With a Little Bit of Help From My Friends

This post is not about the Beatles' song, although I would like to sing it.

I was very lucky this weekend. I had two sets of friends come and visit me, and I enjoyed every moment of it.

First of all, my good friends from Boston, Nima and his partner Sakis, decided to come up to Montreal and visit me. They bunked at my place, and we hung out. They got here on Friday afternoon (July 4, 2008), at about 5:00 p.m..

We hung out a bit, chatted a bit, and then we decided to venture out and do some sightseeing. Of course, it is impossible to see all of Montreal in a couple of hours, but we saw a bit of the city, the usual tourist stuff. First, we went to a bank to exchange some cash, because Nima and Sakis needed a bit of Canadian cash. After, Nima was interested in browsing for some French singles, so we went to the original Archambault. Nima looked really excited, because he has never been to an Archambault. He swore that if he came to Montreal, he would go to one, and even though he didn't buy anything, he got the Archambault experience. His partner, Sakis, bought the most recent Ivana Santelli CD.

After hanging out at the original Archambault, we ventured into Old Montreal for some sightseeing. We saw the cobblestone paths, Marché Bonsecours, City Hall, the Montreal Science Centre, and we went into some tourists shops so that they can get some souvenirs. Nima and Sakis wanted to eat all you can eat sushi at my favourite restaurant (which was close to my place), but they also wanted to see the village in Montreal. So, I decided to kill two birds with one stone, and we went to the village to have all you can eat sushi.

After dinner, we walked around the village for a bit, and then we took the metro to my favourite bubble tea place in Chinatown, and we ordered bubble tea to go. We went home and went to bed.

This was a really cool Friday afternoon and evening. Unfortunately, Nima and Sakis went to Quebec City on Saturday. I couldn't go with them, because I had another set of friends from Ottawa who were coming up, and we were going to do dinner and go dancing or clubbing or something fun.

So, Nima and Sakis went to Quebec City, and I had dinner at a Greek restaurant with my friends Mika, Mariette and Stephanie. We also met up with Raj, a friend of Mika's. Everyone had lobster, because it was lobster fest at this restaurant. However, Raj did not have lobster, because she's vegetarian. We shared some funny stories about men, and funny instances... And some stories about Rupert. After dinner, we went to a karaoke bar downtown. Unfortunately, Mariette and Stephanie got lost, so they did not hear my rendition of I Will Survive, complete with feather boa (Stephanie's from Vegas).

On Sunday, after I bid farewell to Nima and Sakis (because they had to leave relatively early to be back home in Boston for early afternoon), and after I finished teaching aerobics, I went to have brunch with Mika, Mariette and Stephanie. We enjoyed ourselves again before we split our separate ways. The three girls wanted to go shopping, and I was off to play mahjongg.

I am really thankful for friends who care about me, and who enjoy my company as much as I enjoy theirs! The best part: Drama free! Diva free! (Well, within reason), and I met Nima, who is a good friend of mine, but I have never see him in person. We have been talking/chatting for six years!

I really enjoyed my weekend. I thank my friends for giving me these memories, and I will cherish them. These moments make dramatic individuals more tolerable.