A visit to Montreal is not only a time to do some serious XML Geeking, it is a chance to grab some of the world's BEST bagels. (I know, you New Yorker's think you have the world's best bagels, but only those of you who haven't tasted Montreal's bagels.)

Montreal is famous for its bagels. Small, flavorful, dense, just a little sweet, with a hint of smoke becuase they are cooked in a wood-burning oven.

Balisage IS an XML Conference. That is, it is a conference about what people are doing with XML, what they want to do with XML, what XML is, and what they want XML to be.

Calling it a "Markup Conference" is silly, and makes the event harder for interested people to find. The only markup that matters in 2008 is XML, and people are using XML for virtually everything they want to markup up.

A lot of people like the Extreme ... er ... Balisage conference by HATE the hotel. Simply put, it is NOT a business hotel. It is not comfortable. It doesn't have room service or a decent restaurant. The rooms are TINY.

Montreal is a wonderful city with many good hotels. So, for people who want to attend Balisage but who prefer to stay in a hotel designed for business travelers I have a few suggestions. They all cost more than the Europa, but this is a business trip and there is no need to stay at a funky Best Western on an expense-report. "