And we're back on the blog


Based on the length of my absence from the blogosphere, you might have thought I'd been eaten by a grizzly or detained by immigration officials while in Canada. I'm happy to report that we're back from Montreal, although it was tempting to stay a while longer.

As a first-time visitor, I came away highly impressed with Montreal's diversity, its culture and its preservation of its history. We toured cathedrals, the city’s version of Central Park, the cobblestone-lined streets of Vieux Montreal, the wonderful botanical gardens and the Biodome complex that houses everything from penguins and lemurs. In addition to walking about five miles a day, we ate. A lot. Within a few blocks of our hotel, you could find Russian, Lebanese, Thai, French, Greek and Polish restaurants as well as corner markets with produce bigger, brighter and fresher than anything we've found in our home supermarkets of choice.

The people were wonderful as well even though they're comfortable speaking French and I'm not. It has a very European feel, naturally. A good portion of the men resemble Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah right down to the ponytail. The women, mercifully, look much better.

The sports scene is rather remarkable as well. Instead of ESPN, the TV offers the Canadian version known as TSN. It's great if you want news on the NHL draft, Euro 2008, major league games or the CFL. If not, you can at least appreciate the lack of a Chris Berman or Stuart Scott.

We took a peek inside the Bell Center, home to the NHL's Canadians, and came away impressed. As for Olympic Stadium, uh, not so much. Built for the 1976 Summer Games, it resembles an ashtray from outer space. Still, the adjacent tower offers an incredible view of the city thanks to the cable car that carries tourists up the side.

Just make sure you look in the direction of the botanical gardens rather than Olympic Stadium.