MonReal

It was a dark and stormy night.

Actually it wasn't dark, or stormy. It was a damn cold day in November and we were walking around Chinatown just trying to keep our toes from falling off. Chinatown is on De la Gauchetière Street somewhere in the center of Quebec's largest city, Montreal.

This picture is also a classic, because on your left hand side you see Mike. In his funny hat and glasses. Mike is quite the character. He ended up coming up to talk to us on the street, said he was a Montreal native and offered to show us around. And then he suggested we go to Five Guys burger joint for lunch, which was the best piece of advice you could get from someone off the street who is a little bit cooky. Five Guys, to this day is the best place I have and will ever have had, a burger.

It didn't really matter where we were though, as long as there were hats to keep us warm.

The boroughs of Montreal were independent cities at one point in time and are home to varying types of neighborhoods; from the cobblestone streets to the quintessential French Colonial, to Gothic Revival, to bohemian. Old Montreal, where this hat comes from, is a historic neighborhood founded all the way back in 1642 by French settlers, who first called it Fort Ville-Marie. I'm one hundred percent certain they did not look nearly as good in a beaver hat though.

And when in Montreal you mustn't miss the Nutcracker ballet.

Based on E.T.A. Hoffmann's 1816 fairy tale, The Nutcracker is a classical ballet in two acts. It tells the story of a little girl who goes to the Land of Sweets on Christmas Eve. I found it fascinating how the dancers seemed to float through the air as if on wings. I'm almost certain the snow was real, too.

Of course, you simply cannot miss the opportunity to go to a real Canadian hockey game, especially when it's in Montreal. The Montreal Canadians versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hear the loud cheers from the crowd, the sound of the hockey sticks hitting the ice, the smell of hot dogs and cotton candy, the fleeting chance after chance of witnessing a live fight between players with their gloves off. And after the game don't forget to have your photo shoot next to the giant jersey as you step out the door.

It was another day, another burger eaten, another hockey game witnessed, and another city seen and heard.

And boy, did she ever sleep well that night.

Bailey Sue