Sunday night dinner in Montreal

Hello everyone,
Who has more fun...NOOOOOOBBOOOOODDDYYYYY! Oh my god did we laugh on Sunday night. After we finished the walk and went to the closing ceremonies we headed back to the hotel. We dealt with the manager and got the "Alice situation" straightened out and headed up to our rooms for a well deserved cocktail.
Well, those beers and glasses of vino are exactly what the doctor ordered because we were exhausted. But with each beer/wine the colour came back to our faces and with our peeps the stress of the afternoon was finally leaving their shoulders and they started to tell us about bike paths and one way bridges. We decided it was not time to celebrate. So we call the concierge and they arranged reservations for us at the Vogue Hotel a short walk from the hotel.
We walk into this very nice quiet restaurant with a fellow playing the piano. Now I love piano bars and this fellow just happened to be playing a little Ella Fitzgerald, Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra. Some of my all time favourites. We sit down at this nice table and I look around to see if anyone is close by to us. I have a feeling we will be making "friends" again tonight. Luckily, the other tables are out of the patio. Far from harms way.
Whenever I am in a place that has someone playing the piano or singing I always applaud. Most of the time they are good and I it does not cost anything to acknowledge them. Well, it appears that my friends do the same thing. So after the fellow is done playing the first song since we sat down we all applaud at the same time. This goes on for five songs. Finally, he tells the audience that he is going for a five minute break. He makes his way over to our table just to say "thanks for the applause. He really appreciated it." Well, that was all we needed to hear. He had set the guidelines for the night now. So we are now good friends with Nicholas (that was the name he told us anyway) and he will take some requests for us. So Pat is the first one to go the washroom and as she walks by the piano she gives him a $20 for his jar. He had been playing well all night and nobody has tipped him. Shortly after Pat gets back, I have to use the washroom. So as I walk by I notice his jar only has $20 in it. I think to myself..poor Nicholas...he is a great piano player and they have only tipped him $20 all night. (We have been there about an hour now) So I give him $20.
At his next break Nicholas now loves us and we are having a lot of fun now!! We finish our dinner and have some desert and after dinner drinks and the stress of the day has now completely left all parts of our body. The owner and chef have now come over to our table and given hugs to all of us. So we put in our request to Nicholas and we ask for "Crazy" by Patsy Cline, Nice and Easy by Frank Sinatra and "Girl from Impanea" This last request will be a song that I will forever associate with Montreal. Nicholas plays "Crazy" for us and this nice quiet restaurant now has one table that thinks we are in a karaoke bar. We think we are in tune though.
Well at this point one of us (not naming names to protect the "innocent")has the urge to dance. Nicholas has now chosen this moment to play "Girl from Impanema". Well, I don't care who you are you can't help but sing that song. Problem was none of us could remember the words. So in our best voices we sing along with Nicholas but now the words are "dee...dee..deitiy..dee...deity" and the four of us are dancing with in our seats and just flexing/dancing with our index fingers. The one that had the urge to dance...she is in a chair beside Nicholas...she inches closer...inches closer...finally she can't take it anymore. She is up on the piano singing her heart out to the "Girl from Impanena" and can't remember the words. That is Ok though...because after she gets off the piano she goes over to the owner/chef and starts dancing with his wife! Well, it could not of been a funnier site. Once again, we have made friends in the restaurant. Luckily, it was the owner and wife otherwise we may have been out on the street.
So as bid our aideau's, Nicholas now has $80 in tips (from us) and the five of us leave the restaurant singing...dee...deeity....deee...deeddee...and dancing with our index fingers. This singing and dancing continues through the streets of Montreal as we walk home and throughout the hotel lobby and hallway.
I have no idea where we got the energy for all this but as we said that night...What happens in Montreal...stays in Montreal....the memory though...you get to carry that forever with you. To you guys who spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E Thanks for one incredibly fun evening. I am thinking ROAD TRIP next year. No walk, just laughs.
With love and thanks,
M.J.