I’ve spent my last two fall breaks on campus. I decided that this tradition couldn’t continue for another year, so I had to decide where to go. I talked with some friends and we jokingly brought up going to Canada, but this idea really stuck with me. Up until that point, I had never left the country before. I double-checked to see if I had my passport with me and started the hunt for AirBnbs.
Before bringing it back up to my friends, I knew I had to have a plan. I found 5 different affordable options, prepared myself to drive, and created a packing list. In retrospect, this might have been overkill. I just wanted to make sure they would say yes!
Thankfully, they did, and we decided to go to Montréal! We really wanted to experience a city and get away for the weekend, so this was perfect. Montréal is also known for the night life, which we thought would be fun to explore.
As the resident chauffeur of my friend group, I was expecting the drive to be long and stressful, but it really wasn’t! Aside from my friend getting carsick in the backseat (R.I.P. to my car trash can), the drive up to Montréal was beautiful. We took state highways and backroads, and drove through Sugarloaf mountain! It’s the perfect time of year to see the leaves change color, so the whole drive looked like it was straight out of a Pinterest board.
When we got to our AirBnB, it was… cozy. Since it was only three of us, and we were all pretty close before this trip, we didn’t let it get us down. We unpacked, got dressed for dinner, and hit the town. We got some incredible sushi and asked our waiter for nightlife recommendations. The rest of our night was spent dancing and laughing with each other, and was finished off with a huge bowl of buffalo poutine!
Day two started late, but we still made the most of it. We found the Canadian equivalent of Goodwill Bins and kind of lost our minds. Let’s just say a big portion of my closet is now from Canada. After spending hours at the bins, we went to Le Warehouse for dinner. Over dinner, we made our game plan for the night. We went back to the condo, got ready, and hit the town once again.
Our last day in Montréal was spent exploring the city and eating amazing food, before heading home around dinner time. The journey back to campus definitely tested my driving skills (thanks to thick fog, dirt roads, a deer, a dog, and two moose), but it was fun nonetheless.
If you’re looking for somewhere to spend your breaks as a Colby student, I definitely recommend going to Canada! It’s so fun to be able to explore a new country that’s only a few hours away from campus. Just be sure to brush up on your French before heading out…