moving again!

Okay well this is my final entry - I lied! I have moved to a hostel on the Plateau - Montreal's coolest area apparently, and it seems to be. A lot of bands play shows on this street, there are heaps of bars and stuff and shops. I stayed here before but I was up the higher class end so no wonder I didn't like it as much.

The hostel is much cheaper and includes breakfast, plus the accomodation is bizarre. (I finally feel I can meet people here and don't feel locked in a gigantic box with no atmosphere. I think HI is great but at the same time they're so removed from reality, so cold and sterile. It's like being in one big waiting room.) Here I at least have a room, although tiny and share with one guy. Other accomodation includes beds outside, a van up in the air, a van in the street and beds inside in a communal area - not so good as I couldn't sleep if I was there, so luckily I have a room!

almost there!

There is an outdoor patio up high with a view of the mountain - Mont Royal. At night you can see the cross on the mountain lit up, looks pretty cool. I've met some nice people, totally refreshing travellers. Today a bunch of us - 2 girls from Israel, a French girl, a guy from Quebec City and a German from Ethiopia - went out and checked out my possible new apartment - yay! - and then had Dim Sum for lunch. I am still starving though, so obviously didn't eat enough.

Yesterday I walked all day to look at 2 apartments; one near the Plateau and Parc la Fontaine, and the other in the more anglo area of Sherbrooke St near Westmount. The first one was a big house, kind of cool, with a patio, big kitchen and 3 large bedrooms. It was a bit grotty - couldn't decide if that was a good thing or if it was a bit of a dump - and my room was dark. The rent was ultra cheap. The second place the people seemed nice, the room was shiny and new with a window but the place was small and I felt like they really had their own set-up going, which is probably okay, but..... Didn't love it.

Today we walked down a few streets away from the hostel to check out this other place. I've been talking to the girl (potential roommate) a few times on the phone now. She's from Vancouver but originally from Montreal, and her flattie is from Vancouver. They are moving in next week so I can't see it till then! But it sounds good and we seem to get along really well. Anyway - it's in the cutest spot. The apartment itself doesn't look much from the outside but just around the corner is a street that is very pedestrian friendly with restaurants, pubs, cafes, gourmet supermarkets, and then there is the main street with its revival type clothing stores, second-hand bookshops and pharmacy and just a lot of life. So I was pretty impressed with the area. It's probably a 15 minute walk to the metro.