Last-Minute Montreal

By: Dijana Semovski
Below: Montreal apartments in St. Denis
Now that we’ve learned a bit about shopping, cafeterias, creperias, architecture and things to do while in Old and New Montreal, you’re going to need at least one evening of decadence while on this trip, before following up with some last-minute boutique hopping.

Boasting its "supper club" scene, St. Laurent is Montreal’s prominent street. Supper clubs are restaurants where large groups can reserve a table around dinner-time and stick around afterward, as a DJ transforms the restaurant into a night lounge. During the summer, you can pretty much walk down the street and pick and choose which supper club you want to go to. Of course, if you just want to hit up the lounge scene, there’s always eateries open afterwards, which serve late night poutine. Montreal’s guilty pleasure, poutine consists of pomme frites (or french fries in English), which is topped with gravy, and cheese. You must try poutine while visiting (as well as bagels)!

If you’re not tired from your long evening out, you can get some last-minute shopping in by heading to St. Denis the following morning. It’s a great street to do your shopping as the boutiques are a bit more authentic and less mainstream, while imports include unique and modern design-centric clothing from Italy and other European designers. Additionally, like the boutiques, you’ll notice unique housing while on your shopping stroll as well. Check out my picture of the colorful apartments above. Some of the locals living here informed me that their quarters in Montreal tend to be smaller, because people spend most of their time in cafes and being "out and about."

Old Montreal, New Montreal, cafeterias, creperias, supper clubs and shopping. That pretty much breaks down your week in Montreal. Sure, it may not be Paris, but being the second largest French-speaking city in the world, it’s a great alternative for a quick weekend getaway or a New Year’s destination, if you don’t have the time or funds to make a big trip to Europe.

Extra: If visiting during Montreal’s summer months, beginning from June 29th to July 9th, the city hosts an annual International Jazz Festival. It also coincides with their Canadian Independence Day, on July 1strd. If interested in racing, the Grande Prix weekend, also takes place in June, and is filled with Italian-speaking tourists, who seem to have captured this event the most.

To read more of Dijana's adventures, follow Dijana's Dare to Blog...

More Montreal

By: Dijana Semovski
Left:New Montreal


Montreal is divided into two parts: Old Montreal and New Montreal. In Old Montreal, there is definitely an old world feel to it as you walk amongst cobblestone roads and old historical landmarks, like the Notre Dame Basilica. One place you must stop by in Old Montreal, for an evening of live Jazz and French crepes, is a beautiful restaurant called Jardin Nelson. The restaurant is very romantic, as it’s surrounded with beautiful flowers and allows guests to dine under the stars, since there is no roof!

While making your way to New Montreal, stop by for a dessert crepe at one of the Creperias that line the streets of Old Montreal. Montreal has a Metro system that is pretty comparable to the ones in France, which assists with the transportation between Old Montreal and New Montreal, as the two are not relatively close for commuting by foot.

New Montreal is a bit more modern, with more of a metropolitan vibe to it. You can stay at any of their hotels here, including Le Sofitel, where I stayed at. This area makes it convenient for shopping, so stop by St. Catherine Street, which has been home to many of Montreal's boutiques and department stores ranging from Zara to H&M to Adidas to their own label stores and malls, making this a shopping mecca. The New York tourists I ran into while here told me that Montreal has more shopping per square feet than even New York City! They often make their way to Montreal just for the shopping experience.

Perhaps shopping builds up an appetite, because I have to say I could not get enough of their cafes, or “cafeterias,” as they were often referred to, which can also be a combination between a café and a bar, and reopen during brunch time.

While that concludes my shopping and dining through Old and New Montreal, join me on Friday for a couple tips on Montreal’s nightlife.

Read more of Dijana's adventures (pronounced Deanna) at, Dijana's Dare to Blog.

City of the Week: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

By: Dijana Semovski

Oo lala! Montreal, although it may not be Paris, sure comes pretty close. The second largest city in Canada and the largest city in Quebec, province of Canada, Montreal’s original name was Ville-Marie (City of Mary). However, the city takes its current name from Mont-Royal or Mont Re`al in Middle French, where a three-headed hill at the heart of the city lies.

French is the city’s official language, and many are surprised to learn that it’s the second largest primarily French-speaking city in the world, after Paris of course. Similarly, citizens just might believe it’s the Paris of the west, as even some of the architecture mimics the city of lights. The city’s Notre Dame Basilica for instance, was actually made from the same architecture as the Notre Dame Basilica in Paris.

On Wednesday we’ll take a tour through Old and New Montreal, visiting the cafes, boutiques, people and food, which truly helps Montreal make its mark as one of the greatest cities in the world.

Read more of Dijana's adventures (pronounced Deanna) at, Dijana's Dare to Blog.

Night at the Museum with Travel Channel's Andrew Zimmern

“Hi, I’m Desiree, Gal about the Globe,” I excitedly shouted, as I was introduced to Andrew Zimmern, host of Travel Channel’s Bizzare Foods. Andrew, standing proudly in front of his “Strange Foods” table, smiled back, shook my hand and took my business card as I proceeded to flatter him, recounting why I love what he does and love to do it too. Well, the travel part that is; not really so much as eating chocolate- covered grasshoppers, scorpions, caterpillars or a stingray’s heart for breakfast.

Andrew, one of the “special guests” of last night’s Dos Equis "Most Interesting Academy," featured at the Museum of Science and Industry, was a sweetheart. His brown eyes were a bit glazed over from tirelessly greeting guests and plugging the goey-duck clams considered a delicacy in China (that’s pronounced gooey—duck). But he took a moment to ask how I got started in this “biz,” referring to the travel industry and working as a tour operator. “Well…” I realized that my story began when I up and moved to Rome to study in college, which followed up with me moving to London, Chicago and the rest is history. He laughed with that coy, famous smile and told me something very valuable about myself. While he’s met a few other tour operators traveling the globe, their stories are the same, “they all got hooked while studying in college.”

I conceded, asking where he’s actually from, and of course he responded, “New York City.” Although Andrew is from the center of the universe, I didn’t hold it against him, since, given his occupation, he’s probably the only New Yorker that makes it out of Manhattan. Likewise, he loved that I’m from Texas and recounted a show of his in the Austin Hill Country last year, just before we took a couple photos.

Andrew returned to his “Strange Foods” table, pampering the large, penis-shaped clams and enthusiastically posed for more photos. But, it was not our last encounter. Throughout the evening, I was dragged over for more pictures with various groups of friends, forgetting that, hmmm…perhaps Andrew would rather us just try the clams instead, and get on with it. Most guests stuck with blood sausage, another favorite of his, and watered it down with food located at a table nearby that should’ve been referred to as the “Safe Foods” table, as it included chips and salsa, as well as buffalo wings.

Footnotes: Thanks to Reggie Brown, fellow NBC Chicago Street Team member (and famous Barack Obama impersonator) for originally introducing me to Andrew Zimmern and taking some photos.