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Published: July 20th 2009
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400 Years Old
Some of the buildings in old Quebec City After the USA: A-Ok! trip, I spent about a month in Goshen, NY before I decided I had to return to Montreal.
I moved into an apartment chock-full of international people doing various internships, and returned to work whilst trying to enjoy as much spring as possible.
I took great delight in walking down my Plateau stairs every morning, watching the tree in the front yard change from a dull, dead grey matter into a full blown blooming purple lilac tree. The little changes that happen every day, as well as the seemingly sudden bursts of spring all over the city, bring many Montrealers great joy after the long, cold winters.
My room mates were from Germany and France, as well as for a while I shared the space with a musical duo called West Tokyo Sound. My spring was spent listening to music, working with kids, photographing the butterflies at the botanic gardens, watching spring unfurl in the city, and planning cool trips with my room mates to discover the city.
We also planned a bigger trip: Quebec City and Tadoussac. Tadou-what? If you have lived in the province of Quebec and haven't been there, you know it's the
Fresques!
This fresque was painted by the same guys as the one in Lyon! place to go see whales. You haven't lived in Quebec, maybe you've never heard of it. But it's a charming little village. More on that later...
First off: Quebec City. I had been before, most recently with Dave a year ago. This time I knew the city a bit better and I was to play tour guide. But we also just let our curiosity get the better of us, and we explored parts of the city I hadn't been to before. We ended up being eight people for this weekend trip, and a very mixed group: French, Italian, German, Austrian, and me, the local Montrealer. We wandered up and down the old streets in Vieux Quebec, found cool artwork and statues, walked along the boardwalk below the Chateau Frontenac, and climbed up the hills to walk along the walls of the city. We had absolutely lovely weather for our day in Quebec, and we enjoyed the day immensely. That night, we wandered around a bit more after dinner, and most of us turned in early for the night.
The next day, we were up early to head further north and east, to the tiny village of Tadoussac. Located
Walking on the Walls
One can walk on the walls surrounding old Quebec, near the Citadel at the junction of the Sanguenay fjord and the river St Laurent, this village is the spot to take a whale watching tour. The mix of the cold fresh fjord waters and the warm, saltier river waters makes a perfect food spot for various types of whales. While we didn't know if we'd get lucky (it was the beginning of the whale season), we drove all the way just to find out. We had a lovely drive and ferry crossing to get there, arriving just in time to hop on a zodiac to go see the whales. We all donned the ridiculous looking orange suits meant to keep us dry and warm, and I wrapped my camera up tight in plastic, and off we went! The scenery was stunning. We saw several whales, numerous seals and our driver took us on a bit of a tour up the fjord as well, hoping to spot some belugas. We didn't see the belugas but we all enjoyed the tour anyways. After several hours, we arrived back in town, with our stomaches rumbling. We feasted on yummy soups and sandwiches and cakes at Le Bohème, a great cafe that I would recommend to
Whale!
In the waters near Tadoussac, QC anyone passing through.
Soon, however, it was time to go home, as most of us had to work the next day. We had a long drive ahead of us...and we took the ferry back across the Sanguenay fjord around 6pm, waving good-bye to the cute, hospitable little town that had shown us the whales.
Tadoussac's now on my list of places to return to!
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