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[mystictechgal]

Malcha,

Good to see you again. I'm very sorry to hear of malchakitty's demise. I wouldn't think you'd have a problem, but I don't know how you are traveling. It's not the same thing, but when traveling by car I regularly brought back meats and cheeses in a cooler. They never asked, and I never volunteered. I've never really had a problem. Asking in advance might be good, but whoever you ask isn't likely to be at the border when you cross, so it may, or may not, ultimately be helpful. I just wouldn't say anything about it. (Going through your tea? That's just weird. Where do you cross? When driving, I cross at Pt. Huron/Sarnia, by preference. I've never had anything like that happen.)

Weirdest questions I've ever gotten was once when crossing into Canada, driving a Dodge Stealth (not a lot of room), with a bike rack and two bikes, and a full cargo area (because we were spending three weeks). They wanted to know if I was carrying any firewood. ??? No. And, if I had been, where, exactly, might I have put it? Under the seats? The car was packed. I actually asked if they meant "firearms". No, they meant "firewood".

On another trip they wanted to know if Ohio required a front license plate, or not. (They do. For a number of reasons I prefer to not mount one, particularly on a sports car.) I kind of freaked, and explained that I had a front license plate with me, it just wasn't mounted. She laughed. Turned out that she was new on the job and had seen cars from OH come through with, and without. She was just curious, and I was the first female driver she'd encountered, so she felt like she could ask in order to satisfy her curiosity.

[ursula]

Malcha,



Weirdest questions I've ever gotten was once when crossing into Canada, driving a Dodge Stealth (not a lot of room), with a bike rack and two bikes, and a full cargo area (because we were spending three weeks). They wanted to know if I was carrying any firewood. ??? No. And, if I had been, where, exactly, might I have put it? Under the seats? The car was packed. I actually asked if they meant "firearms". No, they meant "firewood".

Firewood transport is actually a big deal, even within Canada and within a province, because of various insects that are causing havoc on trees.  Several provincial parks in Ontario have warnings about bringing firewood from home and from other parks, because of the possibility of helping destructive insects move from an infected area to one that has so far missed the scourge.

[mystictechgal]

Malcha,



Weirdest questions I've ever gotten was once when crossing into Canada, driving a Dodge Stealth (not a lot of room), with a bike rack and two bikes, and a full cargo area (because we were spending three weeks). They wanted to know if I was carrying any firewood. ??? No. And, if I had been, where, exactly, might I have put it? Under the seats? The car was packed. I actually asked if they meant "firearms". No, they meant "firewood".

Firewood transport is actually a big deal, even within Canada and within a province, because of various insects that are causing havoc on trees.  Several provincial parks in Ontario have warnings about bringing firewood from home and from other parks, because of the possibility of helping destructive insects move from an infected area to one that has so far missed the scourge.

Yes. I dislike bumper stickers, on principle, but even I had a magnetic one warning about transporting firewood--until someone peeled it off and stole it. And, my ash tree, largest in the county, and third largest in the State, succumbed to the borer last year. *sigh* This was really early on. It was another two years, or so,  before we heard anything about it here. Leave it to Canada to actually care about what might matter, environmentally, far earlier than we do. I hoist a glass in their honor for it.

[anon99]

I had a US borderguard cease a couple of hot dogs we had bought.  He wasn't interested in the fruit we had.  I guess he forgot his lunch that day.

[merinoblue]

I had a US borderguard cease a couple of hot dogs we had bought.  He wasn't interested in the fruit we had.  I guess he forgot his lunch that day.

I guess he decided it was time to put an end to hot dog couples trying to crossing the border disguised as travelers' food. Some couples will stop at nothing!

[theblondeassassin]

I had a US borderguard cease a couple of hot dogs we had bought.  He wasn't interested in the fruit we had.  I guess he forgot his lunch that day.

I guess he decided it was time to put an end to hot dog couples trying to crossing the border disguised as travelers' food. Some couples will stop at nothing!

Aren't they legal IN Canada (and in many EU states)? Some day the US will stop defining a couple as a hot dog and a bun, and realise that many food combinations can make a family.

[llanfair]

And, my ash tree, largest in the county, and third largest in the State, succumbed to the borer last year. *sigh* This was really early on. It was another two years, or so,  before we heard anything about it here. Leave it to Canada to actually care about what might matter, environmentally, far earlier than we do. I hoist a glass in their honor honour for it.

Fixed that for you.  And thanks, Mystic - it's nice to know we're getting some things right, anyway.

[merinoblue]

I had a US borderguard cease a couple of hot dogs we had bought.  He wasn't interested in the fruit we had.  I guess he forgot his lunch that day.

I guess he decided it was time to put an end to hot dog couples trying to crossing the border disguised as travelers' food. Some couples will stop at nothing!

Aren't they legal IN Canada (and in many EU states)? Some day the US will stop defining a couple as a hot dog and a bun, and realise that many food combinations can make a family.

That's a day that many will relish!

[helpful]

I had a US borderguard cease a couple of hot dogs we had bought.  He wasn't interested in the fruit we had.  I guess he forgot his lunch that day.

You mean seize, don't you? I am trying to imagine how one would end a hot dog!

[wannabeacademe]

Just dropping in quickly for a post-trip update. For the most part, we used our Capital One credit card in Montreal and didn't have any issues. They don't charge a fee for foreign currency transactions.  I called the credit card company the night before we left and told them we were traveling to Canada for the next few days.  The only time the card didn't work was the very first purchase we tried to make (metro tickets), so we just used cash.  Right when we got there, we took out about $200 using our atm card.  We took out all the money we thought we'd need in the beginning to avoid multiple transaction fees.

As for customs, we noticed that the US agents were much more strict.  We went by train, and were stopped at the border for less than an hour on the way up to Canada for customs inspections, but the train was stopped for almost 2 hours coming back into the US.

Had a great time over all even though it rained the entire trip.  We stayed at Hotel Le Relais Lyonnais in the Latin Quarter.  It's a smaller hotel (less than 10 rooms total), and everything was immaculate.  The innkeepers were so accommodating, and helped us score a hard to get restaurant reservation.  It was about a half block from the Berri-UQAM station, and convenient.  Also, the best meal we had was at a tapas places called Pintxo in the Plateau region. 

Thanks for all the advice leading up to trip everyone!

[llanfair]

I'm glad things went well, Wanna! And thanks for the tips about the hotel and restaurants.  (Sorry about the rain - MyCity gets Montréal's weather about a day later, so I feel your pain.)