Montreal

[Anthony]

A friend and I have been 'planning' this for a while now. The quotes are simple because our plan is to not have much of a plan. Our logic is that a city as large as that has to have something interesting to do. I applied for my passport yesterday. Well, reapplied, I seem to have mislocated my original. If I hadn't needed to get a job, we would have been gone by now.

Anyway, the plan is for 2 to 4 days. We're just driving up from New Jersey. I'll probably have about $400 or $500 US heading out. We're not above sleeping in the car if need be, or couch surfing, of course. I'll let you guys know how it went afterward.

In the meantime, we may as well use this as a space to talk about the city in general. I'm interested to hear if anyone else has been there.

[Applette]

Well, I was born there...moved away and returned as a young adult to live there for most of my adult life. It's a wonderful place though I am just a wee bit biased  . I'm actually attempting to relocate there at the moment.

If you're there anytime the first couple weeks of July, the jazz fest should be on. There are literally hundreds of free outdoor concerts all staged downtown. Some big names at some of these free concerts, so do check it out if you're there when it's on.

Aside from that, it really depends on what you want to do really...I guess I lived there for so long, I never really saw the city as a tourist. Ask away if you have any questions though and I'll be happy to answer. 

[Anthony]

Gah, early July was our original plan. Some financial burdens prevented that from happening, so we're looking at August now. I'm not even entirely sure what we have in mind as far as fun. I know I like museums and parks, so I'm likely to want to check out any of those we encounter. I also love boats, and piers and that whole environment.

[Anthony]

I've been kicking myself for not doing this yet, and more importantly kicking around the idea of making it happen. A thought occurred to me.
Can I rent a car for a few days and drive from New Jersey to Canada? What would I need to know if I was to attempt this? My car is, um...less then reliable, and has been a hurdle for local (North American continental) travel. I'm afraid to take the thing more then a few hours away from home, lest I be stranded. I know it's not quite cheap to rent a car, but if I save up for it, it may be a better option then getting my car long-distance-road-worthy, for the short term. I have yet to get my car inspected by a mechanic for the purpose of "Tell me what work I need to travel in this thing worry free.", so I'm just exploring options right now.