OTTO Restaurant, Montreal

The view from my table at OTTO

I decided to arrive a day early for my conference in Montreal so I would have a chance to see the city.  I wanted to have all Friday to explore, so my plane landed in the late afternoon on Thursday.  After getting settled in to the hotel, I decided to take myself out for a good meal.
I consulted my Frommer’s Montreal Day by Day guidebook, and was interested in trying out a restaurant nearby named OTTO.  OTTO is housed in the W Hotel, near Square Victoria and just a few blocks from Old Montreal.  The Frommer’s guide said, in addition to the swanky atmosphere, that OTTO has “the best seafood in the city.”  I figured that was worth checking out.
Though the guidebook mentioned that reservations might be necessary, I found the dining room not crowded at all, with just a few other tables being served.  The primary language of the city is French, of course, but it being my first night there I didn’t yet trust my rusty skills enough to navigate a whole meal, so I asked for the English version.  Without a blink, the hostess switched into perfect English and handed me the translated version.
The room is gorgeous, to say the least.  It is decorated in a very modern style, with clean lines and just a hint of 1970′s kitsch (enough to keep the room from being an austere Bauhaus ripoff, but not so much that its goofy).  There is a good use of colored light, with low sexy reds mixing with the cool blues of the bar.  I found the decor very pleasing.
The service was very professional.  The server was willing to make recommendations, and because the restaurant was not very busy, was also willing to answer some of my questions about Montreal and her life in the city.  When I mentioned that I had read in the guide that they had the best seafood in the city, she suggested I try the Merluzzo Nero in Crosta di Porcini con Caponata Siciliana (Black cod encrusted with shiitake, Sicilian caponata, aspiration brocoli, aged balsamic and pistacchio sauce).
Even better, she was willing to suggest a white wine to pair with the meal.  So I found myself drinking a perfectly dry San Vincenzo Anselmi 2006, and eating some exquisitely prepared black cod.
The presentation was beautiful.  The preparation of the fish was a little rich for my tastes, with an almost sweet butteriness that at points overwhelmed the other flavors, but it was nonetheless delicious.   I was also not overwhelmed by the pistachio sauce, but that’s not really the fault of the chef (I simply don’t like pistachios. The fact that I found it palatable at all is actually a pretty high compliment).  The combination of flavors was very pleasing, overall (even with the pistachios).
Walking home, I was quite pleased with my experience.  The food was sumptuous, the wine was perfect, and the staff made me feel very welcome in this new city.  It was, as one would expect, a tad pricey.  Even if you’re traveling on a budget, however, OTTO is worth the splurge.  It is a definite must if you are spending a few days near Old Montreal.

Daily self-care through stretching

As I’ve gotten older, I have begun to lose a bit of my flexibility.  I also suffer from a bad case of plantar fasciitis that has been pretty chronic for the past few years.  Both of these factors have reduced my ability to walk long distances, so I have been aggressively combating the degeneration of my feet and legs through an active regimen of stretching. 

The first stretch I learned from the physical therapists who helped me with the plantar fasciitis.  When you wake up in the morning, take a towel and wrap it around your foot, keeping a hold of both ends in your hands.  Then, with your leg straight, pull toward you and and hold the pull for about ten seconds.  Repeat this several times, alternating with your knee bent and then with the knee straight.  If you’re doing it right, you will feel it not only in the foot, but on up into the hips as well.

The next set of stretches I do on the floor by the side of the bed.  I take the towel I was just using for the first stretch and lay it on the floor, and sit on it, spreading my legs into a wide V.  I then try to touch my forehead to my knee, alternating sides.  Then I also try to touch my forehead to the floor in front of me.  This usually takes a series of repeated efforts, as my hamstrings and hips tighten considerably during the night.  After a few efforts, however, things start to loosen up and my legs and hips begin to return to normal.

Then, standing up, I do a series of slow hip rotations – clockwise and then counter-clockwise.  The motions are similar to those I would use if I was spinning a hula hoop.   These stretches help to further loosen the hips and pelvis, which in turn reduced the stress on the tendons down through the legs.  This helps the plantar fasciitis indirectly.

This combination of stretches is not the only set that one could do, of course.  These are simply the ones that, so far, have worked for me.  The principle I am working on is that the tendons and ligaments are all interconnected.  By working on my hips and pelvis, I help maintain a good balance in my lower legs as well.  This indirect approach has, over time, worked better for my plantar fasciitis flareups than concentrating solely on my feet, so I recommend it.
These sorts of regular stretching exercises are essential when you are traveling, and probably doing a lot of walking every day.  The short, repetitive movements of walking cause the muscles and ligaments to tighten throughout the day, so if you aren’t stretching regularly, you are basically ratcheting your connective tissue tighter and tighter (which is what I had been doing to myself for several months before I started this stretching regimen).
The key is to develop a regimen that works for you, and that you will stick to consistently enough to do some good.  The reason I have picked this series of exercises is not necessarily for their excellence, but because they are effective and I can do the combination of them in about five to ten minutes first thing in the morning.  Finding the balance that works for you is the key.  If you find something that works, leave us a comment and let us know.

Packing for a 5 day trip to Montreal

All the items I carried to Montreal

The first weekend in November I took a five day trip to Montreal.  This was for a professional conference, and I had some interviews and meetings lined up.  In the past I would have brought a lot of clothing, probably in my Samsonite Silhouette 11 Spinner Garment Bag.  The Silhouette was the bag I used for last year’s conference in San Diego, and it allowed me to pack two full suits, several pairs of shoes, and walking-around clothes for about four days, as well as more clothing for a second leg my wife and I took to visit her family for a few days.  The Silhouette worked great, but its a big bag.  Though it rolls easily, it’s not the kind of bag you want to be pulling around a city all day.
In addition to this, I’ve also been very influenced lately by the philosophy espoused by Doug Dyment on his excellent site, OneBag.com.  Dyment challenges his readers to really think through what they bring on trips, and to try to keep these items as limited and light as possible.  With this in mind, I decided to accept the challenge and see how light I could go and still remain presentable for the interviews and the meetings.
In the place of the Silhouette, I chose two packs, one for my back and one light enough to carry in my hands or on my shoulder.  The back pack was a RedOxx Roadster Mini-Ruck rucksack, and the carry-all was an Eddie Bauer 20″ Northlake Duffel Bag.  These Northlake duffels are hard to find these days (I should do a separate post on how I chose this particular one over other – inferior – Eddie Bauer bags currently available.  I’m going to keep using the Northlake until it gives out – probably a good while from now – then I’ll likely switch to a RedOxx Beanos bag), but I’ve been super pleased with how well is keeps things organized and how well it holds up for this kind of travel.
The OneBag site suggests you make a list of things before you pack, to minimize the temptation to over-pack.  So I did, thinking through both what would go in the bags as well as what I would wear or carry on the plane itself.  I figured a good first post for this site would be a run-down of those lists, with some commentary on how the packing went, how it worked, and what I would do differently next time.
What I’ll do is give the packing list for each bag.  What I ended up not using I’ll include as a strike-through item on the list.
RedOxx Roadster Ruck:

• Rain gear (an REI mesh bag with Helly Hanson Voss jacket and Voss pants) strapped on the bottom of the ruck
• Extra pocket-sized Moleskine notebook
• Charger for cell phone
• Two books (The Enduring Nature of the Catholic University and Structuralism and Post-Structuralism for Beginners)
• Two magazines
• Camera
• Charger for camera battery
• Tablet of writing paper
• USB 2.0 Flash Memory Card Reader
• Two Creative Zen V MP3 players (one for music, one for podcasts)
• iPod shuffle
• Earbuds and case
• Catholic prayer book
• Al-Anon One Day at a Time
• MacBook and charger cords
• Logitech Trackman for the Mac
• Frommer’s Montreal Day by Day
• Knopf MapGuide: Montreal
• REI Fleece Vest
• Notecards for the book I’m working on
• Large Moleskine Soft Cover Notebook
• 4 extra black ink pens
• 2 highlighter pens
• Windbreaker (rolled up and stored with the rain gear for the trip)
• TravelSmith security guide bag

Northlake Duffel Bag:

• Pair of tennis shoes
• REI Slickrock pants
• Linen dress slacks
• 2 Champion C-9 moisture wicking undershirts (1 black, 1 white)
• Royal Robbins Josh Stripe travel shirt
• Toiletries bag (I’ll do a separate post about this)
• Inflatable Travel & Laundry Hangers
• Travel Laundry Clothesline – Flexoline
• Vitamins
• Hand sanitizer
• 2 pair REI CoolMax liner socks
• Black dress shirt
• 1 pair SmartWool socks
• 1 pair oversocks
• 2 pair Ex Officio travel underwear
• Fleece beanie cap
• 2 pair winter gloves
• 1 pair elastic arch supports
• 1 extra pair thermal leggings
• Spare pair of eyeglasses
• Wool/linen blend sweater
• 1 pair jogging shorts
• 2 large Shamwows
• 2 small Shamwows
• Package of earplugs
• Small hand towel (not just because I like Douglas Adams, but because a towel really and truly is the handiest thing to pack for a trip)
• Small pill containers with Nuprin, Melatonin, and Ranitidine

In addition to this, I wore the following on the trip there and back:

• REI Sahara Tech long sleeve shirt
• Ex Officio travel underwear
• REI Mojave convertible travel pants
• Champion C-9 moisture wicking undershirt
• REI CoolMax liner socks
• 1 pair SmartWool socks
• Vasque hiking boots (because there was a chance of snow in the forecast, and they would pass for dress shoes for the interview)
• Wool scarf
• 1 pair thermal leggings
• Wool blazer
• Tilley Airflow Hat

While I was in Montreal I used some small packs of Woolite soap to do laundry in the hotel sink.  I used the ShamWows to wick out the excess moisture, and hung the clothes to dry in the closet and on the flexoline.  This allowed me to pack half the clothing I otherwise would have had to.
When I arrived in Montreal, I had packed the fleece vest, gloves and fleece cap so that they were quickly accessible.  This allowed me to transition to the colder weather almost as soon as I got on the ground (which was good, since the shuttle bus dropped us a couple kilometers from my hotel.  I was able to navigate the surface streets with little discomfort due to this planning).
The bulk of the trip was all about managing the temperature (which fluctuated from the high 40′s to the low 70′s) both inside and outside, as well as trying to keep each day’s load as light as possible to save wear and tear on my feet.  The TravelSmith day bag was a bit bulky to pack, but paid dividends on the ground for light packing day-to-day at the conference.
All things considered, I managed to pack pretty light, but it still seems like I could have packed lighter.  That gives me something to work towards for the next trip.  Thanks for reading, and your suggestions or tips are welcome!