When you have a guest visiting, there is nothing better than showing off your hometown. Showing them the sights and highlights makes you appreciate your hometown even more. This only works if your hometown is simple to navigate and doesn’t puzzle you.

When I was growing up in Montreal we always had arguments in the car, because there are so many different ways to get somewhere. If someone asked where the best place was for breakfast, I would back away from the car because everyone had at least three places to recommend.

Sometimes it did not matter if a route was longer. If you looked on a map of the city it would be obvious which route is the shortest to take from point A to point B. That does not take into account the traffic which is more than half the battle.

If you want to choose something to eat in Montreal it’s very personal. It depends on the time of day, what you are in the mood for and which part of the city you want to travel depending on traffic. Sometimes you have a craving for Lebanese food, but there is no way you are going to head downtown. You might have to settle for Egyptian or even Moroccan to fill in its place. You may think that they are similar but the nuances are what make it the hometown specialty.

If someone from your hometown knows their city this well and has a birthday coming up, you may want to put them to the test and challenge them with a Hometown Puzzle centered on their home. You’ll be able to see if they really knows which street goes where and how close it is to certain land marks.

If they finish the puzzle you need to have it framed and hang it on a wall. Now you will have a perfect map that will show who was right all these years about routes, favorite spots and directions.

If they don’t finish the puzzle you can always use that as leverage the next time in the car. Everyone will get a good chuckle out of the comment “I wouldn’t take directions from the person who couldn’t even finish the hometown puzzle” and there will be one less opinion in the car!

This puzzle can offer insight into years of mistakes driving or walking around your neighborhood and maybe you’ll even learn something new. At the end of the day the person visiting you won’t know the difference unless you do frame the puzzle and leave them in your living room too long to look over your hometown puzzle.