Every place is not 24/7 — Deal with it

Traveling reminds me that it is not always possible to eat late while out and many places take the Sabbath very seriously by simply closing. During my second trip to Montreal in July 2014, my friends and I were dismayed by the fact that we had a hard time finding a place open for food once we reached the hotel that night. So we settled for ordering Domino’s Pizza — which took forever but was hot, delicious and very welcomed upon arrival. Sure, we did not want our first night in the North American city known for french cuisine to be spent eating Domino’s but we simply came in too late — our tough luck! Past weekend arrivals to other foreign cities such as Paris and Stockholm also meant having to deal with many closed shops and eateries.

“We simply don’t know when or how to stop.”

A closed shop or restaurant may be inconvenient as a tourist but I must give respect to people ensuring a good life balance as much as possible. Plus, I am reminded of the fact that one simply has to adjust and plan better when you are in someone else’s space.

Sometimes it feels like there are not enough hours in the day or days in the week. On the contrary, we have more than enough hours and days but we live in a society with constant stimulation and activity. We simply don’t know when or how to stop. So much so, it is often quite difficult to simply read in public without being disturbed by a (sometimes well-meaning but still intrusive) stranger. So it can be an adjustment (a good one if you are open) to visit other lands where things actually close. Remember when US workers had a good chance of having Thanksgiving Day off since it is supposed to be about spending time with family?

I must say that settling for Domino’s did not put a dent on the opening night of the trip. The closed shops did not stop 3 fun creative ladies from joking around, sipping wine and eating pizza in our suite. Closed shops or not, we were in the beautiful city of Montreal simply enjoying the company of friendship.

This article was originally published on my blog MilkyWay Mocha as well as Linkedin