Montreal - Labor Day Weekend

[Karl-G]

It has been a gorgeous week in Montreal, and the boys and the bars are blooming. Rue Ste Catherine in the village is a splendid pedestrian zone with no auto traffic, no fumes, no loud music and no noise.

 

 

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Second Cup Terrace

 

Every restaurant has built a sidewalk terrace half way out into the street, and people in great numbers enjoy the terraces. Some of the terraces are packed full every late afternoon and evening. The best and most popular are "Food" at the Skye Complex, "D Sens" with a beautiful terrace and canopy, the "Saloon", "La Strega", and "Donatella." But you can always find a seat and table someplace. The terrace in front of "Second Cup" was the best place to sit and have a coffee or cold drink during the day and watch the passing parade and greet friends. The city has done a very successful job of putting in planters with vines and flowers, so the street is much softened in appearance and more attractive. People cleaning go up and down the whole street continuously; it is always very clean and appealing. Police walk the street at all hours, quietly but clearly. Street people have been taken away; no people sleeping in doorways with dogs. I asked a local how it was done, and he said Social Services have been very active along with the police in moving these people into shelters or at least not letting them sleep or panhandle along Ste Catherine. The street has never looked nicer. This is a pilot program, and the city would like to turn several other streets into pedestrian zones as well.

 

The problems here apparently were at first an influx of Mexican transvestite prostitutes who earned up to $4000 a week and wired the money home to Mexico. They have all been removed. At first there was no music ban and the sound was very loud and neighbors complained. Several bars were fined $3000 each per offense, and they really meant it, and then the ban was issued. Everyone agrees it is a good thing. If you sit at a restaurant or bar terrace, soft music comes from inside the bar, and that is OK, but nothing that can be heard on other premises. The pedestrian zone pilot project ends for the year tomorrow, but one of the dancers told me that there are plans to extend the concept west on Ste Catherine as far as the Place des Arts next summer. Assessment committees want to meet first, though, to discuss this year's activities. The local oragnization was also supposed to provide cultural entertainment as part of the grant they received, but little was done except to show some movies outside on a wall this year. More musical and art events are desired. I hope they continue; I thought it was a great idea and great success from the tourist point of view.

 

 

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Place des Arts from my hotel.

 

Now to the important details. All FOUR STRIPPER BARS are operating, two with great success and the other two with some problems, one going up and the other sliding down.

 

Without doubt, if you enjoy twinks among other delicacies, CAMPUS is the greatest of all. From 3:00 to 9:00 every day of the week, it offers the finest collection of twink dancers, plus some others, that can be found anyplace. And they are all totally naked on a very nice, well lighted stage, and they all come around the audience and chat with you when they finish. And all are available for private lap dances. Last Wednesday, when I arrived, there was an incredible array of beautiful twinks, many new, and on Friday, the group was even larger. As the evening goes on, larger and more mature guys come in and begin to dance and the twinks leave by 9:00. Dancing goes on until 3:00 a.m. The crowd is very nice; I always meet interesting men there. Antoine and Sammy are the very nice waiters.

 

CARLOS - was one of the great finds on Wednesday. He is from Mexico and danced at Taboo for a while. He is personable, came around and introduced himself, chatted and flirted, and then went back for a lap dance with me. He is the very best of all. If you never try anyone else, try Carlos. He is dark haired, with a beautiful firm well-filled-out body with utterly smooth chest and ass. He has a dazzling smile, has excellent English, a good sense of humor, and is a wonderful guy. I had a lap dance again on Friday, just as enjoyable. He dances only Fridays plus either Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on his other activities. Very highly recommended.

 

TOMMY - was an adorable 19 year old who has only been dancing a short time. He has mischievous eyes, a dazzling smile, and he dances very very well. He has a tight, muscular young body, which is utterly smooth. He is a tease, affectionate, and great fun. If you like twinks, try Tommy. Some days he does not arrive until 6:00 because of other commitments, so look for him a little later.

 

JASON - was a delight, slender, smooth, about 5'10", dark haired, and very good for a lap dance. His nights vary, and I did not find him a second time, although he says he dances frequently.

 

JIMMY - was cute, funny, nice, and he used to be Alexandre and a couple of other names at other bars. He is a tease, dances well, looks very cute, and worth trying.

 

ENZO - was new also and another Mexican boy. He is in his mid 20s with a gorgeous swimmer's smooth, muscled body. His face is extremely handsome and his body is in perfect proportion and very attractive. At first he does not smile on stage, and you can get the impression he is cold and bored. But it's not true. If you make eye contact and smile, or if you talk to him after he comes off the stage, he has a wonderful smile, good command of English, and is warm and inviting.

 

ROBERTO (from Cuba) and ALONZO (from Peru) are both dancing right now. They have been here a couple of years, but both have wonderful bodies and their command of English and customer relations have improved much over what they were when they began. My last dance with ROBERTO was the best I have had from him and very nice. He was very interactive and seemed to enjoy what he is doing.

 

MIKAEL - is as sweet a young man as you will find. He enjoys cuddling with you at a table for awhile and chatting, and then he is quite accommodating in lap dances. He is in his mid 20s and so has some maturity and also understanding of sex and its pleasures. He is highly recommended for talking, cuddling, and lap dancing.

 

CHARLEY - was a new dancer who appeared on Saturday. He is slender and cute and a little nervous on stage, although he does take his clothes off completely, which is important. He needs a little tutoring yet to become fully proficient, and I did not have a chance to dance with him, but next time.

 

LANCE / MICKEY - danced several days. He is very good with a great smile, good conversationalist, and great for lap dances. He spent a lot of time sitting and chatting with me (in the afternoons before the big crush of customers arrived), and then provided excellent lap dances.

 

BRANDON - was a stunningly attractive young blond dancer. Apparently he has been at Campus for a year or so, but weighed 35 pounds more. I don't know if I met him then, but now he is gorgeous with a perfectly proportioned body, beautiful muscles, smooth skin, and charming English. He gave a very nice lap dance. If you have a liking for cute, smooth, nicely muscled blond twinks, he is outstanding.

 

Other dancers I met over five days were: ERIC, FRANCIS, MAX, PATRICE, SCOTT, DOMINIQUE, CARL, KAYLIN, GUILLAUME, and ALEXI. There were many other dancers as well, but this gives you an idea. MAX and ALEXI and ERIC are bigger guys, but very nice. The twinks are listed above. In between is a large group of early to mids 20s dancers with nice natural / swimmers / somewhat muscled bodies. They are all very nice.

 

 

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Cafe Terrace on Rue Ste Catherine

 

STOCK is half a block away. STOCK has good crowds and the atmosphere of a male Las Vegas casino. There are lots of gym bunnies and weight lifters among their dancers, as well as a few nicely bodied twinks to give some variety. There is always a happy crowd in STOCK, and the waiters are especially nice. If you are with a few friends and want to be sure of a good time, STOCK is very reliable, with plenty of nude dancers and a nice party ambience.

 

 

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Hotel de Ville from Place Jacques Cartier

 

ADONIS has improved enormously from its low point a year ago. Although the crowd was not large Wednesday and Thursday, it was respectable, and there were a number of dancers. However, on Friday and Saturday evenings, the club was packed all night. Every seat was occupied and people were standing. There were 15-20 dancers and of generally good quality - good looking, nice bodies, smiles, dressed or undressed appropriately (not punks). Most of them try to put on a good show and are much more effective than the current dancers at Taboo. When they are not on stage, most circulate and sit at tables with customers or give lap dances. There is a festive atmosphere to the place and a buzz of pleasure with people talking and moving about. Groups of people sit at tables and dancers come to join them. It was a pleasure to be there. On Saturday, for a while, some big guy got on the mike and turned the volume way too high, but otherwise it was ok. It still has a ways to go, but it is now ahead of Taboo.

 

 

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Second Cup Terrace on Rue Ste Catherine

 

TABOO unfortunately is still struggling. The crowd was quite small on Wednesday and Thursday and the assortment of dancers was not very good. On Friday and Saturday, however, there were good crowds and a larger number of dancers, perhaps 14-15 each night. I found a couple I enjoyed each night for lap dances and some of the dances were good, but not a large number.

 

ANTONIO is a new dancer, Italian/Canadian. He is the great find, cute, well built, young, smooth, sexy, fun, and eager to please. His dance programs were good, and he was obviously trying. He was more than accommodating in back and I enjoyed lap dances each evening. Highly recommended.

 

VINCENT is a handsome, taller, well built, sexy young jock. He does a quirky but good dance, has a beautiful body, and is very good for lap dances. He is quite popular and tends to stay with people so you may have to make an effort, but he is good.

 

ARIEL, the erotic red-head, is more fun than ever. He does incredible things on stage and with customers around the stage, and he is also good in back. He actually carries on a good conversation, and his stage persona is just that. I like him.

 

DEREK is handsome, well built, pleasant to talk with, and former Mr. Taboo of 2007. He works Saturday night at Unity, but otherwise is frequently on call.

 

Others included KELLY/DOMINIQUE, NICK, SHAWN, TERRY, STEFF, DAMIEN/ZACH, and RAY.

 

 

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View of Downtown from my hotel.

 

ESCORTS can easily be found in Montreal and no one should be deprived of an escort per day while they are in Montreal without a very good reason. Seven agencies for male escorts now advertise in Fugues, the free monthly gay magazine available at all stores in the village. Many male escorts advertise individually in Fugues, and more escorts can be found on the basic sites, including http://www.canadianmale.com. Some of the dancers also offered hotel visits. I want to recommend very highly two twink escorts I enjoyed. William came from Tender Moments, a highly reliable and good agency. 514-791-4447. William is young, blond, 5'9", smooth, slender, loves kissing and is very good at it, loves oral and is very good at it, and enjoys bottoming, at which he is also very good. He says he could also top. His English is limited, but he is quick to pick up cues and delightful to play with. Donovan has recently arrived from Ottawa and is dynamite. He is in his mid 20s, cute, young looking, smooth, nicely ripe body, and so sexy you can hardly believe it. He enjoys everything and does it well. He is a superb kisser, great at oral, wonderful at moaning and writhing while you play with him, and a very good bottom (and probably top). He has a very reasonable rate and will make your day, night, and probably week. He has another job, so you can't always get him on an hour's notice, but he is well worth planning for. HOT! HOT! HOT! Very highly recommended 514-358-9780.

 

 

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Lotus on Pond in Chinese Garden.

 

BICYCLES. If you are looking for something special to do in Montreal besides sex, cycling is a wonderful treat. Montreal has 230 miles (350 kms) of bicycle paths in and around the city. The nicest, most beautiful, most relaxed, removed from traffic, are those whihc go around both shores of the river, out to the islands, and along the Lachine Canal. There are probably several palces to rent bicycles in town, but the one I know is down at the Vieux Port (Old Harbor) right along the path. On Sunday, there were tens of thousands of people out walking, cycling, roller blading, picnicking around the Viuex Port. Walk down Place Jacques Cartier from the Hotel de Ville, turn right at the bottom street just before you cross the railroad tracks to the harbor, and go one and a half blocks. There is a very fine bike rental shop which will also provide maps, suggestions, any other equipment you need, and are generally very helpful. $8 hr weekdays and $9 an hour weekends, $25/$30 per day. Two men with whom I had breakfast in my hotel had gone cycling the day before and said it was highly enjoyable.

 

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FOOD . Montreal has hundreds of excellent restaurants of all kinds. It is worth spending a few hours on a weekend down in Vieux Montreal in the Place Jacques Cartier. It is an open pedestrian zone with no auto traffic, and it is lined on both sides with cafes with both indoor and outdoor seating. Have lunch on one of the terraces. There is always street entertainment going on, and you can watch while eating. Specialties I would recommend are the moules et frites (mussels in white wine with french fries and an ice cold glass of beer) or lobster , prepared in a variety of ways.

 

 

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It was a wonderful Labor Day Weekend in Montreal!

[LurkerSpeaks]

Karl..thank you for your wonderful post about Montreal. It definitely makes me miss the many charms. Usually I make it to Montreal both in Spring and Fall, but this year decided to skip the fall visit and instead go to Rio for the first time.

 

I really hope my Rio visit leaves as memorable of an impression on me as my visits to Montreal have. I realize that Rio is not going to be as "regular" a vacation spot for me as Montreal has become.. so I will more than likely be back to Montreal early springtime..Until then I will have to settle for the wonderful journals of other peoples' adventures..

[+ newatthis]

Thanks for helping me relive last week's trip! Great pictures!

[Karl-G]

On sunny summer days, Montreal is a photographer's delight. The areas of Old Montreal, with its 18th century buildings and art galleries and Place Jacques Cartier, and the Botanic Gardens, easily accessible via green line metro at PIE IX stop, are two of the most attractive.

 

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The Hotel de Ville (city hall) is on a hill looking down through the Place Jacques Cartier to the Old Port. The Place is lined with 18th century buildings including restaurants and hotels.

 

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The pink spider dahlia is one of hundreds of varieties of glorious dahlias which the botanic gardens have on display. They are dazzling in their colors and shapes.

 

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Playing giant chess games in the Place Dupuis

in front of the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM) is a popular pastime.

 

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The Botanic Gardens have very extensive rose beds with many varieties of roses - miniature to giant, early blooming in May to late blooming in September, and many colors.

 

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A lovely 18th century merchant's house and shop on the Place Jacques Cartier,

it is now a Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Parlor.

 

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Hibiscus used to be smallish flowers, maybe four inches across.

This is a dinner platter hibiscus more than a foot in diameter.

 

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The Botanic Gardens have not only flower gardens and greenhouses, but also a delightful garden cafe where you can enjoy a light lunch or a pleasant drink while resting and looking out over the flower gardens.

 

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Among the many hybrids which have been developed,

these beautiful hot poker dahlias are very popular.

 

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The Cafe Fantastic is one of the many restaurants on Rue Ste Catherine

which added a sidewalk terrace for the summer.

 

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Gloriosa Daisies are glorious and brilliant in yellow.

They grow tall and are very prolific. These were in the Place Dupuis.

 

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This is one of the many outdoor cafes on the Place Jacques Cartier. During the summer,

there is nothing nicer than having a lunch here and watching the crowds and street entertainers.

 

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This yellow dahlia is the basis of all the other fancy varieties. Its multiple petals are lush and thick.

 

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The Chinese Garden within the Botanical Gardens is very large and very splendid with temples, houses, lakes, bridges, and gardens. This is the entrance into the stone courtyard and the aged rocks.

 

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Black-Eyed Susans are an old and popular garden flower.

There were huge massed beds in the Botanical Gardens.

 

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This is one of the buildings in the Chinese Garden. The dragon is part of the Festival of Lanterns, and is actually a lantern filled with lights. Thousands of lanterns, traditional in form as well as unusual like this, are lighted each night in mid September.

 

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So bring your camera with you to Montreal,

and you will find delightful photo opportunities all over.