Like this:

So I made it to Montreal all in one piece. Got checked in, got connected to the Internet (after a 30 minute support call with a very nice guy in Calgary) and settled. Indeed all was good. But I was hungry. Hungry, tired and in a strange, dark and cold (it’s going down to freezing tonight!) city.

I was going to be brave and find a cute little bistro to dine in. But I got outside and it was cold and really dark and there were a lot of people there. I guess when I’m by myself I notice that I get a good number of approving looks from the opposite sex. Either that or in Montreal I’m hot, in Toronto I’m run of the mill. Anyway, while it’s nice to be noticed I felt a little, um, conspicuous.

So I’m cold, hungry, tired and just a little bit threatened and I start walking down the street in the pursuit of dinner. And then I see them. The golden arches. I haven’t darkened the doorstep of a MacDonalds for more than a year now. I’m trying to be healthy and be good to my body, and I never really feel good after I eat there. But damn it looked like paradise to me tonight. I walked down the street, read and translated the menu and then got in line. I was in the process of rehearsing my order en francais, when it struck me. Why was I doing this? I mean, I always do this when I’m in a new city. Without a doubt my first meal is almost always at MacDonalds. It’s not a tradition I’m particularly proud of, but when I first travel I’m tired, weak willed and need to get the issue of hunger out of the way before I confront the other challenges a new city presents.

So I left. I got out of line and walked back to the hotel. Sure I ate dinner in the hotel restaurant, but I ate a real dinner (onion soup and ceasar salad – can you tell I’m sleeping alone tonight). And tomorrow I will find a good place to eat. Yay.

HRH

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