(1) Do not travel to Canada in the winter (unless you plan to ski)
This lesson is so obvious that several Montreal natives felt compelled to ask us why on Earth we chose to vacation there at this time of year. We heard "You need to come back in the Summer" or "It is so much nicer in the Summer" too many times to count. I think I remember Frank asking me why i wanted to go to Montreal in the winter and telling me it was a stupid idea when I booked the trip, but I didn't listen. I thought it would be romantic to go somewhere cold and cozy. Oops.
(2) Pregnancy + coughing do not mix
I was coughing non-stop the day we left Dallas, and by non-stop I mean approximately 1 cough per minute. I felt so sorry for the poor person who was sitting in the aisle seat next to me on the flight out. Not only did I cough all the time but I also had to get up at least 4 times to go to the bathroom. I discovered during this cold that when I could not walk and cough at the same time without risking inadvertant bladder issues. This made walking through an airport, and walking around a city, extremely difficult and frustrating. I had to wear a maxi pad and stop and duck into bathrooms ALL.THE.TIME. Thank goodness I never had a true accident while out in public. Ahh, the joys of pregnancy!
(3) Pregnancy + cold + cold weather can = asthma
On Saturday night, we were supposed to go out to our big fancy anniversary dinner that I had planned months ago, but instead, I was having breathing problems that scared me and sent us to the ER. The issue started the first night we arrived when we walked across the street to a pub for dinner and I noticed that I was having some strange spasms in my chest while breathing. It is so hard for me to describe, but it would feel like my chest was tight and I would have to gasp in for air for just a few seconds. This happened a few times Friday night and then again all day Saturday. I started to panic on Saturday and frantically researched "pneumonia and bronchitis and pregnancy" and saw enough scary things that I decided to go the hospital to get checked out. The doctors checked my lungs and said they sounded fine, so they concluded that I was having asthma brought on by the cold, pregnancy, and cold weather. They gave me a prescription for an inhaler and told me to use it only if necessary and to stay inside as much as possible.
(4) When a 28-week pregnant woman shows up at the ER, they take you seriously
We were seen immediately and whisked upstairs away from the rest of the sick people to the maternity ward where I got my own room with a bathroom. This was nice and comforting at the time, but I am not-so-eagerly awaiting the bill to find out how much this special treatment is going to cost us.
(5) Montreal is nothing like Paris
The only similarities I noticed were that people speak French there and they serve a lot of similar food. Otherwise, the two cities seemed completely different to me. Although, we did go to Paris in the middle of Summer, so that may be influencing my opinion.
(6) Everything is really expensive in Canada
It is amazing to me how expensive everything is in Canada. Frank paid $15 for two burgers and two orders of fries at a cheap fast food place. He also paid $14 for a six-pack of beer from a convenience store. The cheapest item on the room service menu was a $22 ceasar salad. I remember thinking the same thing when we went to Calgary/Banff a couple of years ago, so I don't think this problem is limited to Montreal.
We stayed at the Fairmont, which was very nice, had great service, and was in a great location. I had to stay in our hotel room for most of our trip, so I am at least glad that I had a comfortable place to stay.
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