While we were there, we ate a great hole-in-the-wall called Taqueria Leon.  We ate great enchiladas, pupusa, and munched on delicious pastries, all washed down with tamarind soda.  YUUUUUUM!  There is no website but here are a few comments on Chowhound.  If you want to see the city, take a look at these Rosenberg videos.

Partly because it is a neat little town and partly because it is where my family settled in Texas, I recommend that you take 1wrongturn and visit Rosenberg.

Eating:

• It is impolite to eat or drink something while walking down the street, with the exception of standing at a food counter or eating ice cream.
• It’s customary to say “Itadakimasu” (“I humbly receive”) before eating and “Gochisosama” (“Thank you for the feast”) after eating, if you’re being treated.
• In restaurants or when visiting it’s customary to get a small, moist rolled-up towel called an “oshibori” to wipe your hands. It’s impolite to wipe the face and neck with it though some do in less formal places.
• To remove the splinters from chopsticks, gently rub one chopstick against the other. Do NOT place both chopsticks between the palms and vigorously rub together. This signals the waiter that one thinks his utensils are cheap.
• When sharing a dish, put what you take on your own plate before eating it.
• Do not use your chopsticks to skewer food, move dishes around, and
NEVER dish out food to another using the same ends you just ate
from–use the top ends.
• Don’t use your chopsticks to point at somebody.
• Don’t leave your chopsticks standing up out of your food.
• It is normal in Japan to pick up your rice or soup bowl and hold it under your chin to keep stuff from falling.
• Traditional Japanese food is served on several small plates, and it’s normal to alternate between dishes instead of fully eating one dish after another.
• Do not put soy sauce on your rice–it isn’t meant for that.
• Do not put sugar or cream in Japanese tea.
• It is okay to eat sushi with your fingers. When dipping sushi in the soy sauce, dip the fish side in the soy sauce.
• It is normal to make slurping sounds when you’re eating noodles.
• It is normal to pay a restaurant or bar bill at the register instead of giving money to the waiter/waitress.
• It’s considered rude to count your change after paying the bill in a store or restaurant, but the Japanese themselves do give it a cursory lookover.

Drinking:

• It is polite to say “Kanpai” for “Cheers” before you drink.
• It is impolite to pour your own drink when eating with others–you pour your companion’s drink and your companion pours yours.
• When someone goes to pour you a drink, lift your glass with both hands.
• If you don’t want any more to drink, leave your glass full.

Personal interaction & behavior:

• Avoid excessive physical and eye contact.
• The Japanese gesture for no is fanning your hand sideways a few times in front of your face.
• Don’t talk loudly in public places, including the subway.
• Exchanging business cards is common in formal introductions. You should extend your card to the other person with both hands, right side up to them (upside down to you). You receive cards with both hands also. Be sure to look at the card and not just pocket it. Never put it in your pants pocket and sit on it in front of them.
• It is polite to put “-san” after anothers name, or “-chan” after a young girls name, or “-kun” after a boy’s name, but NEVER use these after your own.
• If you have to blow your nose, leave the room, or at the very least try to face away
from other people–and use a tissue–not a handkerchief!

Visiting someone’s home:

• Don’t wear tattered clothes outside, nor socks with holes when visiting someone.
• Don’t wear your slippers into the genkan (at the entrance to a home, where the shoes are kept), nor outside.
• It’s customary to sit on the floor in a tatami room (called “washitsu”); don’t wear your slippers into a tatami (straw) mat room.
• It’s polite to bring some food (gift-wrapped in more formal situations) or drinks when you visit someone. Avoid giving pricey gifts.

Toilets:

• In public places that don’t permit shoes, slippers are provided. When you go to the bathroom, there will be another pair of toilet slippers. When you leave the toilet, don’t wear the toilet room slippers outside the toilet room.
• There are Japanese-style and Western-style toilets.  The Japanese-style toilet is flush with the ground and you do not sit on it. Stand over the toilet stool facing the side with the hood. Then squat over it and conveniently place yourself close but not to the point of contact with the stool. It is rather awkward but you have to try it.
• Always carry a little container of tissue with you.

Bathing:
Bathing is a large part of the Japanese culture and it applies to private homes, ryokans, onsens, and sentos (public baths). You should not miss the opportunity to visit a public bath as it is an amazing experience and you will NEVER feel cleaner. Regardless of the location of the bath, there is a definite routine and a few rules that MUST be followed. This is because the bath is communal and used for soaking, not cleaning. The 3 most important are:
1. Clean yourself BEFORE getting in the tub.
2. No soap or cleaning in the tub.
3. Do NOT empty the tub.

Following is the procedure for using a public bath:

• Take off your clothes in the changing room.
• Put clothes in the shelf or basket.
• Enter the bathroom with a small towel and your amenities.
• There will be a place for you to shower that will contain a bucket, stool and showers.
• Wash and rinse thoroughly before getting in the bathtub.
• Soak in the bathtub. Remember not to bring anything into the tub, not even a towel.
• Get out of the tub rinse your body with clean warm water in front of faucet.
• Dry your body with your small towel before you go to the changing room.
• Dry your body with your bath towel and dress in the changing room.

JNTO provides a great visual diagram of using a public bath.

Paying:

• Place the money onto a small tray that is placed specifically for the purpose near the cashier machine. Do not hand the money directly to the cashier.
• Convenience stores, or “kombini”, normally do not stick strictly to this rule.

Tipping:

• Individual tipping is not common in Japan, not even to waitresses, taxi drivers, or bellboys. Rather, in lieu of tipping, a 10 to 15 percent service charge is added to bills at higher-priced hotels and restaurants.
• At higher-end Japanese inns with individualized maid service, a 10 to 20 percent service charge is added. No service charge is added to bills at business hotels, pensions, minshuku, youth hostels, and other inexpensive lodgings.
• Travelers can, however, tip tour guides and the head maid at a Japanese inn if special requests were made (guests should present the head maid with an envelope containing the tip at the beginning of their stay).

Bowing:

• For foreigners, a nod and slight bow are adequate.

A perfect gift for the bride and groom who don’t need another bowl!
My husband and I received a beautiful set of chopsticks, many years ago, which we use all the time.

Sometimes the best wrong turns are not physical but virtual. I cam across the following websites that provide great suggestions places that you would find only by taking wrong turns. Check them out!

• Spotted by Locals

• Barcelona.unlike

We had visited Western Canada on our honeymoon and fell in love with Vancouver (a post for another day). However, we had never considered Quebec despite the obvious connections between Acadians and Cajuns. So, we planned a two week trip that encompassed one week in Montreal and one week in ville de Quebec. Those two weeks transformed our lives. We have become Montreal Junkies!

To compare Montreal to Paris is like comparing carob to chocolate – something you just shouldn’t do! Although chocolate and carob share comments elements, they offer completely different sensations. Carob offers a sweet, earthy flavor while chocolate delivers rich, smooth, and bitter notes. Although Montreal is a French speaking city and has the charm of a European city, Montreal offers a unique and wonderful experience. Montreal’s charm takes over you in a subtle fashion. Without realizing it, you are lured in the Montreal lifestyle, which is engaging and earthy, sweet yet healthy. There is a pace to Montreal that allows you to simply become part of its community.

We have returned almost every summer since our first stay in Montreal. For the first 4 years, we rented a flat in Le Plateau, the really hip and happening hub. Our days were spent exploring the diverse neighborhoods, discovering great food, looking for super-cool Montreal clothes designers, shopping at the incredible Marché Jean Talon, and visiting the many wonderful museums, galleries, parks and gardens that abound in this super-sophisticated, yet down-to-earth, city.

Last summer, we decided to live in a neighborhood that was closer to the Jean Talon market so that we could start everyday with freshly boiled sweet corn-on-the-cob swathed with butter (breakfast of champions). This allowed us to discover new neighborhoods, that were much more working class, but equally as vibrant.

Our last visit simply confirmed my belief that Montreal is a vibrant, emerging city that will always have something new to offer. However, there is also a stability to Montreal, which ensures that certain things will always be there when we return. Montreal reminds me of the corny camp song I use to sing – make new friends but keep the old!

The following links are a few of the best links to get you started with your journey to Montreal. The other posts will feature “1wrongturn” destinations and favorite spots.

General websites: When getting oriented, I use general websites. I like those that allow me to identify activities, restaurants, etc., by neighborhood. Here are a few that I like:
www.tourisme-montreal.org – à la Montréal. The following pages are really helpful:
- Travel Information/Getting Around – GREAT neighborhood maps in PDF
- What to Do – activities, events, attractions by activity type and neighborhood
- Discover – general highlights of Montreal & GREAT ITINERARIES
www.sitebits.com. I really like their choice of attractions and restaurants.

Getting around: The metro lines shut down around 12:30 a.m., after which the system shifts over to night bus lines until around 5:30 a.m. The STM ticketing system uses the Opus smart card and one-trip magnetic cards. A single fare for the bus and metro is $2.75. Bus drivers don’t make change or sell tickets, but all metro stations have manned ticket booths. There is a tourist card that gives full access; day cost – $9 and 3 day cost – $17.
www.stm.info Metro and Bus info.
www.montreal.bixi.com. I have never used this. However, Montreal is very bike friendly and this looks like a great way to get around town.

Festivals: Montreal is the city of festivals.
www.montreal.com/tourism/festivals – This is a calendar of festivals for 2010.