locations at Atwater and Jean Talon markets. I don't particularly care for sandwiches, but their mozzarella and tomato on olive baguette was delicious. $8.

Pullman for wine and small plates. The giant olives were delicious and the goat cheese divine. The atmosphere is a little snooty and the prices are quite high. I didn't recognize any of labels on the by-the-glass list and there was no info on the varietal so I just had to guess. I could have asked but I didn't feel up to it in French (the staff spoke English and I'm sure would have helped with only a little attitude). I ended up with something cabernet-ish, which I don't particularly care for. It was good to feel civilized, though. $8 for a glass and around $5-8 per small plate.

Le Commensal for a huge variety of tasty vegetarian food at a pay-by-weight buffet. Had I eaten here earlier in the week I probably would have come back. $13.

Vietnam 2008!

So feel free to hate me, but I went to Vietnam for work. I went to do a couple of seminars--one training their government people in what I do, and one open to the public on data privacy and security in the e-commerce sector. After the work part was done, I took another 5 days off to see what I could of the country in such a short time.

Because time was limited, I decided to go to Da Nang and use it as my base for day trips. Da Nang is well poised for day trips to Hue (the old imperial capitol), Hoi An (a World Heritage site), and the Marble Mountains. Well-poised, I learned when I arrived, does not mean that it's easy or excessively possible. They seem to be building a lot of luxury resorts in the area, so give it three or five years and I think everything will be smooth sailing. For now, it's still a little challenging.

Here's my itinerary:

Friday, 21 March: Leave DC
Saturday, 22 March: Arrive Hong Kong, overnight stay
Sunday, 23 March: Arrive Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon)
Monday, 24 March-Thursday 27 March: My Tho, a city in the Mekong Delta
Friday, 28 March: Ho Chi Minh City
Saturday, 29 March: Arrive Da Nang
Sunday, 30 March: Day trip to Hoi An
Monday, 31 March: Sights around Da Nang, including Marble Mountains
Tuesday, 1 April: Day trip to Hue
Wednesday, 2 April: Return to Saigon
Thursday, 3 April: Depart Vietnam


Pre-Trip Logistics

International Air Transportation

As I was traveling for work I didn't have to worry about (or have much control over) my flights. United Airlines got me there safe and sound, but that's about all I can say for them. Coach class is pretty intensely miserable for such a long flight and they don't do much to make it better.

Pros
-The flight attendants were reasonably nice and friendly
-The alcohol was free when the Ambien failed me
-I lucked out and sat next to nice people both directions

Cons
-Teeny seats that don't recline much
-The vegetarian food, predictably, was protein-free and quite inedible
-The "entertainment" is a joke. In coach class there is one screen at the front of the cabin. At my height and from my seat about halfway back I could see approximately the top 2/3 of the screen--unless someone was standing in the aisle in which case I could see 0/3 of the screen. I missed the fight to be king of the Panzerbjorn in The Golden Compass and the part where the water horse escaped in The Water Horse because of this. The sound sucked. Both directions there were two good films and two horrible schlocky films (e.g., Garfield, Alvin and the Chipmunks) so if you can't sleep on a plane and don't have the fortitude to carry 20 pounds of books (like me) you're kind of screwed. Even the sucky kind of seat back entertainment that is not actually on demand would be a major major improvement.

Be prepared. It took me over 24 hours each direction.


Domestic Air Transportation

I booked my flights to Da Nang and back to Ho Chi Minh through ivivu.com the week before I left. It is apparently the only website that allows booking of domestic flights in Vietnam from outside the country. I found one blogger who said he'd used it but no real information. There weren't any complaints about it being a scam. Since the score was 1-0 I decided to do it, reasoning I could challenge the charge on my credit card if it didn't work.

It worked, so I can highly recommend this. While you can book in Vietnam, both flights I was on were completely full and for one of them I had had to purchase a more expensive ticket because the cheaper tickets were sold out (I didn't get a better cabin class, though). I printed out my email confirmation that had my e-ticket number and had zero problems checking in or getting a seat. Total round trip cost was $143.90, which I suspect is a bit more than it would have cost to book in-country but the convenience of having this taken care of before I arrived and getting onto the flights that I preferred was totally worth it.

Viet Nam Air was totally modern, totally safe, and still serves food on short domestic flights (no veggie option though). Kinda made me nostalgic for the good ol' days of American air travel.


Hotel Booking

For the two hotels I stayed in that weren't for work I booked through hotels-in-vietnam.com. I didn't find anyone online who'd had experience with them, good or bad, so I took the plunge knowing it wasn't high season and I'd be able to find a place to stay if the bookings didn't work. They worked, and this is another website I can highly recommend.

For the My Khe Beach Hotel in Da Nang I had a reservation. My price was the posted price for the class of room I had--the website hadn't jacked it up to take a cut.

For the Duc Vuong Hotel in Ho Chi Minh I prepaid (I assume it's just the participating hotel's preference whether hotels-in-vietnam makes a reservation or collects the money), again at the posted price. My total was $25.75--$25 for the room and a 3% international currency fee. Most hotels charge this fee; My Khe did as well. It showed up on my credit card statement as "CTY TNHH DL TUNG NGOC HA NOI VN," which isn't exactly intuitive, but given the date and amount and the fact that Duc Vuong didn't ask me for any more money I'm certain that's the right charge.


Electricity

I didn't get a chance to get an Asian system adapter/converter before the trip and I was wary about getting one there because of quality issues. Luckily, it was a non-issue. All the hotels I stayed in--expensive Western-style, state-run, cheap backpacker-style--had plugs that would accept both an Asian plug and a European two-pin plug (example). Luckily, I'd tossed my European adapter in with my stuff and didn't have to worry. The only electronics I brought were my Blackberry charger and my battery charger. Both of them accept up to 240 Volts and generally the voltage was 210 or 220 (and always listed on the outlet) so I didn't need a converter at all.


Stuff

At this point I've done enough traveling that I bring most of the right stuff and little of the wrong stuff. Everyone has their preferences but a few things I'd brought I highly highly recommend:

-sun hat

-good sunscreen

-bug repellant with DEET (I should have gotten some more intense mosquito repellant because mine had DEET but didn't deter the mosquitoes very well)

-Cipro just in case

-Melatonin to take when jet lag wakes you up at 4:00 in the morning and you can't really take a real sleeping pill

-lots of granola bars and trail mix for when I couldn't eat the food. I brought two boxes of bars and two bags of trail mix for a 10 day trip and ate them almost exclusively for the last 5 days.


And a few things I *didn't* bring that I dearly wish I had:

-probiotic pills, in case you can't find yogurt with active cultures (if you believe in that sort of thing, which I do)

-Gatorade powder for dehydration from traveler's diarrhea (which you *will* get unless you eat only at western-style hotels)

-mosquito net, maybe something like this. I really needed one at the My Khe and it had a headboard I could have tucked one into without needing to hang it from the ceiling or have some kind of complicated frame.

New York, New York

K spent last year in Kosovo, during which time I took care of her mail and stuff (we are neighbors). Taking care of someone's mail for a year is more trouble than it sounds like, which K, being the awesome person that she is, realized. So to thank me for my services she got us tickets to ... wait for it ... XANADU! The Broadway musical! On Roller Skates! Based on the cheesy/hilarious/awful 80s movie. This movie was hugely influential on my childhood. I thought it was the height of artistic achievement and it created a dream of roller-dancing in me that has not yet died. When I found out they were making it into a musical I immediately set up a google news alert for it. So for a year I'd been DYING to see the show and was so.excited about it. In addition to tickets, K cashed in her Marriott points to get us a swank room on Times Square. It was deluxe.

I had to go fabric shopping in the garment district, of course. I saw Ricky of Project Runway fame, who was *not* wearing his signature mesh hat and therefore it took me a while to place him. The garment district has a strong Orthodox Jewish influence, so most everything is closed Saturdays. I did my shopping there on Friday (here's what I got) and spent Saturday sightseeing.

On my sightseeing day I finally went to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. Though I have been to NYC many times by now, I haven't done too much touristy stuff because I'm always visiting friends or there for a specific event like Mermaid Parade. I took the subway out to Battery Park and got ferry tickets to see the Statue of Liberty and the immigrant's entry point.



The ferry runs every half hour and once you get on the boat it's a quicker ride than I would have thought. You get nice photo ops of the shoreline as you travel, as seen in the panorama above.

Liberty is both smaller and more beautiful than she looks on TV. The island is quite small, it's just her and a path around her. The issue is that since 9/11 they have severely limited the number of people who can enter the Statue. If you don't order online ahead of time or arrive at the ferry ticket booth before 8 am you probably won't get to enter. As I had done neither, I had to content myself with walking around. It was COLDFREEZINGCOLD so it was a little unsatisfying. Had it been a nice day it would have been lovely to read a book in the park, but of course the park would have been mobbed so that probably wouldn't be possible. The Museum is in the Statue, which they should really do something about if so few people are going to get in, so I only spent half an hour there until the next ferry came. Luckily, despite the variable weather it didn't rain and I got a cool backlit photo from the strong sun. I also found someone with whom to exchange camera favors (and for serio nobody goes there alone--it was hard to find another single) so I got my photo in front of her, but it's impossible to get a person and all of her into the frame at once.

The next quick ferry ride was to Ellis Island. They have restored the main building to the form it took during the height of its use as an immigration reception center in the nineteen-teens and made it a museum. I don't know of any relatives who came through Ellis Island (I'm sure there were some, but it's not a big part of our family history), but I did spend a summer in law school researching the stories of Chinese immigrants during that time period for a professor so it was cool to go there. The building is GORGEOUS. Lots of open space inside, and elaborate gothic detailing outside.

The museum is excellent--it offers interesting tidbits but not information overload. I loved loved the large format photo prints on the second floor. Most of them were taken by an employee who was an amateur photographer and they're just amazing. I was cold and hungry so I only stayed for half an hour--one ferry cycle--there, but I definitely see myself coming back just to soak in more of the building. I mean, check out this dome!

To warm up from the cold I went to Magnolia Bakery and waited in line for half an hour for some cupcakes. I am well-aware that this is insane. On the way back to the subway I stopped at a restaurant and picked up some lentil soup, thank god.

I highly recommend the ferry trip out to Liberty and Ellis Islands. The ticket was $12, inclusive of boat and admission. It would be worth some forethought to get up into Liberty, and I'd recommend this for a warmer day than my barely-above-freezing experience.

Hotel
Marriott Marquee. Our 26th floor room had a view of Times Square. The hotel has a nice gym, though I hadn't brought my gym clothes. The Marriott family is Mormon and there was no mini-bar (not sure if this is standard as there was a spot for one) but there was pay porn. We didn't purchase any. The beds were comfortable and the toiletries outstanding. I took the shampoo and conditioner to keep in my locker at the gym.

Restaurants
Artisanal. This is the restaurant outpost of the famous cheese shop and damn did it smell like cheese. I love cheese, but the ripe odor was almost enough to give me a headache. The wine list was nice. All around us people were ordering rose bubbly but I just got a normal varietal. A friend and I split the artisinal fondue with apple pieces for dipping (yum) and the spinach gratin which was fucking amazing. Seriously, the spinach gratin warrants the f-bomb. K ordered the beet salad, of which I had an excellent bite. We were in a drama corner, apparently. The first couple near us was having a horrible fight. When the second couple was seated the girl excused herself to the bathroom and the guy put a gift box on her plate. It was a pair of expensive pearl earrings. She acted weird about them and he was obviously disappointed by her reaction.

Pommes Frites. As the name suggests, this spot serves only french fries. They are in the Belgian style. I'm not sure what that means really, as I didn't have fries in Belgium, but they are medium sized and frenched. Frenching is the practice of frying twice with a cooling period in between; this results in a crisper fry. That is why the whole Freedom Fries thing was SO DUMB. French fries are named after the process by which they are cooked, which is named after the chef that invented it, NOT after the country. Dumb. Anyway, the fries at Pommes Frites were quite good. I actually favor skinny limp McD's fries but I wasn't turning my nose up at these. Their schtick is dipping sauces. Basic ones are free, fancy ones are 75 cents each or three for $2. I got parmesan peppercorn (best), sambal olek (a nice spicy chili dip), and bleu cheese (too creamy for my taste--it tasted like bleu cheese mixed into mayonnaise). There aren't many dine-in spots, but for the few that there are they have holes cut in the bar and tables to hold your paper cone of fries, which is cool. The small size was plenty--the portions are American sized, not European sized.

Juniors. This is a Brooklyn diner with a location on Times Square. It was good for a quick bite after the show, but I wouldn't seek it out. The mac'n'cheese looked and tasted orange. However, the grilled aspargus was delish and the complimentary beets and pickles were yum. They are "famous" for their cheesecake. I got a strawberry piece to go. The "strawberry" goo was horrible, but the cheesecake itself was rich but not too sweet. The crust was cardboardy.

Show
XANADU!!!!! I don't think it's actually capitalized or followed by exclamation points, but I must shout its name. OMG it was so funny. It perfectly treads the line between being ironically hipster cool about the movie, and being flat out campy fun about the movie. And it's on roller skates. Can one hope for anything more?

Transportation
The Eastern Travel Chinatown bus. It picks up near Gallery Place metro stop in DC, drops off near Times Square in NYC four and a half hours later (with a stop in Baltimore to pick up passengers). At $35 round trip (well, $36.50 with a fee for booking online), it's cheaper than tolls, much less gas. And the train? It's two.hundred.dollars. When I was in private practice and therefore rich I took the train. Now it's bus all the way. The only bad thing is that you have to either dehydrate yourself or use the scary, awful bathroom on the bus because there are no stops (the stop in Baltimore is just for passenger pickup).

All photos, including many more of Liberty and Ellis Island, are here.

Sleeping in Greece

Hotels in Greece are pretty standard European affairs. The rooms are small and the beds only have one flat pillow. The ones we stayed at were quite clean and, despite ashtrays indicating otherwise, did not smell of smoke. I was very relieved after having bad hotel experiences in Italy with the smoky rooms.

All my rooms had en suite bathrooms, with tiny showers that may or may not boast a curtain and likely had a handheld shower nozzle with nowhere to rest. I am petite, but I imagine someone larger than me might get claustrophobic in one of the little shower cubicles. If you have a shower with a handheld nozzle and without a curtain, the key is to always keep the nozzle pointed toward the back shower wall. And to remove the toilet paper roll from the holder and place it somewhere where it will stay dry! Only our 90E/nt luxury hotel in Meteora had a bathtub, though even that didn't have a shower curtain. Bath and hand towels were well-supplied, but (as is standard in Europe) there were no washcloths.

Breakfast is generally included in your room rate, though at our Athens hotel it was a separate 8E charge per person (not worth it!). Standard Greek-style continental breakfast is yogurt, muesli, cereal flakes, boiled eggs, bread (possibly including croissant or pain au chocolat), sliced cheese, sliced ham, feta, sliced tomato, sliced cucumber, coffee, and orange drink (NOT to be confused with orange juice). You can definitely get the right balance of foods to last you through a long morning of sightseeing at a hotel breakfast--be sure to eat the eggs for protein.

All the hotels I stayed at get a "recommend" rating, meaning I would stay there again. There is more information about the hotels in the individual blog posts for the days we stayed there.

City: Thessaloniki
Hotel Name: Hotel Tourist (aka Tourist Hotel)
Rate: 75E/nt for a double
Breakfast: Standard Greek continental, but no yogurt!
Notes: This hotel is in a great location one block from the water. The room was adorable, with "gilded" molding along the ceiling. The bathroom was clearly an afterthought--it was a little hut that had been constructed in the corner of the room, the ceiling about four feet below the extra-tall room ceiling. The desk clerks were very friendly and helpful.
Location: Waterfront

City: Meteora
Hotel Name: Meteora Hotel Kastraki
Rate: 90E/nt for a double
Breakfast: Excellent, hot dishes of scrambled egg, mushrooms, and sausages in addition to standard items. Beautiful view of Meteora sandstone cliffs from the breakfast room and hilarious cheesy 80s slow dance mood music.
Notes: This hotel was pricey, but if money is no object I highly recommend it. It's on the other side of the rocks from Kalambaka, so you don't get a view of any of the monasteries (which are on the Kalamabaka side), but the view of the backside of the cliffs is just as breathtaking. All the rooms have access to a balcony that runs the length of the hotel. They are putting in a pool.
Location: On a hill. Look for the signs.

City: Galaxidi
Hotel Name: Poseidon Hotel
Rate: 45E/nt for a double
Breakfast: Served up by the owner as he cooks it in a small kitchen. Per person you get a boiled egg, bread with jams, grapes, and a homemade donut, with orange Fanta and Nescafe. I would have liked a bigger breakfast, but you can't say the service isn't personal.
Notes: We did not book ahead in Galaxidi, and the Hotel Ganimede, recommended by both of our dueling guidebooks, was full up. The owner of Ganimede hopped on his motorbike, young daughter in tow, and led us to Poseidon. The elderly owner fussed over us like we were his own kids and sent us off with a bottle of ouzo.
Location: To get to the hotel, enter the town by the main road (the only way to enter the town, as far as I can tell). At the first big road you get to, turn right. It looks like the road dead ends at a little yellow house, which is the Poseidon.

City: Athens
Hotel Name: Art Gallery Hotel
Rate: 100E/nt for a double
Breakfast: 8E; standard Greek continental with particularly bad bread and croissants
Notes: You can't beat the location for the price of this hotel. It's three blocks down from the Acropolis on the unfashionable side, not the Plaka side, in the Koukaki/Marygianni neighorhood. The room was even a bit large by European standards, and the shower cubicle had doors. We found staff unfriendly and unhelpful at times (like when it was time to pay), however.
Location: At the Syngrou-Fix metro station exit toward Drakou, walk up three blocks and it's up on the left.

City: Naxos Town
Hotel Name: Hotel Galini/Sofia Latina
Rate: 35E/nt for a single
Breakfast: Greek continental with a few interesting additions, such as cinnamon sesame seed rusks.
Notes: This hotel was delightful. When I arrived the owners told me to sit down, have some water. When I finally told them I had a reservation they laughed and said they knew, I was the only single they were expecting that day. It is just steps from St. George beach and a quick walk to the waterfront and pier. My only complaint was the fire exit indicator lights. They were so bright I had to hang a towel over the ones shining directly in my eyes, which was quite an operation involving a very precarious sideways tiptoe perch on the refrigerator (oh yes, there's an in-room refrigerator).
Location: come off the ferry, walk down the pier to the harbor, and turn right (away from the Portara). Walk along the water always (DON'T TURN ANYWHERE), rather than going up to the main drag. Eventually the road will turn into a wide flagstone drive. You'll pass the Naxian Sphinx on your left. Keep going while the road winds around. After the bend there will be a driveway and the tiny church of St. George on your left. You can see the hotel behind the church. Make a left and go up the driveway and you're there. This is probably about 500 meters. A cab is 6E if you're not up to it.

City: Athens
Hotel Name: Athens Backpackers
Rate: 25E/nt for a six-person single-sex dorm, inclusive of linens but not towel, plus 5E refundable cash deposit for the key
Breakfast: Provided, but I didn't have any as I left in the wee hours of the morning for the airport
Notes: This was my first hostel! It had excellent reviews for cleanliness and safety so I wasn't concerned. In fact, it turned out to be a blast meeting the other travelers (all of them a decade younger than me, of course). The cleanliness and safety were very acceptable. The rooftop bar has an amazing view of the Acropolis, and of course I did not bring my camera, so no visual aid for this location.
Location: Akropoli metro, exit toward Athinasios Diakou, walk 30 metres, turn left onto Makri Street, 15 meters on the left