I arrived in Montreal Friday night and checked into the hotel. Because it was already late, I ordered in room service, and read a little bit, and went to bed. I read Do-Over by Haley Walsh; which was a cute and sexy little short story. I’d recommend it for anyone who wants a quick read.

When I woke Saturday morning, I took a shower and got ready to go out.  I started to eat breakfast at the hotel, but decided to seek out a Starbucks on St. Catherine Street instead. So I hiked up the short hill to St. Catherine’s and went in search of my first Starbucks. I first went west on St. Catherine, which must have been a mistake because when I headed east, there was a Starbucks every block or two. 

St. Catherine Street is the primary commercial artery of Downtown Montreal. It is where most of the shops and malls are. I window-shopped some as I walked down the street and headed toward the Gay Village at the other end of the street. Part of the street around the Place des Arts is blocked off for pedestrian traffic only. I continued down the street to the Latin Quarter, which is not pedestrian only until I came to the Gay Village.

You know you are in the Gay Village proper when you see the pink balloons overhead that extend throughout The Village on St. Catherine Street. The Village is filled with shops, restaurants, bars, and saunas all catering to gay men. If there were lesbian areas, I didn’t see them, nor did I see many straight couples walking around the area. I did see some lesbians and straight couples, but not many.  Once I walked through The Village and found where I would be meeting JiEL later that evening, I headed back to my hotel, but decided to do some shopping on the way. I bought an outfit (gray jeans a blue polka dot shirt, cute socks, and a pair of sneakers) and decided to go back to my hotel to rest before heading back out that evening.

I left my hotel room around 4pm (I was meeting JiEL at 5) and went in search of the Metro Station. There were two near my hotel, neither of which I could find unless you know exactly where to look. My international data doesn’t seem to work with Verizon making navigating a bit more difficult. I need to talk to Verizon about this since my plan says that it will. So I ended up walking back down to the Gay Village, where I met JiEL at Sky Bar.

JiEL gave me an extensive tour of The Village. He first showed me the major sights of Montreal from the rooftop bar at Sky.  Then he showed me the best places to go to and which ones to avoid in the Gay Village. We went into Campus, which is a nude dance bar. The men were gorgeous and there were a few porn stars there. We stayed long enough to look around and see a few dances before heading out and deciding we would come back later. We continued our tour of the Gay Village, and then found the nice Italian restaurant with the fabulous linguine pescatore I had mentioned in a previous blog post.

After dinner we went into Priape, which is a gay sex shop mega store; then back to Campus where they were having the Best Butt 2016 Contest. For a butt aficionado, I was in heaven. About halfway through the contest, one of the dancers approached me about doing a private dance. I said I would like to after the contest was over. JiEL had to leave after the Best Butt Contest, but I stayed for my private dance. I had a blast even though I spent too much money, but it was worth every dollar. I definitely got my money’s worth.  Unlike with female strippers where you are forbidden to touch, male strippers allow you to touch and play. It was loads of fun.

After the private dance, I found a taxi and headed back to my hotel. My feet were tired and would not hold out for another walk back to the hotel.  I’d already walked nearly 11 miles on Saturday. My feet needed a rest. When I got back to the hotel, I let off some sexual energy with the thought of my dancer and his wonderful smell, and then drifted to sleep.

Stay tuned for Day 2 tomorrow….

I was trying to think if I’d ever gone on vacation by myself before. Only one time comes to mind, but it wasn’t a vacation but a research trip. About ten years ago, I went to Italy for a month. I was all alone and knew no one in Italy. I’d never been anywhere by myself. Like now, I lived alone at the time, but I’d never gone off to a strange place all on my own. It was simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating. But again, that was not a pleasure trip, it was a research trip.

My trip to Montreal this weekend will be the first time I am going on vacation by myself for pleasure. This time it’s more exhilarating than terrifying. I plan to have a great time exploring the city. On this trip I get to do exactly what I want to do and I don’t have to worry about anyone else.

I needed to get away this weekend. I needed a mental health break. Six months ago this Sunday, a dear friend of mine who was like a brother died in a car accident. He was a very beautiful soul. One of the kindest and most loving people I’ve ever known. Instead of mourning him, I can spend this weekend celebrating his life. He would be so excited that I am going to Montreal and will be able to explore the Gay Village. He was always my biggest cheerleader when it came to exploring my sexuality more. 

It’s not just the Gay Village, it is so much more that I want to see. The museums and cathedral and so many other things in Old Montreal. I have the history on one side of me and I have the gay experience on the other. It’s a vacation that I have tailored for me, and if I’m lucky, I’ll meet a few friends along the way. I already have plans to meet one friend of mine in Montreal for drinks, so unlike my time in Italy, I will know someone this time.

So I hope you will wish me luck and that I have a great and safe time. As soon as work is over, I have to run back by my apartment quickly then I’m hitting the road and driving to Montreal. If all goes well, I should make it to Montreal by about 7:30 tonight. Once I get checked in I plan to head down to the hotel restaurant and have their Moules à la Provençale et Frite Maison (Provençale style mussels and hand crafted French fries). It’s a dish I’ve wanted to try for a long time. I love mussels and good French fries.
PS The picture above was taken while I was in Venice, Italy. Isn’t he gorgeous? I stood and watched him for the longest time.

I’ve decided to go to Montreal this weekend.  I’ve book a hotel just blocks away from both Old Montreal and The Gay Village.  I am super excited. Now, who has advice for visiting Montreal? I know a few sights I want to see like the basilica and the Museum of Fine Arts. My hotel also has access to the Underground City. I know I want to go to some of the clubs in The Village, so which ones are the best? Any advice will be welcomed. Do I need to get Canadian dollars there or will they take American as well? I know I need to get at least some cash. Also, my French is really terrible. I can basically order food. Is this going to be a problem? I spent three weeks in France once and my limited French was okay. Do most people in Montreal also speak English.  I know these are some dumb questions, but I would love to know as much as I possibly can before I go.

PS Before anyone says it, I have an Enhanced Driver’s License so I don’t have to have a passport.

PSS Please give as much advice as possible.

I’m hoping to find an inexpensive get away this weekend. I need something to keep my mind occupied. This weekend will be six months since my friend died. Sunday even falls on the 29th like it did six months ago when he died. I do not want to sit at home and brood. I know that there are several of you from New England and the surrounding area, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Please help me find something to do and something to keep my mind occupied this weekend.

If you’d like to help fund my weekend getaway, you can go to closetprofessor.blogspot.com and click either the donate button or the GoFundMe button in the upper right hand corner. Your donation would be greatly appreciated. I desperately need a mental health weekend.

I’m away on business. I love that my job allows me to travel and with all expenses paid.  I have another interview to conduct tomorrow and then I will be heading home.  While I love traveling, I am looking forward to being back in my bed. My back has been hurting since Saturday, and all of the driving I have been doing–Vermont to Massachusetts, Massachusetts to Connecticut, and today Connecticut to Vermont. It’s been sort of a whirlwind tour of New England.

  
Not only did they cancel my flight yesterday and were rude about it, but today when I get to the airport my plane is delayed which means I cannot meet my connection. There are apparently no other possibilities to Montgomery because Delta and American won’t cooperate. My only option was to fly into fucking Atlanta and have my sister and brother-in-law, who hates me, come pick me up in Atlanta. Maybe I should have just made American fly me to Philadelphia and let me spend the holiday there at their expense while I tour the city. I have a feeling this is the last time I’m going to deal with American Airlines.

I got a call yesterday morning from American Airlines saying that my fight out of Burlington had been cancelled and to please call back to be rescheduled. So I called and the woman I talked to said that the next American flight out was today at the same time, but it was booked and the next available flight would be at 7:58 am Chrsitmas Eve. I thought, Well, that sucks. So I asked if there were any flights from nearby airports. Her response, “Nearby to what?”  I told her that I was in central Vermont and was there anything out of New Hampshire. She hung up on me put me on hold, so I had to call back and begin again. Luckily, the guy on the phone the second time was much nicer and booked me flights from the same time today as I had yesterday, but the only difference is that I’m flying our of Manchestee, New Hampshire. Since the forecast is for thunderstorms when I land and takeoff from any of the airports (Philadelphia and Charlotte), please pray that none of these flights are cancelled and that I don’t get stuck in an airport over night.

I drove all day as soon as I got my car and arrived in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. There was no way I could safely make it any further. I’ll leave first thing in the morning and drive the final 7.5 hours to my new apartment.

I’ll post my Moment of Zen later today.

  
So, my insurance company got me a rental car, and it looks like my car will hopefully be fixed tomorrow. With a badass SUV that they gave me to drive, I decided to go see what fun could be had in Knoxville. By fun, I’m not talking about sights, but I thought I’d check out the local gay scene.

Apparently, there are three gay bars in Knoxville. One looked really promising as they were having a free Texas Hold ‘Em tournament last night. Winner got $100. I used to play poker every Friday night with a group of friends when I was in graduate school, so I decided I’d check it out. I got to the bar and ordered a drink to wait for the tournament to start. The crowd was mostly older men. I have nothing against older guys, but it’s nice when they are friendly. While I tried to engage a few, it was obvious that I was an outsider and not that welcomed. The guys and gals there to play poker were obviously very serious about it. I was hoping for some fun and socializing. I figured out pretty quickly that this was not going to be the case. So I gave up on the place and left. With it being a Thursday night, I doubted that the other two gay bars would be much fun either. If this was New Orleans, something is usually happening every night, but this is Knoxville not New Orleans, so I decided to head back to the hotel to watch How to Get Away with Murder.

I have a confession here, I saw a sign for an adult store on my way back to my hotel and decided to check it out and see if they had anything fun. I did find a nice new toy (as luck would have it they were having a sale and the cashier gave a 20% off coupon to use), and my new toy is the perfect size for some play. So while I didn’t have fun playing poker because it looked a bit lame, I had a lot of fun with my new toy. So I amused myself and then went on to bed.

I expect that my car will not be ready until tomorrow afternoon, so I will go into downtown Knoxville and see some of the sights. Hopefully I can get back on the road tomorrow and maybe make it to Virginia.