starting some catchup posts

When I arrived in Montreal I was already hot, tired, and had been defeated by a pay at the pump in French. It took some work to even manage to prepay. This feels more foreign than Italy did. There my limited Spanish made most of the signs intelligible. Here, I'm maxed out at deciphering the cardinal directions on highways. I was having trouble finding my intended hostel for the night and frustrated by being cut off from my cell data. The McDonalds I stopped at last night was even blocking google maps from their wifi! I was about to give up and blow town, try to find a campsite. I'd have to set up the tent in the dark again. A man and his kids walked by and he said "your a long way from home aren't you? Do you need anything?" I told him I was looking for a place to sleep and he offered these fine accommodations. I graciously accepted. I didn't sleep well. I worried that the neighbors would call the cops about the homeless man sleeping in the van and I'd have find a way to explain to a French speaking only cop that I was there by invitation. Again I'm on the road early. I took a swing thru town and grabbed a few pics but I'm done with this town. On to ottowa.