The last few weeks have been pretty busy, between catching up with the workload following the holidays and getting ahead of the curve again. I am writing this blog from a hotel room on my first trip with Global Traveler.

I flew out of Philadelphia first thing this morning on a tiny Air Canada flight. Six other passengers joined me, and by the time we took off, the flight was running about 30 minutes late. We touched down in Montréal at about 10:30 a.m. I summoned a taxi and was whisked away through a veritable winter wonderland before arriving at Hotel Bonaventure Montréal.

The rest of the day was packed with getting my bearings and catching up on work remotely, but so far Montréal has been an incredible experience. A short walk around the Montréal Underground led me to the metro and many dining and shopping options. I won’t have a lot of time to explore the underground on this trip, but that just gives me incentive to return.

Tonight I’m attending the Montréal Canadiens hockey game at the Bell Centre. Seeing one of the original six in their home stadium will be an awesome experience, especially considering the only hockey team I have seen play at home is the Philadelphia Flyers.

The rest of the trip includes tours of Montréal, skiing, dogsledding, snowshoeing and much more. I cannot wait to get to know this city and region, even if only for a few days.

— Erich Martin, assistant editor