Grand Prix (the useful stuff)

zoom zoom

Aight so just detoxing and getting back to reality after an insane/ awesome 4 days in MTL for race weekend. So I know you know that I know that this isnt an outdoor adventure blog post. BUT it was an adventure and we did spend a truck load of time sitting outside. (and also its my blog so I can do what I want)

So first off we stayed in an apartment that was listed on this great site (https://www.airbnb.ca/?locale=en ) (while the bed situation was unique everything was great about the place.) it was very clean, nice, and great location to where we wanted to be. only one subway stop from the track. The website is very cool you just select a city you want to stay in and it lists apartments etc that ppl have listed. we payed lil over $200 total for 4 nights!! (and on Grand Prix weekend that is stupid cheap)

for our race tickets we purchased off of the Formula 1 website. This is your best bet, other places are not very much cheaper if at all. And after buying the tickets of the F1 site one time, you are given the opportunity to choose your actual seats if you buy again next year. (for us we just got to pick what grandstand but not which actual seats. (http://www.formula1.com/tickets_and_travel/)

 this is the view from row OO. 

from the top if the bleacher. you can see the bio dome, the paddling canal, and the straight after the hair pin.

 
The whole city is in GP mode, so if you are not going to MTL for the races, dont go, youll hate it. Upper left is Crescent street, it was closed down all weekend with all kinds of F1 festivities happening all day, and into the night. Upper right is the lobby at the Delta, very F1 ready.

Just enjoying a casual beer in the Mercedes tent. yeah btw did I mention that unbeknownst to us, the entire island was a booze fest, like more than I could have ever imagined. everyone and their grandmother were just pounding brews all day long (we actually got chirped pretty hard by an old lady in front of us for not drinking on the first day.)

I think now I will offer you all a GP weekend survival items list:

- Cooler backpack. essential for keeping beer and sandwiches cool all day. Make sure its a soft one, cuz you gotta store it under your feet while in the bleachers (and that is a very tight spot when its full full for the race.) Make sure you get a sturdy one too, Dr.Z aka One Strap learned that the hard way on day one.

- Beverages and Food. its BYOB baybee. Thats right, you can bring as much diet sodas, root beers, ginger beers, ginger ales, and adult ales and you can carry. Only rule was no glass (but no bag checks ever happened, and the guy beside was drinking bottles of champagne all weekend). Also you can drink anywhere, the lack of rules was pretty awesome.

- Ear Plugs. these cars, you dont even understand. just wear ear plugs. you might die if you dont. Also you might wanna pre-purchase. on the island the cheapest decent pair was 5 bucks. and you could spend up to 30 if you wanted a fancy Ferrari pair.

Ear Plugs! check! (no idea who this guy is, but we became best friends, I think, not sure)

- FM radio. That guy reminded me, bring an FM radio so you can hear the commentary during the race. They broadcast it on speakers, but ya aint hearing nothing when dem babies go by. (zoomm zooomm vromm vromm)

- Binoculars. Bring binocs so you can see the leader board on the screen and other far away stuff.

 Also so you can zoom in on stuff with your phone camera. (did I just invent a new instagram filter?)

- Ponchos. this is an essential bring. It was rainy Friday and Saturday, and when you sitting down in the rain, a coat aint gon cut it. 

- Butt pad. Those metal bleachers are made of metal....

Also if you are gonna buy merchandise, just a heads up its pretty expensive. The vendors inside don't change tax, but your best bet is prolly getting it online. 

one last thing almost forgot. 

- Public transit. use it, its inexpensive and is effective. we took the 747 bus to and from the airport, 9 bucks each way. we then bought 18 dollar three day passes and were set for the weekend. The subway runs right to the island, so its pretty simple to get to and from the track. 

Aight, hope this information is useful to someone. I will do a more fun post later on... maybe...depends if your good or not.