The last couple of days have had their ups and downs! With the end of swim season (Braden is a high school swim coach, among other things), the end of 5k season (I help organize a charity 5k with my family) and the bulk of wedding planning behind us (Braden did 90% of the work, thank you Braden), we were itching to get our lodging confirmed for the first couple of cities.
We’ve been researching short-term apartment rentals for months now. Combing through Airbnb and Homeaway was actually the thing that made us think “we can actually do this,” since the nightly rates in Montreal were like $90 CAD. And several places offer monthly discounts of 30% or more! I’m sure we looked at hundreds of listings before finally pulling the trigger on this gorgeous furnished rental near the Quartier des Spectacles that is within our price range and checks all our boxes. But later that day, our application got rejected – the owner wanted to hold out for a long-term tenant.
So back to square one – we soon found an EVEN MORE PERFECT rental right between downtown and the Plateau. Submitted a request through Airbnb. But the owner writes back that she doesn’t want to book that far out; check back in April or May.
Dispirited, I went back to Airbnb because I wanted to get a screenshot to use in a blog post documenting the frustrating week. I zoomed in on the Quartier des Spectacles in Montreal. Looked at 15 or 20 other listings, many of them studios, one with a cool rooftop balcony and not-so-cool bunk beds. One jumped out at me. All five-star reviews, a KING BED (!), and the perfect location: one minute from the metro, 5 minutes from a grocery store. Is this for real? We emailed the hosts, and they accepted right away!
So we are booked! I keep telling myself not to get too emotionally attached, since there’s a chance this apartment falls through. But it’s super exciting to picture myself working on the sunny balcony, walking to Tim Horton’s for coffee, and exploring the neighborhood, now that the pieces are falling into place. The adventure is getting real – let the countdown begin!