Ahh Grey Cup, what an interesting mix of people!  There are die hard fans (there are still Baltimore Stallion fans out and about).  There are fun partying revelers.  There are people dressed in strange and yet amusing costumes.   There are a whole bunch of sad, lonely and pathetic drunk douche bags (yes, that sounds harsh but is oh so true).

Our bartender last night, summed up Grey Cup like this:

Grey Cup is a celebration of football.  It's not just a celebration of 2 teams making it into a final game.  Look around, every team in the CFL is represented whether their team is here or not.

What he said is very true.  There are fans here from every team and every part of Canada.  That is a big reason why Grey Cup is awesome.

Day 1

We arrived in Montreal, Thursday around noon.   We had rented a condo downtown and it turned out to be a really nice place, very close to everything.  We had originally thought we'd need to get a metro pass but we found that we could easily walk everywhere from the condo.  

After we unpacked, we headed out to Old Montreal.  We walked the cobblestone streets, popped our noses into a shop or two, grabbed some lunch, and wandered back home.  To be honest, I'm not sure I was overly impressed.  I guess this was my second time through Old Montreal and after travelling a bit through Europe I was rather underwhelmed.  Still, I think it was worth the walk-through. 

Thursday night, we ventured up Rue Peel to the Mcleans Pub for supper.  There were a pile of fans inside and service was painfully slow.  Just when our patience was starting to wane, the Rider Pep band invaded the pub playing an assortment of Rider classics.  We were instantly pumped again -- good times!  

Have a listen, here!

After that, we were off the the Spirit of Edmonton party.  Now, the Eskies -- they knows how to throw a party!!  No cover, huge room, reasonable drinks, good music, etc.  While there we ran into a few people we knew and collectively decided to head to the Peel Pub.  Neil's friend Trevor had been there the night before and had said the drinks were cheap!  We get there to discover that the Thursday night drink special was $0.99 shots.  All I will say is O-M-G!!!!   I will NOT disclose how much was consumed.  I will just say that by the end of the evening we had all decided we needed to purchase, "I survived the Peel Pub" t-shirts and it was a ways into day 2 before we got home.

Day 2

I awoke feeling not so fantastic.  However, N and Kathy woke up fine.  I was seriously jealous.  We got ready (decided it was appropriate to wear our Peel Pub t's) and headed out to the Calgary Stampeder Pancake breakfast.  Essentially they give you a pancake sandwich with a sausage patty in the middle -- yummy!  We wandered around the Grey Cup tents but there wasn't too much to take in.  We continued up Rue St. Catherine.  St. Catherine Street is an interesting mix of malls/shopping, restaurants and a sprinkling of strip clubs. 

Lots of people out and about.  The shopping was great!  By mid afternoon though, I needed a nap.  Something was making my head throb.  Not sure why I wasn't feeling so hot... hmmm.  Anyhow, N and I abandoned Kathy (she wanted to shop) and went back for a nap.  We needed to rest up for another night out.  We are old.

The plan had been to go to Riderville but that was not meant to be.  We left shortly after 7 to find some supper.  We walked passed the Windsor Ballroom (where Riderville was) and there was no line.  People were walking in and out.  We continued up the street to Carlos and Pepe for some yummy Mexican fare.  By the time we were done, Riderville was lined up onto the street.  Still, being Rider fans, we were like -- no problem -- should move quickly.  How WRONG we were.  After waiting about 15-20 minutes the line hadn't moved at all.  People were coming out but no one was being let in.  Again, this leads me to suspect that it was a bit like the organizational disaster it was last year....  We had friends inside who said it was packed, that drinks were expensive and that the party itself wasn't great.  We didn't know what to do.  Lucky for us, we were right behind a big group of Lions fans who decided to send a small group over to Spriit of Edmonton to see if there was a line there.  Word came back that there wasn't, so we high-tailed it over there.  Good thing too, because we weren't there long before we heard that there was a line to get into the Edmonton party too.  We ended up staying for the rest of the night.  To be honest, it was an early night -- we were home by midnight.  That's what happens when you have a crazy first night... night two is for recovery so night three can be crazy again.

Tomorrow the tentative plan is for pancakes, a jaunt up Mt. Royal, more shopping and we have to get into Riderville, even if it sucks monkey-balls, which it might.  We may finish by checking out the pubs on Rue Crescent.  Been told that there is a great party vibe in the pubs along that street.

Grey Cup photos will be posted here as time permits...