And then I went to Skank-real (Montreal)

We all gladly go the distance for our friends. So when one of my nearest and dearest decided to fete her 30th birthday in Montreal, well, who was I to deprive her of my company? If you've never been to Montreal it's easy to tack off on a long weekend. Eight hours north of New York, it's a scenic drive straight up I-87. You know you're in French Canada when, on the U.S. side of the border, your radio starts to register stations blaring the unique honk that is Quebecois French. Alas, you arrive in Montreal and it looks kind of bleak, but whatever, they have some churches, a museum or two, and a D-list gay scene that is very International Male. Now, you might be wondering why I'm hating and referring to Montreal as Skank-real, well, it's just because the city has a skank air to it. The gay clubs are merely dressed up brothels and the streets are rather dirty -- the upside, however, is that there's a cool (though difficult to use) public bike rental system called Bixi. Bikes are parked throughout the city and you can pick up and drop off bikes wherever you like, for about $5 CAD an hour or $75 CAD for a year-long membership. Not a bad way to see a so-so city. Pix below: