spent most of the day hitchiking slugging around the on ramps with our thumbs out. it sucked. we didnt get a ride. we walked underneath the bridge when a guy (a highschool science teacher) picked us up and drove us to a car share program. he asked us for something to smoke i gave him some french cigarettes i bought solely for the purpose of some form of exchange. he evidently wanted grass, but took the cigarettes anyhow. he was really cool. hes never been outside of quebec, probably mid fourties, speaks alot of english, and even talked about how he is looking into teaching in coquitlam!
anyway long story short, we missed our rideshare, and now we are stuck in laval university (in this really horrible and drab suburb of quebec), after ditching a taxi that we couldn`t pay for, looking for a cheap hotel, or asking a student if they know of any places, its starting to rain, everything is closed, no one speaks english (although this one lady did but she was deaf and only read lips) our backs hurt and everything is just fucking funny.
but on the goodside, we have a ride tomorrow to montreal at 1030, and we are not going to miss this.
TO MONTREAL again.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
L`Armèe du salut
spent the day relaxing in some parks. saw really old churches being brought down with destruction balls, wondered around with our huge bags from hostel to hostel to find out everything was booked, and no replies on couchsurfing. we then turned down a street to find a salvation army, or a L`Armèe du salut. Free night stay. Put our stuff in their locker, walked around the old walls, ate an amazing meal, i figured out an amazing meal, not just a filling one, but truely wonderful is around $20. Its once you reach over $12 when things get really good. watched the sun set on top of a huge wall over looking the lower city. Thinking about my trip.
Got back to the army before curfew to hear about 13 men snoring at such a deep reverberating bass it rumbled your insides.
awoke went to the library (where we are now) to get an email from caitlin saying its 93 degrees in kansas city right now with a humidity index of 103. im going to hell.
I just bought my train ticket to new york.
what am i doing.
Got back to the army before curfew to hear about 13 men snoring at such a deep reverberating bass it rumbled your insides.
awoke went to the library (where we are now) to get an email from caitlin saying its 93 degrees in kansas city right now with a humidity index of 103. im going to hell.
I just bought my train ticket to new york.
what am i doing.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
hitchiking hot dogs, a recipe for lysteria.
quick discourse if you are interested.
yan picked us up around midnight from a hostel that we were going to stay at. he picked us up in a convertible that was blaring really bad techno music, beside him was a lady who didnt say anything the entire ride. he drove us around the city really fast, smiling at people in cars beside us.
stayed with a lady who i think secretly hated us, and thought we stole her pillow cases.
stayed with this guy who was pretty sickly who said that if he ate anything spicey he would poop blood. there were hundreds of pictures in his room, some of them were pictures of him in a hospital, once when he had lysteria, the other pnemonia. he was really nice however, he gave us budweiser.
we hitchiked into quebec city. it only took 5 hours, considering it is about a 3 hour drive. we were in a total of four automobiles. driving on the number 20 there was a massive storm ahead of us (i have never seen so much sky at one time- it is so flat!) huge ominous black clouds were a few kilometers east, as we stood on the highway under the blazing sun. huge fork lightning, rumbling thunder and rain that disguised any perspective possible with a brown-black haze.
got into quebec at 20:00 and met up with nicolas our host for couchsurfing. he lived in this huge old brick building. we then went to a bar down these tiny lanes were there was free pool and food. the guy behind the bar apparently has different recipes everyday. todays menu was hot dogs on toast. the only customer other than us was a man who ordered a coffee and stood staring at the wall with a goatee that was long and braided. he looked like he just got out of jail. he sat there for at least an hour, as we ate the plate of toast, cheese and hotdogs. we then asked the bartender about him, apparently he visits the bar a few times per night ordering coffee and using the toilet.
we met up with bex and gabe yesterday. finally after one month human contact. we drank beer on top of the wall looking over the city. the city is beautiful, and really old. however, i have never seen so many tourist buses, field tripping children, old rich couples, and role playing attractions at tourist sites. the bugs are insane, walls of bugs makes the sky look like static from the tv. chateu frontnac is amazing, this doesnt look anything like canada.
we are again out of a place to stay.
yan picked us up around midnight from a hostel that we were going to stay at. he picked us up in a convertible that was blaring really bad techno music, beside him was a lady who didnt say anything the entire ride. he drove us around the city really fast, smiling at people in cars beside us.
stayed with a lady who i think secretly hated us, and thought we stole her pillow cases.
stayed with this guy who was pretty sickly who said that if he ate anything spicey he would poop blood. there were hundreds of pictures in his room, some of them were pictures of him in a hospital, once when he had lysteria, the other pnemonia. he was really nice however, he gave us budweiser.
we hitchiked into quebec city. it only took 5 hours, considering it is about a 3 hour drive. we were in a total of four automobiles. driving on the number 20 there was a massive storm ahead of us (i have never seen so much sky at one time- it is so flat!) huge ominous black clouds were a few kilometers east, as we stood on the highway under the blazing sun. huge fork lightning, rumbling thunder and rain that disguised any perspective possible with a brown-black haze.
got into quebec at 20:00 and met up with nicolas our host for couchsurfing. he lived in this huge old brick building. we then went to a bar down these tiny lanes were there was free pool and food. the guy behind the bar apparently has different recipes everyday. todays menu was hot dogs on toast. the only customer other than us was a man who ordered a coffee and stood staring at the wall with a goatee that was long and braided. he looked like he just got out of jail. he sat there for at least an hour, as we ate the plate of toast, cheese and hotdogs. we then asked the bartender about him, apparently he visits the bar a few times per night ordering coffee and using the toilet.
we met up with bex and gabe yesterday. finally after one month human contact. we drank beer on top of the wall looking over the city. the city is beautiful, and really old. however, i have never seen so many tourist buses, field tripping children, old rich couples, and role playing attractions at tourist sites. the bugs are insane, walls of bugs makes the sky look like static from the tv. chateu frontnac is amazing, this doesnt look anything like canada.
we are again out of a place to stay.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
all i care about is the past and the present
going to quebec city tomorrow.
will catch up with the last post to now.
heres a preview.
midnight drives in convertibles, loud horrible techno music, the ghetto, car theives, the best bagels, robotic movie theatres in individual pods, the largest outdoor market, beer in the streets, murals on the floor, people watching (some are really strange).
i am heading to nyc after quebec city. train to chicago. catching a bus to kansas city for one dollar to meet with caitlin, then seeing st. louis, train to the west, maybe california, then home.
dave is hitchiking home after quebec city to calgary to see his family.
according to spell check in montreal, every word of this document is spelled incorrectly.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
5 minutes and 46 seconds
This is how much time i have left on this computer im not in the mind frame for recollections and re organization of past events, so only present events and future thoughts will be inserted now Im at the library and my stomache is grumbling for sustinance bread wine and cheese will do but i doubt this will happen The show is over here or just there abouts and tonight we have no place warm to stay everyone has the park if one were so inclined to saturate ones clothes in sweat and filth this may not be recomended by your doctor or anybody so for now I am thinking about food and someones bed preferably with a pillow this is rare you know so why do we not have a plcae only these individuals who dont like to share know this no matter however im off to get new shoes.
strange experience in old montreal
day in day out we seem to in need of a host to crash with. we have been couchsurfing for only one night, and wake up each day with the dread, and anticipation of possibly not finding a couch.
we went to the metro really far in one direction in search of a punk house called the squaler. we ended up in a huge factory district that smelled of rotting chickens, brewers yeast, and the occasional sugar cane. we hunted and hunted but the address we received must have been wrong, as the house did not exist.
we then found out that couchsurfing was having its 10year birthday meeting in montreal and we thought we would be able to find a host there for sure. we went to this really rich neighbourhood that actually had detactched housing and front lawns (different than what we have seen so far). a man named Yan said we could stay with him. he was a low talker who seemed very reserved.
when we arrived at the meeting it was just closing up, and yan threw a dishrag at dave and i and said something and pointed at the dishes.
we met someone from romania who was in the process of straightening her teeth with braces in montreal because back in romania her teeth would bleed and ache because they tightened them too fast.
anyway we did the dishes and yan turned off the light and told us we were going somewhere. again the language barrier. he gave us keys to a loft in old town montreal that we could stay in for the night. we arrived after passing the oldest building in montreal 1600 something, to an old decaying, seemingly abandoned space. i remember the light most vivdly, a pale flourescent light shone from the top floor down the stairway emitting a greenish glow over the peeling paint and broken tiled walkways. we went up three flights of stairs down a few corridors until we reached room 12. again we didn`t hear anyone or see any signs that this building was even in use. he gave us the keys and left. we opened to the door ro reveil an amazing space, fully furnished and nice, a complete surprise to what we waded through outside of the door. we were still really creeped out and decided to search the place to find out if this guy was crazy. we found a dresser full of elaborate womens clothing, paintings of naked men, and a television that only played static. i kept thinking of psycho, or american psycho for that matter. we decided we werent going to sleep very well and hit the streets of old montreal and finally slept around 4am.
awoke early as yan said he would swing by to pick up the keys. i left the loft to go accross the street for a coffee and wait for dave and yan. heavy rain was coming down through thick grey clouds. on my way out of the building i hear a televsion voice and some horrible rap playing through some of the doors, realizing that the space was in fact in use.
i sat with a coffee no later than to see dave walk into the cafe with plastic bags over his feet, slish-sloshing about. his shoes were ruined in the rain and gave off a putrid smell of decaying rodents.
yan came in about 2 hours late, and we gave him the key and talked to him waryingly, about the night, the loft, and about him. the place is used for the fringe festival, and the whole loft is underconstruction. everything made sense.
im currently in the grand biblioteque at berri uqam metro with 3 minutes remaining on my internet usage, its crazy how fast an hour can go by. and also how fast 3 and a half weeks can go by.
we went to the metro really far in one direction in search of a punk house called the squaler. we ended up in a huge factory district that smelled of rotting chickens, brewers yeast, and the occasional sugar cane. we hunted and hunted but the address we received must have been wrong, as the house did not exist.
we then found out that couchsurfing was having its 10year birthday meeting in montreal and we thought we would be able to find a host there for sure. we went to this really rich neighbourhood that actually had detactched housing and front lawns (different than what we have seen so far). a man named Yan said we could stay with him. he was a low talker who seemed very reserved.
when we arrived at the meeting it was just closing up, and yan threw a dishrag at dave and i and said something and pointed at the dishes.
we met someone from romania who was in the process of straightening her teeth with braces in montreal because back in romania her teeth would bleed and ache because they tightened them too fast.
anyway we did the dishes and yan turned off the light and told us we were going somewhere. again the language barrier. he gave us keys to a loft in old town montreal that we could stay in for the night. we arrived after passing the oldest building in montreal 1600 something, to an old decaying, seemingly abandoned space. i remember the light most vivdly, a pale flourescent light shone from the top floor down the stairway emitting a greenish glow over the peeling paint and broken tiled walkways. we went up three flights of stairs down a few corridors until we reached room 12. again we didn`t hear anyone or see any signs that this building was even in use. he gave us the keys and left. we opened to the door ro reveil an amazing space, fully furnished and nice, a complete surprise to what we waded through outside of the door. we were still really creeped out and decided to search the place to find out if this guy was crazy. we found a dresser full of elaborate womens clothing, paintings of naked men, and a television that only played static. i kept thinking of psycho, or american psycho for that matter. we decided we werent going to sleep very well and hit the streets of old montreal and finally slept around 4am.
awoke early as yan said he would swing by to pick up the keys. i left the loft to go accross the street for a coffee and wait for dave and yan. heavy rain was coming down through thick grey clouds. on my way out of the building i hear a televsion voice and some horrible rap playing through some of the doors, realizing that the space was in fact in use.
i sat with a coffee no later than to see dave walk into the cafe with plastic bags over his feet, slish-sloshing about. his shoes were ruined in the rain and gave off a putrid smell of decaying rodents.
yan came in about 2 hours late, and we gave him the key and talked to him waryingly, about the night, the loft, and about him. the place is used for the fringe festival, and the whole loft is underconstruction. everything made sense.
im currently in the grand biblioteque at berri uqam metro with 3 minutes remaining on my internet usage, its crazy how fast an hour can go by. and also how fast 3 and a half weeks can go by.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
couch tarde
todays forcast:
rain, not vancouver rain, but showers. a build up of of evaporation for months, that finally glosh it all out in a few hours. the kind that takes leaves off trees, wallpaper off walls, chewed gum off the side of bus shelters, the kind that generally cleans everything.
a day in history:
rented bikes on a day that was hot. biked along a two lane bike path through old montreal to ile sainte helene. biked underneath huge rollercoasters by la ronde (6 flags) and saw the biosphere and some more deserted olympic events. these ones had trees growing straight through the concrete stairways, and hundreds of swallows already called the place home. saw a bike trail that goes all the way to vermont. parc du la fontane with beer and italian food. met up with Tamas from vancouver at a venue he owns called lab sythetique. the show was really artsy and abstract. the venue is cool. in the vending machine if you press orange crush you get beer. a film was shown that was too abstract just for the fact of being abstract. it seems realism is a harder thing to do. the music that was "played" sounded like a dead voicemail machine with a pulse that had been microwaved, high reverb and set on repeat. actually i think it was.
next day
had to get a new couchsurfer near berri uqam. ran into steve from vancouver. he hopped a few trains to get here. he was with a huge crew from vancouver, some dave knew. the people we stayed with one is a graffiti artist, the other a mental health worker. they took us to their studio near metro place st. henri. this is clashing neighbourhood of huge 50 foot highways and small houses placed right underneath them. most of the houses were used in the early 1900`s by the tanners who worked at huge factories (now studios and artists lofts) that were probably nice then, but now are low income housing that are all facing eviction. their loft is a huge wooden loft with a view of a train yard and highways looming in the sky.
couche tarde is their version of macs corner store. which means staying up late. oh and KFC chicken is PFK.
went to the tam tam festival on mont royal park. its a huge drum/sword fighting festival that happens every sunday. all the people that play dungeons and dragons come out wearing medieval clothing with chain mail and home-made swords, bows and arrows, spears, and javelins and there are two teams and they battle it out in the forest. theres about one hundred people involved in the fight that happens every week, the rest of the few hundred watch first in comedy, then in a bewilderment as the people are serious about this shit! i think the festival is about the french fighting with the english, the famous battle, but don`t quote me on that.
fuck the keyboards here are all messed up with accents and weird symbols.
horsemeat is a big deal here. they come from old horses tourists ride in old montreal. oh fiddleheds too are good.
rain, not vancouver rain, but showers. a build up of of evaporation for months, that finally glosh it all out in a few hours. the kind that takes leaves off trees, wallpaper off walls, chewed gum off the side of bus shelters, the kind that generally cleans everything.
a day in history:
rented bikes on a day that was hot. biked along a two lane bike path through old montreal to ile sainte helene. biked underneath huge rollercoasters by la ronde (6 flags) and saw the biosphere and some more deserted olympic events. these ones had trees growing straight through the concrete stairways, and hundreds of swallows already called the place home. saw a bike trail that goes all the way to vermont. parc du la fontane with beer and italian food. met up with Tamas from vancouver at a venue he owns called lab sythetique. the show was really artsy and abstract. the venue is cool. in the vending machine if you press orange crush you get beer. a film was shown that was too abstract just for the fact of being abstract. it seems realism is a harder thing to do. the music that was "played" sounded like a dead voicemail machine with a pulse that had been microwaved, high reverb and set on repeat. actually i think it was.
next day
had to get a new couchsurfer near berri uqam. ran into steve from vancouver. he hopped a few trains to get here. he was with a huge crew from vancouver, some dave knew. the people we stayed with one is a graffiti artist, the other a mental health worker. they took us to their studio near metro place st. henri. this is clashing neighbourhood of huge 50 foot highways and small houses placed right underneath them. most of the houses were used in the early 1900`s by the tanners who worked at huge factories (now studios and artists lofts) that were probably nice then, but now are low income housing that are all facing eviction. their loft is a huge wooden loft with a view of a train yard and highways looming in the sky.
couche tarde is their version of macs corner store. which means staying up late. oh and KFC chicken is PFK.
went to the tam tam festival on mont royal park. its a huge drum/sword fighting festival that happens every sunday. all the people that play dungeons and dragons come out wearing medieval clothing with chain mail and home-made swords, bows and arrows, spears, and javelins and there are two teams and they battle it out in the forest. theres about one hundred people involved in the fight that happens every week, the rest of the few hundred watch first in comedy, then in a bewilderment as the people are serious about this shit! i think the festival is about the french fighting with the english, the famous battle, but don`t quote me on that.
fuck the keyboards here are all messed up with accents and weird symbols.
horsemeat is a big deal here. they come from old horses tourists ride in old montreal. oh fiddleheds too are good.
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