Tuesday, September 14

Bonjour! Parlez-vous... Poutine? Où a les toilettes?

The number 5 represents many things from my recent trip to Quebec;

The STARS I would give my trip!  (On a scale of 1-4)
The 5 phrases I learned in French while Hernando drove us north,
The 5 Canadian towns we chose to sleep in,
and The 5 pounds I gained in each of those 5 towns, totaling 25 fondue toting LBs I got to bring home as a souvenir. (PLUS SIDE: I did not have to claim them at Customs!)



Don't worry though, math is different in Canada so it was really only a few pounds I packed on.

Speaking of numbers, 100 Kilometers per hour is not as fast as it sounds...

Speaking of tickets*, we bought a couple of them and went to a fantastic wine tasting festival in the Eastern Townships.  There were ice wines, cider wines, pear wines, pear cider ice wines, whale wines**, etc.  You get the idea!

Speaking of whales, we saw a bunch!  There were belugas and another whale I can't name, though I know it had a fin and I did see a large black shape spurt water out of its blow hole.  We also saw dolphins and Hernando saw a walrus!

***
Speaking of walruses in water, it rained for 60% of the trip!  :(  But we made the most of it by seeing a TON of art and making use out of the poncho I bought in New Orleans.  Yes, it read, "New Orleans" in large letters all over which coincidentally translates in French as, "I am an American Tourist".  At least I stayed dry. 

Speaking of staying dry, I definitely did not!  And this marks my 5th time writing "Speaking of" just to stay with the theme of 5.

Our trip was wonderful and anyone looking for tips on Quebec travel, please reach out (to Hernando)!

The map below is my attempt at showing you our route.. :)  The second part continues the St. Lawrence River where my arrows leave off.  We went up the river, crossed over in a ferry (which you will see clearly marked on the map) and then back down the river.



Cities we stayed in (Not including several day stops in other places):
1. Montreal
2. Quebec City
3. Baie Saint Paul
4. Les Escoumins
5. Magog

A few places we visited:
1. Notre-Dame Basilica
2. Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré
3. Montmorency Falls
4. Poutine.****






*There were no speeding tickets!
**And no whale wine!
***This is not really a whale we saw.  It is Hernando in his beluga costume.  He takes it everywhere!
****Correction: Poutine visited us!