Montreal in May--the good, the bad, and the ugly

[LurkerSpeaks]

I made it here..the delta flights were pretty uneventful. The weather was nice today..sunny, clean skies, but a little cool and breezy.. As the sun has gone down, it has cooled down more--definitely sweater or light coat weather..

 

I rented an apartment off of craigslist this time. It is in the village, close to the Beaudry Metro station.. For someone who is a hotel snob, this wouldnt work..But for someone who is a little more "down to earth", it could be a good choice.. It is a two bedroom, one bath apartment..and it is much cheaper than the Guv...If anyone wants more info, feel free to contact me.

 

After dropping off my things in the apartment, I headed to Campus. It was roughly 6pm..The club was pretty empty, maybe a dozen or so customers. There were several attractive dancers..ranging from a slightly fem looking twink to a mid 20's muscular straight looking boy...Imagine to my surprise when I see Alonso.....a favorite of mine from several years ago.. I first met him about 4 years ago when he was dancing at Taboo. He later moved to Campus where I had several very "entertaining" dances with him.. He remembered me from my previous visits, and we caught up on old times, and shared a few new ones..He just got back from his home, Peru..He will be dancing all weekend, so I will definitely see him again.

 

I left and took a stroll down St Catherines...It is true that there are several shops which have closed down, but the same can be said on almost any street in my hometown of Phoenix. There are new shops open that have appeared in the last year..Did the village seem run down to me?? -- no more so than it has in years past.. There were people out walking on the street, both young and old alike..One thing which did strike a note with me is when I stopped for dinner. I went to La Stregga, and old time favorite spot for a good, inexpensive Italian meal..It was a little after 7pm, and the place was deserted..There was less than a dozen tables of customers..

 

I am resting up a little since I was up at 4am for my flight..Will probably head over to Taboo tonite and call it a night fairly early...

 

Then in the morning will be off to either Chez Cora's or L' Tour du Pain (I think that is the name of the Boulangerie next to the Beaudry station)..

[+ Hoover42]

Hi Lurker, I'll be showing up in Montreal Thursday afternoon and will likely be at Stockbar shortly after they open. Hopefully, we can meet up while I'm in town.

[LurkerSpeaks]

It is a glorious Thursday here in Montreal.. Beautiful weather, clear skies, 61 degrees. Restaurants and bars along Ste Catherines are opening up their windows and letting the outdoors in..People are out in the village enjoying the sun....young, old, beautiful and not so beautiful alike. I just had my first Ralph Woods sighting.. He was walking along Ste Catherines, across the street from the Bourbon Complex..There appears to be a good number of buildings, both commericial and residential, that are undergoing renovations...

Even the old building which used to house Presse Cafe, which had been boarded up on my last visit due to its heavily leaning wall, has been totally rebuilt and is in what appears to be its final construction phase before reopening. Not sure what it will be in this incarnation.

 

I walked down to the old Adonis/new JP's location.. The store front has been painted all white, but no permanent signage to announce JP's.. Just a banner, billowing in the breeze.

 

For those interested in more "juicy" tidbits.I had my first "appointment" for this trip...Names withheld to protect the not so innocent, but lets just say he was very affectionate, but a little lackluster in the bed...Still a great guy..someone I would see again, and will see again (he is a dancer in one of the clubs).. but at least now I know what to expect if we meetup outside of the clubs again (this was my first time to engage his services outside of the club).

[Diverdan]

More !

 

Thanks, Luker... appreciate the reports, as I plan to be in Montreal in late June or early July... wish I were there now....

[Diverdan]

Sorry...

 

Hey Lurker... sorry I called you Luker... but I guess you do both... no slight intended... just didn't check what I wrote before hitting the send button...

[LurkerSpeaks]

Friday morning..

 

Just back from my morning croissant at Du tour de Pain.

 

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo186/lurkerspeaks/montreal/031.jpg

 

Noticed something else to show that not all is deteriorating in the village..There are now bike rental places at both the beaudry and papineau metro stops. montreal.bixi.com

 

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo186/lurkerspeaks/montreal/032.jpg

 

Here is the new building that replaced the old Presse Cafe building. I heard that downstairs on street level will be two shops..one being another subway sandwich shop which was displaced as the old building became unstable, and upstairs will be condos.

 

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo186/lurkerspeaks/montreal/033.jpg

 

Yesterday was good day in Montreal. Ran into Cooper, Hoover, Eeyore, Lustinguy, and my travel friend TxAlphadog finally made it to town around midnite as well. Nice to see some familiar faces and put a new face with a familiar screenname.. Once again, Campus days was a nice diversion for the afternoon duldrums. A few more customers than Wednesday, and again a nice mix of dancers..probably 20 or so..Everything from the slim, slightly fem twink to the pumped up "straight guy" types..in other words, something for everyone.. The weather yesterday was beautiful, mid 60's, sunny..today however, it is overcast, cloudly and bit cooler and breezier..Forecast calls for showers, so time will tell..

[LurkerSpeaks]

just back from apsara massage

 

Just finished a 2.5 hr session at apsara massage..you get your choice of two of the following, facial, body scrub, or body wrap, plus a massage for $165.. if you want the massage to be erotic, it adds another $35.. so for $200 I got sea salt body scrub, a facial...(no, not that kind of facial), plus a very nice erotic massage from a very cute and accomodating boy... Now it is off to Campus to meetup with "the gang"..

[Diverdan]

Thanks

 

Hey Lurker... I love your reports... I'm making my list for the future trip... now you should have shared a picture of your masseur too...

[LurkerSpeaks]

friday continued

 

headed to campus for the late afternoon/early evening..decent crowd, and around 20 or so dancers, again of all types..There did seem to be a few more taboo twink types than before..I didnt do any dances this time, but TxAlphadog did two, one with KC, a blond taboo twink and another with Mathieu, a very cut and defined Quebecois. He gave them both a thumbs up..

 

For dinner, we decided to go to a new restaurant in the Village--Steak Frites.. It is in what used to be a clothing store, on the corner of Ste Catherines and Rue de Visitation, across the street from Starbuck. Nice restaurant, good food, good decor, great vibe in the place..Not sure if this is a temporary or permanent thing, but as of now,it is BYOB, so you can bring your own bottle of wine..My one comment to them is if they are going to be a "meat" restaurant, they need to learn how to cook to temperature better. My rack of lamb was ordered MR, but delivered between Medium and MedWell. Still tasty and moist, but definitely overcooked..

 

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo186/lurkerspeaks/montreal/002.jpg

 

After dinner, we went down to check out JP's..it was about 8:30. There was one dancer on stage, and one customer at the bar..Otherwise, empty..we did a once in front to back and left, heading down to Stockbar..

 

Stockbar was busy..Not overly packed, but busy..25 dancers for the night. One nice note (at least for me) was that they are starting to have a little more variety in the dancers. The larger, muscular guys are still in majority, but there were a few smaller, thinner guys dancing as well, including a few audition boys from "down the street".. And, another good note is that a couple of the dancers were actually working the pole and not just doing the patented "Stock shuffle"..

My attention was kept focused on Mounir, a new twinkie waiter.. He is a cute boy, of Russian and Algerian mix. Very friendly and flirtatious..in my opinion, he was the hottest thing in the club last nite.

 

 

On a side note, here is a picture of a mural painted on a building above the chinese restaurant.. Further example of just how "run down" the village is....

 

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo186/lurkerspeaks/montreal/001.jpg

[Karl-G]

Taboo ?

 

Has anyone stopped in at Taboo?

[LurkerSpeaks]

Karl, sorry to tell you that it appears once again that taboo is on it's final leg.. I stopped in there tonite (Saturday) around 11pm.. there was maybe 16 customers and half that many dancers. And the dancers that were there were not all that great. I did a few dances with the only boy there that I found attractive...The good news is that several of the taboo/adonis dancers are now found at campus afternoons.. And word from the boys is that when they close off Ste Catherines on May 26 for the summer, JP's is going to start opening at 3pm, with twinks in the afternoon..

[Karl-G]

"Ralph Woods Sighting"

 

Lurker mentions catching sight of Ralph Woods on Ste Catherine. Here are six very nice close-ups of Ralph's lower delights that you probably don't see along Ste Catherine. Did Lurker get any shots like these?

 

http://twinkblog.pichack.com/

[LurkerSpeaks]

Saturday's update

 

The weather was a little cool and drizzling, but the heat of Montreal continued..Met up with most of the group (Cooper, Hoover, Rendie, TxAlphadog) for breakfast at Chez Cora's. After breakfast, we (TxAlphadog) and I came back to the apartment we were sharing and relaxed before Campus opened. TxAlpha had an appointment set up with a dancer, and he claims it was the best experience he can ever remember having in Montreal..I on the other hand, had an appointment set up (with an un-identified young man) which did not turn out so well. He showed up on time..but could not get hard....I told him I thought it better at that point for us to just cut our losses and call it off, I told him I would give him half of our agreed upon amount for his time...But when I went to give him the money, he claimed that the agreed upon amount was $300 when I believed it to have been $200....Some rather tense words ensued, and while he did leave with $100, it caused some ill feelings on both our parts..Honest misunderstanding, or greedy boy??? Guess it is one of those things I will never know for sure.. Unfortunately, it caused some awkwardness when I saw him later on during the day/night...I am the type that can't stand for anyone to be mad at me.

 

After my bad encounter, it was around 3:45, so TxAlphadog and I headed over to Campus. Again, a great number and types of dancers...and a good crowd as well. I decided to "take a ride on the twinkie train", so I engaged the backroom services of Xavier, one of the adonis/taboo boys...We had been making eye contact the previous day, but on that day, whenever he would come by, someone else was always on my side.. So today, I made sure to be alone when he made his approach..Lets just say that he "hardly" enjoys oral pleasure.....for a skinny, small framed twink, he carries a big stick..He used to dance at adonis under the name of francis, but there he was more "fashion conscious' as he put it, I think he just meant he was much more femme and flamboyant there..Definitely a cute boy if you like em small and on the less butch side..

 

For dinner, we decided to try the other new steak house on Ste Catherines.. "O Steakhouse"

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo186/lurkerspeaks/montreal/001-1.jpg

 

It is a small place, decorated with a western theme... the food was good, service good, but unfortunately for them, they had some structural issues and had to close for the evening while we were there. They are on the ground floor of a 3 story building, with the Hotel Felix above them. It seemed there was some sort of plumbing issues and water was leaking all over the restaurant. It was like a shower show from Stock inside the restaurant..For their sake, I hope they are able to get everything fixed before any permanent damage is done..

[LurkerSpeaks]

saturday continued

 

After dinner, we headed over to Stock for the much anticipated Super Hero party..The crowd grew to a nice size..crowded but not packed..there appeared to be 40 or so dancers, with most of them dressed (or undressed) as super heroes.. A fun time was had by all.

 

Around 10:30 or 10:45, I decided to talk a walk down to taboo to see if they were doing any better during "prime time"..As I passed in front of JP's..who should be outside smoking but Joey..For those who have been coming to Montreal for a few years, Joey can be remembered as the crazy and slightly wild hiphop boy who has danced at taboo and adonis. He used to be bfs with Pierre Luc, a former Mr taboo.. Joey appears to have cleaned up his act for the time being... He took me into JP's and gave me a tour of the upstairs private dance area.. Their booths are nice sized, with comfortable seating, and full length curtains..They have an open air patio upstairs, and according to Joey, they are planning on putting a jacuzzi up there and making it a "for rent" area for private parties with your favorite dancer..Back downstairs, there were maybe 8 or so male customers and a group of 6 or so females, plus maybe 6 dancers...

 

Next on the expedition was Taboo..at 11pm on Saturday night, there were about 15 customers and 8 or so dancers.. For the most part, the dancers were inferior to the dancers of the past..just not the same caliber as what they had a couple of years ago in the high times of taboo..

 

There was one boy who was interesting to me, so I took him in the back for a test spin.. He was very cuddly and affection.. he had no trouble getting and maintaining an erection. but due to the lack of privacy, not much can be done..Dances were $12 each, so I had 3 dances, paid him $40, and left..heading back to Stock for the rest of the night..The crowd was still large and festive there, up until the time we left, around 2am...

 

Here is another shot of a new shop on Ste Catherines, It is a chocolate shop..

 

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo186/lurkerspeaks/montreal/003.jpg

 

A lot of the group leave on Sunday, while a few of us will be departing on Monday.. Several of us who are still around, are planning on seeing Totem, the cirque du soleil show that recently opened to rave reviews..

[Guest princeleo]

Totem

 

Totem is full of great eye candy. If I remember your type Lurker, I think you will fall head over heals for the Hopi hoop dancer. Or maybe the man on roller skates. Or maybe..... There is not a dull moment the entire show, and I saw it twice. Have a great time!!!

[LurkerSpeaks]

I have to agree with princeleo.. Totem was fabulous entertainment. not a dull moment from start to finish.. and yes, I think I am in love with the hopi hoop dancer.

[LurkerSpeaks]

winding down to the end....

 

It is Monday morning and I am preparing to head to the airport..just back from my last (for this trip) breakfast at Chez Cora..For anyone who hasnt visited Montreal and Chez Cora, it is a local establishment, reminiscent of a Denneys, but with a little more style to the food.. It is a gay landmark in the village..

 

here was my breakfast this morning.. all their plates have this kind of attention to presentation....

 

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo186/lurkerspeaks/montreal/004.jpg

 

yesterday (Sunday) was a day of ups and downs.. It started off great, with the Totem show by cirque de soleil. Fantastic

 

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo186/lurkerspeaks/montreal/002-1.jpg

 

...Afterwards, I came back to the apartment to relax and try to set something up for later in the day..Several leads, but nothing seemed to pan out.. So around 6, I headed over to check out one last afternoon at Campus.. The place was dead..partially because it was the first really beautful day so far this spring.. More people were outside instead of inside. I sat and talked with Eeyore and his new favorite boy, Adrian (one of my fav's from last year),. Then came back to home base and checked on emails to see if anything panned out...

 

Several hours later, I finally was able to connect with a boy who advertises on craigslist.. He seemed eager and agreeable so we made plans to meet up.He came over around 10:15..Nice boy.. cute, but a little scraggily...We spent some time on the couch, talking, cuddling, making out.. then moved to the shower together.and then the bed..But, unfortunately, lets just say he was unable to fully function to the required rigidity. He was here for an hour and a half, trying to make things work, but I ended up calling it off since it was obvious to me that he just wasn't "up" to it..

Since he really was a nice guy and really tried to satisfy me in every way physically possible considering the circumstances, I agreed to pay him his low fee for one hour. He initially tried to give me part of it back, but I told him no, he had stayed an extra half hour to try to make things work and he was very accomodating as far as his physical issued allowed him to be. Shame that it turned out the way it did, because otherwise, he was a prefect match for me, very affectionate and accomoodating..

 

So I sent him on his way and headed down to see what if anything was happening at Taboo..there was maybe 4 or 5 customers and about 6 dancers. i sat at the bar and ordered a drink.. A dancer approached me and started chatting. Not one I would usually spend much time with, but he was friendly, and had what I would of called more of an "adonis, street boy" persona...He eventually asked if I wanted a dance, so I explained who I hated the backroom there because it was so open and limiting. He told me that he gave great dances and knew how to "work things" in the back.. I agreed to give him a try and lets just say that he CUMpletely showed me that under the right cirCUMstances, a good dance can be had at taboo.. *wink,wink*..

 

But his point it was fastly approaching 1am.. I headed down to Stock to see if I could catch Cooper for one last time before our trip ended. I missed him by about 15 minutes. He had an earlier flight than I did, so he had headed back to his hotel.. I spoke with Taz for a few minutes, then noticed a dancer on stage that I had not seen in any of my prior visit there at Stock...His name was Milo. he was a shorter guy, more of a natural build, and he was from Mexico..He immediately got my interest.. I got his attention after he finished on stage, and decided that he would be the perfect "last dance" for me..We chatted for a bit. he told me he only dances once a month or so..He did indeed deliver in the back.. maybe not as CUMpletely as the taboo boy did, but he was very nice to have as a last dance.

 

So.. that brings everyone up to date on my visit.. I have to go pack my bags and get ready to head to the airport..I hope this journal has helped to show an counter-view to that other poster who said Montreal is dead.. It is only dead if you let it die...If you come here with any open mind and an open heart (and hopefullly a good friend or two), a great time can still be had..but if you come here with the preconceived notion that all is bad, well, then chances are that it will be..

 

If I think of anything else, I will post it while at the airport or once I get home..and if not, then farewell until my next vacation, which will defintely by in November, and possibly another one sooner.. oh, and PS..for those who have followed my November, birthday vacation thread.. two of the posters who were here this week have expressed interest in going to Rio with me in November.. Both have wanted to go for quite some time, but were hesitant about going alone..so hopefully one or both of them are able to co-ordinate things so we can make it happen..

 

Lurkerspeaks

[BgMstr4u]

Thanks so much, Lurker, for this great report. I have been to Montreal several times (not for a couple of years, though) and love it. Glad to hear that, though life is continually changing, things are going strong.

[jerryskater]

Thanks

 

Lurker thanks for you great reports from Montreal. My partner and I have been going there once or twice a year for more than 10 years. Sorry to hear that Taboo is on it's last legs. It was dead last year on our first visit but picked up greatly after Adonis closed.

 

Did you see Francis or Pierre-Luc or Martin at Taboo or elsewhere. We always spent a lot of time with them and hoped to see them again this year.

 

I agree Montreal is what you make it. We've always had a great time. Really nice when they close St. Catherine street and there are lot's of people in the streets.

 

Please all you Montreal visitors keep up the reports.

[LurkerSpeaks]

I believe francis is now dancing at campus, but going by the name of Xavier. He has changed his look for campus, much less feminine than before.. more of a skater look. But, (if it is indeed him), he said he will be moving down to JP's as of May 26 when they start opening at 3pm with twink dancers and no females allowed..I did see Pierre Luc on evening, not in a strip club, but in the village as he was going out to eat.. Honestly, he was not looking very good..very scruffy....another blast from the past that i saw on the street one evening was the former dancer Big Johnny from Taboo...awwww, memories..

[Diverdan]

Thanks

 

Thanks for these great reports. I am now interested in heading back to Montreal.. and I do hope that your trip to Rio works out with some of these friends...

[imrthr]

 

 

snip snip snip

 

...I hope this journal has helped to show an counter-view to that other poster who said Montreal is dead.. It is only dead if you let it die...

 

Hi Lurker -

 

I am pleased that you had a good time on your recent trip to Montreal. I am, however, puzzled at your writing "to that other poster who said Montreal is dead."

 

Several posters expressed their disappointment with how the village had negatively changed. Therefore, I am not sure which poster you mean.

 

 

If you come here with any open mind and an open heart (and hopefullly a good friend or two), a great time can still be had..but if you come here with the preconceived notion that all is bad, well, then chances are that it will be..

 

We who expressed our disappointment certainly did not come to visit Montreal with a "preconceived notion that all is bad" as you wrote.

 

We came to Montreal expecting to find what we found over the past decade or so of visiting Montreal and its village. With respect to the village, we did not find what we formerly found.

 

We were disappointed because the village and its inhabitants had markedly changed from when we first began to visit there.

 

You appeared to have a good time. On the other hand, we (the several posters who expressed their disappointment) did not have a good time. This shows that luck and expectations have a lot to do with enjoying oneself.

 

Like I said, I am pleased that you had a good time.

 

By the way, I found your daily postings with photos interesting.

[DanseurMTL]

There are two Francis

 

http://taboomontreal.ca/photos/francis/images/francis34.jpg

I think that jerryskater was referring to Francis (Steve Filion), Mr. Taboo 2006. Francis is now working as a bartender at Le Cocktail which is two doors to the left of the old Adonis.

 

The other Francis (to which LurkerSpeaks is referring) is Francis Dolan / Xavier Powell, Mr. Adonis 2008.

 

 

http://content.porninamillion.com/content/svp00056/photos/fullphoto/1.jpg

Martin

 

To answer your question about Pierre-Luc and Martin, Pierre Luc is unemployed and living somewhere in the Village. I see him occasionally with friends in restaurants, at the clubs and just hanging around. Martin is now working at JPs, according to a converstation I had with him at Campus.

 

I haven't found a photo of Pierre-Luc yet!

[+ newatthis]

Thanks! Enjoyed reading about your adventures.

[firecat]

What????

 

Lurker,

 

I applaud you for well written and interesting report. Also you must be the most Glass !/2 Full Guy in the world.

 

By your own account you had 3 sexual encounters , all of which ranged from a disaster to unsuccessful in completion.

 

You went to 2 nice restaurants where your food was over cooked and there was a flood.

 

In all your visits to strip clubs , it appears you had 3 good experiences in the back room.

 

In the old days if I couldn't have 3 great experiences per day in the back room , I would have considered it a disaster.

 

I'm afraid the other posters who have said that Montreal is a former shell of itself have got it right and your report just confirms it!!!!