Where to: Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal

With whom:  Sam, meeting friends in different cities.

How Much: 3/5 $$$$$

When: March and April 2016

Sam and I decided to take this trip for several reasons: neither of us had been to Chicago, Gabriel my cousin had just moved to Detroit, we could go to our first NHL game, hop over to Canada and visit Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal where Jamie would be happy to receive us. We could call it a road trip with the only exception that we never actually drove.

A couple days later, we met my cousin Gabriel in Detroit, Greyhound is the cheapest and easiest way to move around but there’s also a little twisted glamour in it. We were there for a two cold rainy days so it was mostly about enjoying the company. We walked around downtown for a while on the morning we got there. Stepped into a couple antique stores and went to the Eastern Market only to find it closed. The weather didn’t allow us to really get to know the city but we did get to see Canada and wave at some friendly characters from the waterfront and across the Detroit River.

Gabriel invited us to a Pistons game versus Orlando Magic in the now closed Palace Of Auburn Hills. The Pistons won, put your hands up for Detroit and all…

We borrowed Gabriel’s truck one morning while he was at work to take the highway to visit Ann Arbor that is an hour away. Ann Arbor is a beautiful small town that is home to the University of Michigan, it’s small and very nice with a beautiful main street, and very nice cafes and shops. People that live here should be proud about all the good rankings we found they have:

#1 Best College Sport Town (Go Blue!) - Forbes 2010

#2 Most Educated Cities in US - American Community Survey 2010

#5 Happiest Cities in America - The Daily Beast 2012

Made us feel like staying there forever.

Had to take the next border-crossing Greyhound to Toronto where we rented a fabulous AirBnB on Queen Street. The weather was getting colder and we got the first sign of snow when we were walking to the Wayne Gretsky’s to watch the soccer game between Mexico and Canada, nobody seemed to care about. México won.

It was my third time in Toronto but Sam’s first so we went for the basics. Civic Hall, Casa Loma, Queen and King Street. We are not used to walking around in such cold weather and although we had packed jackets and coats for the cold, we didn't expect for it to get this bad late March when spring was supposed to kick in.

I love this City and the highlight was definitely a Bruins vs MapleLeafs game we went to. Even though it was late season and the Leafs had no chance of making the playoffs, the crowd was roaring, the game was close and the Bruins won. I went to the Hockey Hall Of Fame for the first time and bought a couple of things at the store, couldn’t resist.

Next was the longest of our Greyhound trips, heading to a very cold and snowy Ottawa. Got there in the afternoon and walked to a basement room we rented on AirBnB between the Chinatown and Centretown area, went to grab something to eat to ChinaTown and then walked to the Museum Of War which had closed minutes earlier. Lucky streak.

Here we went again walking around in the rain in freezing temperatures that even if anyone is used to, are hard to enjoy. We managed to make the best of it and have fun in the snow we don’t ever have in Mexico.

Next day was the Parliament and the Excluses on what was the coldest day of all the trip, even though the sun was out. We had a big breakfast at a place called Eggspectation (nothing eggceptional unfortunately) and walked around rubbing our ears just to make sure they wouldn't fall off.

Then Jamie and Bianca came to meet us and drive us back to Montreal, stopping in a small town in the border between Ontario and Quebec to eat some poutine and realized it was Guy LaFleur´s hometown. Canadian Hockey Hero!

Jamie is our local hero and best friend in Montreal so it’s her that drives us around, keeps us amused and entertained and sometimes fed. On our first night, she got us a couple tickets to go see the Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings. We stayed at her basement in Laval for a couple days and then went to her friend’s house in The Plateau that is 2 cool 4 us but we still managed.

We walked around downtown Montreal as much as we could and enjoyed every bit of The Plateau, Mile End, Little Portugal and all the cool neighborhoods as much as the historic Old Village, Chinatown and the rest of it.

We tried Schwartz (smoked meat sandwiches) for the first time, and as touristy as this makes us, we loved it. We also had the classic bagels at a couple different boulangeries.

Sam went back to Mexico for work and I stayed at Jamie’s for an extra week that was spent hanging with her and her friends: I played 3 on 3 hockey; football; went to Cabin du Sucre for a taste of Canadian sweetness and did some shopping but overall just enjoyed the company and beautiful northern sunsets.