⚠️ Lengthy reading ahead and not sorry about that: we are picky hosts. Feel free to browse by chapter.

I have quit social media (such a relief) and can be reached through direct messaging through the app for general inquiries, or if you think we'd get along 😊✌️

0️⃣FOREWORD on language

Bonjour tout le monde, le FRANÇAIS ⚜️ est ma langue maternelle but I am also fluent in ENGLISH 🇨🇦, hablo ESPANOL con fluidez 🇨🇺 e ho una discreta padronanza dell'ITALIANO 🇮🇹. To simplify reading, ENGLISH is used throughout the rest of my profile. Feel free to reach out in any of those four languages.

▶Note to FRENCH-speakers: Si vous êtes francophone ( je vous parle à vous compatriotes de la francophonie africaine et antillaise mondiale, compagnons PVTistes français, amis Belges, camarades helvètes, bonnes gens du Grand Duché et autres francophones ), ayez la gentillesse de nous écrire en français !

Le Canada a effectivement deux langues officielles, l'anglais et le français, mais au Québec, c'est d'abord en français que ça passe. Et avant que vous vous mettiez les pieds dans les plats, j'y vais d'une petite confidence: l'accent canadien n'existe pas mais le québécois oui, lequel se décline lui-même de multiples façons. Il y a également bon nombre d'accents francophones différents ailleurs au pays.

↪Bref : accent canadien ❌ / accent québécois ✅

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1️⃣ CHAPTER 1 : STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY

Please read the few lines below. You will quickly realize, before you even message us, if we have chances of getting along or not.

▶ SELF-LOVE: No matter who you are, how you define and how you might struggle with how the world wants you to define, know that you are loved. That you are allowed to be how you really want to be deep inside. We are a same sex couple 🌈 and as much as we like meeting other LGBTQ2S+ citizens of the world, we couldn't care less about anyone's sexual orientation or gender but know this: whether you are wondering or you are certain about who you are, this household is a queer friendly sanctuary and you are welcome as you are to our house.

If you have an opposite belief and are not open for discussion nor willing to change your views on this matter in the 21st century, Canada is not a place for you and you are certainly not welcome to our place.

▶AIRBNB and other short-term rentals : Short-term tourist rentals are prohibited in most Montreal boroughs or are regulated and restricted to certain areas. Don't encourage illegal rentals, conduct that throws our citizens out on the street, kill our commercial vitality, and harms the social fabric of our neighborhoods. Most of you are just passing through and won't be able to see the effects, but they are visible all over the world: Barcelona, Paris, Venice, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Rio, Amsterdam, Vancouver, etc. All these cities are suffering horribly from these illegal rentals.

As a responsible traveler, it is your duty to inform yourself here by selecting the neighborhood in which you intend to stay/rent (the below links are applicable for the sole city of Montreal):
▶ENG: https://montreal.ca/en/how-to/areas-where-operating-tourist-home-authorized?arrondissement=VM
▶FR: https://montreal.ca/demarches/secteurs-autorises-pour-exploiter-une-residence-de-tourisme

▶HOSTELS: If for some reasons, we can't host you or you are unsuccessful in finding a host in Montréal, here are some of the city's best hostels for I have had constant positive feedback about them from friends and surfers alike throughout the past 13 years I have been part of the Couchsurfing community:

→ M Montréal ( Village Gai/Gay Village neighborhood) : https://www.m-montreal.com/
→ Samesun Montréal Central (Quartier Latin neighborhood): https://samesun.com/montreal-hostel/
→ Auberge Saintlo Montréal (Centre-ville/Downtown neighborhood): https://saintlo.ca/auberges/montreal/
→ More suggestions on : www.hostelworld.com, but I will not vouch for them as I do not know them.
→ BEWARE of very cheap hotels: they are more often more brothels than hotels. Unless this is what you seek, avoid them. They are usually found on busy commercial streets. In doubt, ask me.

▶FREE-LOADERS be warned: Couchsurfing is a two-way community: you receive and you give. If you intend to only receive, e.g., to save on accommodation, to save on meals, to save on transportation, etc., I will know. Your request will be denied. Get tourist accommodation if your "social battery" is empty or don't have time or space in your life for giving to other humans.

▶PLEASE, do yourself (and us!) a favor and have a look at the " My Home " section before sending a request.

▶COPY-PASTING will get you an AUTOMATIC denial : after 13 years on CS, I've become quite an expert at spotting that type of rubbish.

▶ COUCH REQUEST : I do insist that you send in a formal Couchsurfing request if your intention is to eventually be hosted. I make our Couchsurfing calendar available or blocked depending on when we can/want to host, and therefore, using the request channel is the way to go to reach us.

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2️⃣CHAPTER 2 : WELCOME

Bonjour tout le monde ! 👋

Allow me to extend my warmest welcome to the beautiful city of Montréal, the largest french speaking city in America and one of the largest in the world, along with Paris, Dakar and Abidjan. However, despite the fact that Canada is an "officially bilingual" country (on the federal level, not provincial) and considers that we are all equal, practically speaking, some are more equal than others: this means most Francophones are bilingual because we have to (unlike our English Canadians brothers and sisters who can live a trouble-free unilingual existence). Pair this with a long tradition of welcoming people from all over the world, and you start to have an idea why Montréal has one of the world's largest concentrations of trilinguals. I speak four languages fluently; my partner three. And we are no exceptions around here.

What a place to be alive 🙆

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3️⃣CHAPTER 3 : YOUR HOSTS

▶My name is Mathieu, of French and Catalan descent, and I live together with Emmanuel of Sicilian and British descent who is my partner in crime, best friend, travel buddy, boyfriend and fiancé. As I've mentioned before, if you do the maths, that makes us a gay couple 🧑‍🤝‍🧑. If you disagree or are uncomfortable with this, move on to someone else's profile.

▶Mathieu is very much of an intellectual and a bookworm. Yet, he's also quite an extrovert and a dynamic young man whose beliefs and personality have been morphed and strengthened by his numerous adventures and living abroad experiences currently trying as much as he can to have our chaotic world make sense. He has recently returned from a six months abroad exchange semester in South Australia and finished his Bachelor of Laws. He is an aspiring lawyer specializing in indigenous and constitutional issues relating to the environment and sustainable development. This goes without saying that our household is also an Indigenous/Aboriginal people safe space, and you are very much welcome to reach out. He also enjoy reading airline magazines, wake up early, do yoga, garden, eat well, drink well and live well. He is a desperate fan of airline memorabilia and everything that has to do with planes. If you work in this field, we will get along. Please send us a couch request.

▶As for Emmanuel, he flies the world as flight attendant for a large North american airline flying on all continents and dealing with both extraordinary and dumb human beings on a daily basis. He's a very manual person who loves gardening, terroir, and food security. He also co-owns a café-restaurant-wine shop in our neighborhood where he spends most of his time making sure everyone's happy and to promote the local gastronomic savoir-faire of Québec's food and drinks artisans. He likes to put his hoody and his joggings on, drink a glass of natural wine (his favorite), and cook all day long while listening to instrumental classical or french oldies music. Very calm, relaxed (420 friendly household here + marijuana is legal in the entire country 🇨🇦) he's such a great guy to hang and live with. He balances Mathieu very well.

They have shared each other's lives for the last 12 years, and it has been a wonderful, moving, and rich adventure for the two of them. They love one another very much.

▶Sponteanity is our favorite virtue but according to our previous Couchsurfers, we are generous, authentic, entertaining, unique, a little geek and easy going people who make people feel like they've been part of the family for ever quickly. We're frank - sometimes too much (we're latins, sorry!) - honest and humble in our way of approaching life and we simply expect people to open their minds and be respectful of ourselves and our place when visiting. If we accept to host you, we will have some time to spend with you and show you around. On the other hand, if we don't, we will refuse your request. This is because of our belief that Couchsurfing is a two-way community.

Our house is clean, historic (125 years old), a little messy and colored with memorabilia brought by our many guests and from our trips. Confession: we're both extremely fond of folk art and especially mexican folk art. We're always fond of a little something to eat or drink from your country if you are visiting us, no matter what it is, we'll be excited about it.

At that point, I will not go any further: you will have to learn the rest during your stay.

Our door is wide open, and our paths might be meant to cross. Who knows ?

Best regards,

M and M

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PLEASE READ CHAPTER 4 AND
5 IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR OR NEW TO COUCHSURFING

4️⃣CHAPTER 4 : DO'S to be successful and experience joy on Couchsurfing

As a very general reminder, Couchsurfing is a social network aiming at connecting travelers with like-minded people worldwide. This means you stay at someone's place for the experience, the contact with that person/these people will bring you and the richness you will leave in their lives upon sharing moments with them. It is free. It is fun, and it allows you to look at this world through someone else's eyes.

Also, it is very much safe, as long as you use your common sense when planning, just like you'd do when booking a hostel, hotel, etc.

Hence,allow me to go through some DO's ✅️

DO have a profile that has content: if it's empty, we suppose you don't care enough to introduce yourself, and most people (like myself) won't bother answering in that case. It doesn't have to be your biography, every song you like, and every city you've been to; we want to know who's coming and get a general feeling of the person you are.

DO start your message by greeting your potential host and using his name. No, my name is not John from New York with whom you intended to stay, and I will deny your copy-paste request.

DO tell us what brings you to Montréal: we're curious and HONORED that you picked our city to visit, tell us who you are coming with, why is it that you wanted to come here; it creates a first contact and it could be the one thing that made the person want to accept you.

DO message people even if you've got your stay covered and would simply chat, sip coffee,laugh, and stroll the city; If one's available, we'll be happy to show you around.

DO be accurate about your planned stay. Something like:'' I am coming during summer, I just don't know when yet.'' Hey, plans do and can change, but help people and help yourself and wait till you know exactly when you will or can come before you send out your request.

Finally, DO leave a reference to your host or the person who took the time to show you his/her city or discover it with you while he/she was traveling too. The referral system is the ULTIMATE sign of trust in the Couchsurfing family, and NOT leaving one is a blatant lack of respect and consideration not only for the host but for the entire community Without the trust that referrals help build, this community wouldn't exist. Thank you for taking this into account. I won't hesitate to leave a public negative reference on the profile of anyone who fails to do so so that others know you're taking and giving nothing in return.

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5️⃣CHAPTER 5 : DONT'S to consider avoiding disappointment and refusals

While most of the requests I get provide happiness, some make my eyes bleed right away, hence the need for the not so glorious DONT'S ❌️

DO NOT message people with something like: looking for a bed. That is rude. If that is what you want, get a room (see Chapter 1)

DO NOT ask for a couch stating you have your own car, your own sleeping bag (that you also wanna use in my backyard), your own soap, your own portable cooking oven or your own muesli ! We have the choice of accepting or... directing you towards the closest hostel/campground accepting dirt-cheap travelers taking advantage of others' hospitality. Most will opt for option 2 in a case like that. CS is neither : it is all about human encounters.

DO NOT ask for a couch 7 months ahead of time: I don't even know if I'll be alive.

DO NOT start your request by : '' I know you say you can only host two people, but I thought I'd try anyway. There are 6 of us and ...'' If someone mentions they can only host two people, it is probably because they can physically only accept two people at their place, period.

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6️⃣CHAPTER 6 : THE END

Now that you've gone through the suffering of reading this lengthy and tedious profile, have fun and be happy out there !

It is a wonderful social network that will change your vision of our chaotic world and do you a lot of good. I promise.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Because our strongest and ever lasting friendships were born through Couchsurfing
Because humanity has proven to us to have more good than bad
Because it makes you travel while being home
Because seeing your own world seen by someone else's eyes for the first time is magical
To give back all the warmth, input, time and knowledge we were entrusted with over our travels
And so many more reasons ❤

Interests

Travel
Discover
Experience
Try
Taste
Smell
Observe
Analyze
Enjoy
Appreciate
Discuss
Debate
Learn
Share
Like
Be thankful
Live, Make live and feel alive

• architecture
• photography
• lgbt rights
• cooking
• wine
• cocktails
• coffee
• walking
• aviation
• thrifting
• politics
• garage sales
• music
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• geography
• geology
• history
• languages
• law
• tea
• queer
• local food
• landscape architecture
• indigenous rights
• mixology
• 420
• environmental justice
• indigenous people
• flea markets
• debating
• urbanism
• lgbt friendly
• indigenous studies
• indigenous cultures
• art nouveau
• lgbtq
• art deco
• cabin crew
• third wave coffee
• first nations
• environmental activism
• low impact
• constitution
• rococo
• plastic-free world

Music, Movies, and Books

I listen, see and read a bit of everything that might provide me a moment of pure intellectual ecstasy

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Living an exceptional, exciting and fulfilling life is one amazing and good enough thing for me that I have done so far.

Gave up a career built over the last 10 years in mass tourism to start a new one in the field of law. Thanks Covid

Campaigned in the 2023 Australian Referendum in favour of the Voice's for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to Parliament and its constitutional recognition.

I'd die tomorrow, I'd have #noregrets at all

Teach, Learn, Share

I am passionate about French America, French Canada and all things " en francais " as well as everything related to Indigenous cultures in my legal practice

I can teach you how to identify any type of aircraft in seconds and whether or not you should fly on it

Trigger me about our Constitution and you'll have a blast ⚖

I prepare damn good cocktails🍹 and can make you appreciate wine if you're not already a wine enthusiast. I am an OK cook but Manu, my bf's a pretty solid cook and gardener, a serious foodie, hoodie lover and horse expert 🐴

What I Can Share with Hosts

Let us put on some strings classical music or reggaeton, get yourself a glass of rum to sip and let's play with the cats while having crunchy conversations about the future of politics, vegans extremists, the behavior of all-inclusive vacationers or humanity as a whole. You're sure to be entertained 🤟

Simpler offerings can be a coffee, a stroll or anything you fancy in the moment to express you the warmth of the people of Quebec at its best.

Countries I’ve Visited

Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Guam, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kiribati, Latvia, Lithuania, Macao, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Russian Federation, Samoa, Scotland, Senegal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tonga, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Bahamas, Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Italy, Mexico, Spain