After just a three-hour direct flight from Orlando, I arrived at the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport ready to take on the island of Montreal. That's right, Montreal is actually an island with more than 20 miles of "underground" that comprise the largest underground city in the world. It is also the second largest French speaking city (after Paris) in the world, the most bilingual city (most everyone speaks French and English) and the second largest Catholic city in North America (after Mexico City).

I was not only excited to explore North America's most European city, but to also get a firsthand look at the city's newest festival (Montreal is known for its many festivals held year round): the Circus Arts Festival, which was held for the first time July 8-25, 2010 and is the only venue of this kind in North America.

I arrived at the Hotel Intercontinental Montreal, which is conveniently located between Old Montreal and downtown and within walking distance to dining, shopping and entertainment. In addition, the hotel links directly to the underground pedestrian network. Location, location, location...it is prefect.

The next morning we met Annique Dufour for a tour of Montreal. We started with a tour of the underground (not all 20 miles) that has 69 subway stops, 7 shopping centers and 300 police cadets that patrol the underground daily. We also drove to the Island of Expo (named for when Montreal hosted the World's Fair in 1967), which is now home to their Formula 1 racetrack, the Gilles-Villeneuve, that you can drive, walk or bike on (when there is no race in progress, of course). We went for a spin in the minivan and kept on driving. We also learned about their new BIXI system, which is a public bicycle sharing system Montreal has developed and has now been duplicated and sold to London, Boston, Toronto and Melbourne (Australia). For $5/day, you can find a bicycle at one of BIXI's 600 stations throughout the city that houses about 4,000 bicycles. With nearly 250 miles of bike trails, Montreal is easily a top bicycle city.

With our smoked meat intrigue "cured," it was time to focus on the Circus Arts Festival. While many of us in the U.S. are familiar with Cirque du Soleil, (the largest and most branded of the modern circuses), there are other troops as well that are part of the festival, which has been planned for the past 18 months. There are three main sites for the festival: 1) Tohu, 2) Old Port of Montreal and 3) Downtown Montreal. There are also 15 different shows that portray the innovation and creativity that is unique to this "circus of tomorrow" performance.

Our first (and probably favorite) show was ID by Cirque Eloize (think Broadway's Rent meets what you know about Cirque du Soleil and you may have some idea). It was refreshing to see the young performers incorporate new elements into the routines, such as the BMX bike.

We had a lovely lunch at Le Chateau Ramezay's Restaurant Chasse et Peche, which features an outdoor seating area in the summer. I enjoyed the Asparagus Soup and Tuna Tataki, while Sharron and I had a conversation about who we "fancy" (I am working to incorporate British jargon into my all-American vocabulary). We all "fancied" our server, Maxim!

After the show, we sadly said our goodbyes and started planning our next trips together. Many thanks to Tourisme Montreal and the Circus Arts Festival for a spectacular Girls Getaway to Montreal! Au revoir Montreal...� la prochaine!!!