Well, I've returned from my business trip to Montreal, Quebec.
Before I left, I knew that French was the official first language of the province of Quebec (unlike the rest of Canada where English and French have equal status), but I was still not prepared for the difficulty in performing simple tasks. Reading a menu from a restaurant you aren't familiar with is VERY difficult when your grasp of French is limited (dropped the subject after Grade 10). Finding a decent pop/rock radio station with English DJs is impossible. Even a simple task like playing black jack becomes a bit of a strain as you subconsciously try to translate "dix-neuf" into "nineteen", even though you can tell the value of the cards without the dealer announcing it to you.
By the way, if you intend on visiting Montreal, stay off the roads. Don't take a taxi, and definitely don't drive around on your own. I have never seen such aggressive driving, or overuse of horn/high-beams in my life. It was a white-knuckle ride during my cab ride into the city from the airport: weaving through traffic and honking persistently at "slow moving traffic". Side note: there is a posted maximum speed limit and a posted MINIMUM speed limit on the highways...very cool.
I love listening to women speak French, especially when they take their time. No ratatatat speech pattern, but a slow, musical voice. It's even better than a southern drawl.
The Montreal Casino seemed very small compared to the Ontario casinos in Windsor/Niagara Falls/Rama (and I won't even compare it to the ones in Las Vegas). On the plus side, there seemed to be a lower minimum on all the tables than I'd seen in any of the Ontario ones (more than one $5 black jack table).
In the end, it was a pretty good trip and I got some good work done in the Montreal office. Would I visit again? Sure, but I think I'd like it to be a personal trip so I could visit the sites that I missed like Mont Royal, the old section of town, and maybe catch a Montreal Canadiens game too.
P.S. The best part was coming home to my sweetie. I missed her a lot.