The flight to Montréal was smooth and uneventful. I’m really glad it all worked out with my connections in Istanbul. And it was great to see Heike and Toma and their little baby, already grown so much after two months.

They hosted me for a short night and even got me from and drove me to the airport again. I had an emergency exit seat (thanks Swiss, even without the 60 Euro fee that Air New Zealand charges for that pleasure).

The 8-hour flight passed quickly, and all went smooth in Montreal. Josée had sent me detailed instructions on how to get to her place.

I could not meet her personally, she had left that very morning for a camp with children where she will cook. But as I walked down rue de la Roche on the beautiful neighborhood on the Plateau, I already spotted her friend Brandon sitting outside the house in the sun.

He showed me the place, a great studio with a big bed, super-quipped kitchen (after all, she’s a cook) and a nice bathroom – with even a bathtub!

Then Brandon took me on a whirlwind tour around the block to show me the essentials, and we quickly bought a dozen Canadian beers, and installed ourselves on the little balcony along the backside of the house….

It was great, Brandon is a fun guy and we quickly bonded over beers, Madonna and Montréal.

He called up his friend Joel, and after we had emptied the dozen bottles, they took me on a walk through the neighborhood.

We walked through Lafontaine Park and beyond, and sat down for some much needed pizza slices and poutine, the famous quebecois fries with sauce and melted cheese. Believe me, if you’re drunk like we were this is the best antidote…

It was past midnight when I stumbled home and fell asleep quickly, and mostly slept through until 9 in the morning. What a great start in Montreal, after a couple of hours I already had two new Facebook friends and a date for the Jazz Festival that starts today!

This morning, I had a bagel at a place Josée recommended, two blocks down. Then  I walk down rue Mont Royal, a great neighborhood full of bars, shops, restaurants… everything I’ll need is close-by, the metro station a five-minute walk down.

I got the OPUS card for public transport, and a Canadian phone chip. After a quick stop at the supermarket for some of the basics, I unpacked and so I’m set and ready to go.

Again, the switch from one city to the next goes incredibly smooth, and within hours I already feel at home in the new one. It’s a weird feeling though, almost unreal.