Live form the FAQ
 

Hi, folks, we're posting this from room 3204 of the Sheraton Le Centre in beautiful Montreal, Quebec overlooking the St. Lawrence. We have had a wonderful weekend so far and I can't say enough in praise of our gracious hosts Rick and Brigitte. The organized a fantastic fun activity for us yesterday (jet boat trip through the Lachine Rapids on the St. Lawrence River), terrific dinner (in a cozy room at the Auberge Pierre du Calvet), and a great brunch at the Omni.

We're now in the midst of a wine and cheese tasting party in NJ Flyer's suite at the Sheraton, with wines from all over the world and French cheeses and pastries. Expect the posts to get progressively more baudy and rowdy as this thread continues and more and more wines get consumed. Wish you all could be here with us...

Great friends, great food, great wine, great sex (ha, ha, only kidding on that one). Wish you all were here to share in this wonderful weekend.

Many thanks to flyme2 and Brigette for a ton of work to make this an awesome event. No loss for hospitality, fellowship or excitement in a very exciting city. Thoroughly enjoying my very first visit to Montreal!

Many thanks to cigarman for the smooth Cubano that lasted most of the evening after dinner. What a great opportunity we had to share some insights with Randy on the walk back to the hotel.

The wine is all lined up and we're beginning to do our own high tech FT tasting. Robin Leach called and asked to attend but we told him this group was too elite for even he! Watch for us on the cover of the next issue of the Wine Spectator. People are amazed to see my contribution from the Biltmore Estates. Yes, we have some excellent wines in North Carolina!

Can't wait for tonight to see the comedy show "The Last Catechism" and will share a report with all of you, Catholics and others alike. Then the fireworks competition goes from 10 to 10:30. Tonight the Italian entry will be the featured display. Au revior sans Quebec.

There will be a Catman Do Trois next SPring in NYC and I hereby ask that the party planning extraordinaries Flyme2 and Bridgett (and Burkey for Cancun) take over all the planning work.

What a great weekend! Everyone is doing the wine tasting (and the cats and my paws are crossed that our selection Gato Negro wins the prize and the wine book -- Holly it's yours if I win!) Very tough to find the best wine of all.

Montreal is incredible and I need to come back to see so much that I know that I missed. I hope RIchard and Bridget will be here to show me some more sights.

I will post a review of the Le Centre SHeraton later this week.

Well everyone's getting "happy" on all that wine so this looks like a job for Commander Catcop to keep everyone in line.

Talk to you all soon! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif]]

Wine, women, and cheese!

We're having a great time here in YUL. Many thanks to flyme2 and his wife Brigitte.

BTW, I don't think Spartacus was kidding about the good sex http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Thank you flyme2 and Brigitte for a great FT event. Thanks to Starwood and the Le Centre Sheraton for the suite upgrade, which we are using now for the wine tasting.

You know, I've gotten a few funny looks the past half hour. What's this about wine, women, etc? Very casual (the atmosphere, not the sex), and some very good pastries would be the thought for the moment for me. Brunch earlier was quite delicious, and I've eaten more in the last two days than in the last week. Company is quite good, and I've enjoyed every minute.

Well.... I got kinda sick the first night. Overindulgence, the flyertalk way.

Linda

Live from the Wine/Pastry Tasting party at Le Sheraton Centre-ville in beautiful Montreal...

This has been a wonderful event thanks to the great deal of hard work by our fabulous hosts Rick & Bridgett. Montreal is a wonderful city, especially when sharing it with such good friends! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

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Regards,
- Anna

A good time has definitely been had by all.

Yesterday Jetsetter and I had to nearly break into Notre Dame, and then went on a grand exploration of the restaurant/inn last night, ending up on the roof. Fabulous place. One of the highlight of this trip for me was the walk home from dinnger with Vulcan, NJDavid and their lovely wives. Flyme2 outdid himself on getting us the most perfect weather imaginable.

Favorite Quote of the FAQ:

Punki to Randy, "What has surprised you most about FlyerTalk?"

Randi, "You mean so far?" http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Certainly wish you all were here!

Oh, in the wine tasting contest, the winner by a small margin was Punki and her contribution of La Crema.

Congratulations PUnki! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Sorry HOlly. I'll try to get you the book for Christmas.

Great to hear you all are have a great time!! I'm suffering from FAQ envy!! I'll be thinking of you all tomorrow as I sit down at 9AM for an 8 hour exam in front of a computer. fm2, I'll make it next year http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

If that is the La Crema Chardonnay, it's a terrific wine.

Djlawman

Helen and I arrived home Sunday night in time to put our two boys to bed.

We had an absolutely terriffic time in Montreal - spending most of this trip in te old city.

We can't say enough about how Rick and Brigitte put this event together, saw to everyone's needs and comforts, and were magnificent hosts.

Everyone has lots of pictures to share, including the hand-off of Freddie Jr. to our hosts for their trip to Australia. (more about Junior's travels to be posted in "Flyertalk Community" shortly.

Merci mes ami...

Sondra and I just got back from the FAQ and we can't thank Rick and Brigitte enough for a fantastic weekend. I won't repeat what eveyone else said, other than to echo their thoughts about the job our gracious host did.WOW.
Now for the Wine Tasting results in detail:
Note that we had 10 bottles and wines got anywhere form 7 to 10 votes (I guess some tasters just couldn't make it to the last few bottles). Everyone was asked to rate the wines from roughly 80 to 100 points. The results:
White:
La Crema Chardonnay 1998----90.45
Robert Mondavi Private Res Chard 1997---89
Douglas Hill Chard 1998-----89
Mill Creek Ice Wine 1997----88.5
Coulmbia Crest Estate Chard 1998--86.6
Tokaji Ajsu 1979--------82.37

RED
Gato Negro 1999 (Of course brought by
Catman)----------------87.63
Parducci Zinfindel1997-------86.77
Biltmore Estates Cabernet (No Vintage)---85.45
Coulmbia Crest 1996 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon----84.72
The prize went to Punki and Joe who brought both the La Crema and Robert Mondavi Private Reserve Chardonnays. They really know their wines!!!!!
The major discovery for the tasting was that everyone wants to do more of these. Perhaps the wine tastings shold become a part of future FT gatherings.
All I can say is WHAT A WEEKEND.

Freddie / FAQ handoff Photos

The angels in the President's club at EWR http://ddanto.home.mindspring.com/0721_001.jpg

Helen, NJDavid and Freddie Jr. in 1E and 1F on CO1292 (Note Helen holding CO's inflight magazine ad for being a winner of 5 Freddies this year.) (http://ddanto.home.mindspring.com/0721_004.jpg

The FAQ greeting committee (Brigitte) and Jr. http://ddanto.home.mindspring.com/0721_006.jpg

Randy at the FAQ dinner, explaining the reasons the award was given to Flyertalk http://ddanto.home.mindspring.com/0722_001.jpg

The new hosts, Flyme2 & Brigitte, proudly holding Jr. http://ddanto.home.mindspring.com/0722_002.jpg


[This message has been edited by NJDavid (edited 07-24-2000).]

We too just returned from the FAQ.

"Thank you flyme2 and Brigitte for a great FT event. Thanks to Starwood and the Le Centre Sheraton for the suite upgrade."

Absolutely- except the suite upgrade part - not for me! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif Yet we were upgraded to a nice room on the Club Floor which was quite enjoyable! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Apparently lots of Platinums in town! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

WOWis right! Rick and Brigitte can not be thanked enough for such a fantastic weekend. As Ed noted, I won't repeat what eveyone already said, other than to echo their sentiments about the wonderful job our so very gracious hosts did. It could not have been better! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I too add my appreciation for the fantastic experience of being there and for the suberb organization undertaken by Brigitte and Rick, truly a labour of love, which made this a memorable event for all of us that could attend. Thank you to all the other attendees as well that I had the privelege of meeting at dinner and brunch. My reception couldn't have been more welcoming.

With my mad dash to the airport to catch my return flight I made it to the gate with 8 minutes to spare. I gracefully endure the "you should know better as an employee" lecture. I got on though and that is what counted.

You truly are a fascinating and wonderful community of people.

Glad to hear A Flygirl caught her plane yesterday. By 2:15 we were beginning to worry... I have just arrived in the Empress Club Lounge after a fascinating day with the Air Canada people. A full report on our meeting with Marc Trudeau and Rupert Duchesne will be posted on the Air Canada forum by tomorrow. It will take a while to compose it.

We did our wake for Canadian Plus over a half bottle of Bushmill's single malt Irish following the fireworks, then trundled off to bed and our flights Monday, or for the tour.

We were hosted first to a visit to the Aeroplan call centre and the Montreal reservations office in Westmount. Michelle Mieux of AC Corporate Public Affairs got us through the locked doors and local staff at each location took over from there. We met many of the agents who we deal with over the phone (BB was introduced to the SuperElite staff in an aside, while the rest of us met the people who take care of the difficult callers!

Also, as a surprise, we even found Canadian's res and Canadian Pluss staff who have now moved into the same building, albeit on a separate floor for the time being. Those of us with Aeroplan and Canadian Plus accounts were able to call up our entire flight/transaction histories and see who had passed the magic million mile point (and some beyond) as the helpful agents took us through various screens on their systems (still separate, but coming soon they will merge by October).

We then traveled to the Dorval Airport base for lunch with the two senior execs who were quite open in discussing what the future may hold for the new Aeroplan. Which is what it will be as of March 1st 2001. Lots of positive changes ahead, and some controversial ones, but don't panic for the moment! We were assured much of what was contained in our document reflected concerns already expressed and recognized, but its source was respected and valued. (They do prowl the site from time to time.)

Following an hour and a half of discussion with the two execs, we were taken on a tour of the engine maintenance facilities, and marvelled at all the stages an engine goes through in overhaul. AC does lots of contract work for United, UPS, etc. so tags indicated engines from many planes and carriers.

All in all, a fine way for us boys in the group to look at the toys up real close, before heading off on our separate ways.

Just echoing the comments in the other posts, it was a great weekend of meeting others on these boards, and the spirit of generosity and sharing was incomparable. Thanks to Rick and Bridgette, to Sparticus who actually did bring me some KKs (review will be done after the RedGreen get-to-gether where we plan to compare KKs with Tim Horton's, the Canadian standard) and who missed his original flight because of it but got routed through Memphis and was blessed with triple miles...), and to all.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif All good things must come to an end, and unfortunately the FAQ ended officially for everyone at 15:30 today, although dgolds, SMessier, Brigitte and I are still all in town for the next few days and will be continuing our own get-together in beautiful and sunny Montréal.

There were more than a few tears shed last night and this morning as we said our sad goodbyes, and began planning the next opportunity to meet again. Friendships were formed that I know will last much longer than the memory of a good time had by all

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Thank you flyme2 for your great hospitality this weekend. I feel I got to know everyone alot better and became very close friends with nj_flyer
Thanks again.

Mr. Fisher: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif You KNOW the pleasure was all ours. Expect a call soon.

Brigitte and I also share your fondness for n_j flyer. He really is one swell guy. Maybe we can all get together again...real soon. I'll bring the Absolut, you bring the olives.

Awesome effort flyme2 --- many thanks to you and your wife for all your work!

Well I must add a Hip Hip Hurray for Rick and Brigette (who really was the perfect Den Mom this weekend). They were skillful hosts and their amazing planning was evident throughout the entire weekend.

I don't know which was more exciting, meeting new Flyer Talkers or discovering deep dark secrets about my old FlyerTalk friends. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Now which FlyerTalker would you guess is given to jumping up in the air and clicking his heels twice from time to time (for no apparent reason) while walking down a city street?

And which FlyerTalker would you suspect to happen upon when least expected, in a sidewalk cafe, nursing a beer and watching the world wander by. Made me feel like a native.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redface.gif I'm blushing now, folks.

I must also thank everyone for bringing us such wonderful gifts. It was truly an unexpected surprise, and Brigitte and I thank you all for your kind generosity.

merci beaucoup!

As most of us return from the FAQ, I too would like to thank Flyme2 and Bridgitte for a wonderful weekend. The planning, organization, and hospitality were unique. I won't repeat what others have said...but all had a good time. Actually, I brought my laptop (and even a wireless connection kit) but sadly am posting my "live" post at my desk at the office rather than say from a park in YUL. What is all this technology for...if its not being used to its fullest? The jetboat trip, Air Canada tour, and brunch at the Omni were great. I finally had a chance to meet Randy, as well as old and new friends from the FT board. I hope all had a good trip to return home, and that those in YUL have a good couple of days. -Jetsetter.

Let me add my voice to the throng. Brigitte and flyme2 did an incredible job putting the FAQ together. All their hard work is much appreciated. Restaurant choices were great and the company was unsurpassed.

Inside joke of the FAQ: BillMorrow: "Did we offend you in any way? And if we did, we'll never, ever do it again!" http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif When Brigitte told me that I couldn't stop laughing. BTW, JB's website shows the fares we were talking about.

Thanks from Terry and BlondeBomber too. Great time--Just for Laughs; wet and wild; great meal; "elegant" fireworks and wonderful company.

Just got back from Adirondacks. Had fun hiking and watching birds and picking gobs of wild blueberries.

In YYZ waiting for earlier (now delayed flight). Will be good to get home to Work http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

I'm sooooooo jealous!

I'd like to add my thanks to Brigitte and Rick as well. I really enjoyed Montreal and intend to go back. Learned lots of AA "mileage maximizer" tips from NJFlyer, and was able to begin putting names and faces with the screen names we all use. Wife and daughter kept the credit card bills under four figures, and I had a great time. Can't beat that!