NEW YEARS IN MONTREAL

This year for New Years we took a road trip to Montreal with my family.  We wanted to ring in 2012 in a different city, and Montreal was a great choice.  Even though I'm a born New Yorker, I have such a thing for European cities, and this is as close as you can get to Paris without having to jump on a seven hour + flight.

We rented these wheels...a jumbo sized Ford Expedition e.l. to accommodate all seven of us and our luggage.  Montreal is less than a two hour flight away from New York City, but driving there took less than seven hours and it was fun, especially in this cool ride!  We really want one of these now...we feel like we would take so many more road trips.

Then we checked into the Hotel Omni Mont-Royal.  This was definitely a great hotel in the center of the city.  For starters, the location is just a couple of blocks away from shopping, restaurants and a metro stop, so we just parked the car at the hotel and explored the city on foot.  In addition, the rooms, although not the most modern of decor (although they are in the process of renovating and updating), were nice and spacious, and our room on the 28th floor had a great view of the city!  The fitness center has nice workout equipment, steam rooms, a hot tub and a pool.  And the service was excellent- what you would expect from an Omni property.  Plus, we got it at a great price during the New Years holiday weekend.  We paid about $175 a night...so it was a win-win situation for a great hotel.  I highly recommend the Hotel Omni Mont-Royal if you jet set to this Canadian city.

We spent about 3.5 days and four nights exploring every corner of this wonderful city.  So much so, that by the end, we said we could "put a fork in it, we had seen Montreal."   Yes, it was cold and snowy, but that was part of the charm because it was so festive.  We wandered around the cobblestone streets of Old Montreal.

We walked through Montreal's Chinatown neighborhood.

We went to see Montreal's Notre Dame Church which is so incredibly beautiful.

And need you ask...yes, of course we ate, and ate, and ate (and shopped).  I will have more on all of the great places where we stuffed ourselves silly tomorrow, and more on some of Montreal's good shopping this Friday in my Jet Set Stylin' Fridays post!

FAVORITE NEW YEAR'S DESTINATION

Oh New Year's!  I have mixed feelings about you.  For those of you who love celebrating New Year's in what seems to be the traditional way (i.e: overpriced event fees, crowded bars, freezing cold temperatures in fancy uncomfortable clothes and surrounded by people that have had one too many)...stop reading now.  I have to be honest and say that I am just not much of a New Year's kinda person.  Call me crazy, but I don't love all of the nonsense that usually comes with the holiday.  I would much rather have a bucket of fried chicken and a bottle of champagne with some chocolate covered strawberries on my couch, in the warmth of my home and with my family by my side ANY DAY!

 Next to that, my other favorite thing to do is to jet set somewhere (if its somewhere warm- even better!).  And to-date...my ALL.TIME.FAVORITE.NEW.YEAR'S.DESTINATION. is...EPCOT in Orlando, Florida.

Epcot's World Showcase has pavilions representing eleven different countries (U.S., U.K., Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, Japan Morocco, France and Canada).  So what does this mean?  Well, that on New Year's, each country celebrates (at the time when their country would be ringing in the new year), so you can hop from country to country without getting on a jet, and ring in the new year eleven different times!  How awesome is that?  Yes, the park may be crowded, but not the crowded that you feel like a sardine-in-a-can sort of crowded, it's much warmer than New York City, and you can wear jeans and sneakers.  Plus, you can sample cuisine from around the world!  

Got any other fun New Year's jet setting ideas?  Go ahead and share them in the comments section below.