Before we left on this journey, when people found out we would be travelling through Quebec, they would say " but you hardly know any french! " Even in New Brunswick, a few people there were mildly surprised we would be travelling the roads less travelled through the province, before hitting up some of the bigger cities. This, I admit, made me slightly nervous. Which, in hindsight, is incredibly silly. I've travelled through Paris and Belgium and managed fine on my limited grasp of the french language... why should Quebec be any different?
Much to our collective relief, it isn't, and perhaps even better. There are some places in Quebec, along the Gaspe peninsula for instance, where english is hard to come by, and one campsite in particular where we struggled through my french to find enough words to enquire about the price and availability of a campsite, ( quel est le prix du camping pour un nuit? ) only to be told at the end of the conversation, " your french is good. " The test has been passed, the fear abated. Welcome, to Quebec.
We spent our first few days in Quebec exploring the Gaspe peninsula, a myriad of small towns dotting an extensive and very nice shoreline, before slowly making our way up to Baie St Paul. It's lovely here, a beautiful town full of galleries, a huge church in the center, ( Rob played a gig here last year with his bandmates.) and a most excellent microbrewery. The campsite we stayed at here, Balcon Verte, offered a fantastic hilltop view of the city, and thanks to the offerings of a fellow camper, some really good croissants for breakfast!
From Baie St Paul, we meandered oour way up through Taddossac to Saguenay national park, through Stoneham and into Quebec city.
Quebec city, is amazing. Huge , historical, and very beautiful. We toured through old town for one very hot afternoon, perusing the shops and admiring the architecture before stopping in at Sacrilege bar, for a pint of Cheval Blanc and a rest on one of the nicest patios in Canada. We also stopped in to visit Bernard, the proprieter of a jazz bar that Rob met through one of his bandmates last year, and caught up on some of the stories and tales of Quebec city, and the jazz bar itself. ( Bernard has owned this establlishment for the last 40 years... )
Onward from Quebec city, we stopped to catch our breath and do some hiking through La Mauricie national park, and then it was off to Montreal for a couple days of exploration, shopping, viewtop lookouts, and catch up with our friend William, whom we would like to thank along with his lovely lady Marie, for the excellent dinner and fabulous company!!!!!
Montreal is a really great blend of old and new, with some amazing galleries, and spectacular views. We both are rather enamoured with the architecture here, and I especially love the winding metal staircases that lead up to so many of the apartments around the city...
One thing for certain, Quebec has made us want to become fluent in our french, and most defiinately come back for a visit!!!
And so, our adventure continues, onward to Ottawa, and a completion of our tour of Ontario!
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