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Published: February 1st 2008
ChFrontenac
Chateau Frontenac from ObservatoireHello,
Well, the first lapse of my trip was quite eventful!
My "direct" Air Transat flight from Paris to Quebec City never made it to Q.C. because of a snowstorm. The pilot made two attempts to land and then announced that we were going first to Montreal and that we might then try to make it back to Quebec. Upon arrival in Montreal, we were told that we'd be traveling back to Quebec by coach--a three-hour drive. So all of us piled into three coaches. In typical Gallic fashion, no one formed a queue and there was a big "rush" to get into the bus. Then at the Quebec Aiport, there was another "rush" to find a taxi, as there were only three available for 150 passengers. After a half an hour wait, I finally managed to get one into the City, where my son Marc and his girlfriend Marlo were waiting me for at their apartment. By this time, it was 9 o'clock at night (or three in the morning in France), and I had left my apartment in Paris at 8 o'clock that morning.
As can be imagined, it's cold here! Snow everywhere and slippery
pavements. Luckily, Marc and Marlo's apartment is nice and warm, and they're on the 6th floor with a wide view of the city and the Laurentide mountains in the distance.
Despite the cold and the wind factor (which made it -20% instead of "just" -10), yesterday was sunny and beautiful. In the morning, I went to visit Marc at his work. (He's doing research for his dissertation and working part-time to help make ends meet). He's "un hote d'accueil" (welcoming host) at a landmark here: the "Observatoire de la Capitale", which is a visitors' center atop a 31-floor building. What a great view of the city you have from there! You can see all the different neighborhoods of Quebec, the Chateau Frontenac Hotel, the Parliament buildings, le Vieux-Quebec (a UNESCO heritage site), the Citadelle, the Abraham battle fields (where cross-country skiers and snow shoers now go), the Old Port, the St. Laurence River, the Island of Orleans, and so many other places. I could also see preparations being made for the Winter Carnaval, which begins this evening with a fireworks show we plan to attend. (brhhh!!!!!)
In the afternoon, Marc, Marlo and I went out to Marlo's university,
Photo by Kedl
Austrian photographer's view of Quebec the University of Laval. She's working on a doctorate there (in addition to the one she's also doing in France) in the communications and media department. The University is huge--35,000 students--and is the largest Francophone university in North America. The campus is very modern and spread out, and like many North American universities, very well-equipped. For example, the library of the Humanities Faculty is five stories high and open to all, as is the fantastic sports center. In the early evening, Marlo went to a Pilates class, while Marc and I went to see a movie: "Les Vies de Bob Dylan" ("I'm not There" in English). Marc knew more about Bob Dylan's life and exploits than I did, but even he found the film confusing.
As Marc and Marlo don't have a car, we walk everywhere or take buses, which are often very crowded, and the waits in the cold at the bus-stop can be quite long. Unlike in Montreal, where I've also been, I'm struck by how "Francophone" Quebec City is. Absolutely everything is in French, and you hardly hear English at all. I must also admit that sometimes I have a hard time understanding what people are
saying. Marc and Marlo are now using some of the local expressions, like "char" (="voiture" or car), "depanneur" ("epicerie", local convenience shop) and "pas pire "("pas mal", not bad) when they speak to people; and tell me they've gotten used to the Quebecois accent. It's all relative, I guess. Yesterday, Marc's colleagues told me how much they loved MY accent!
Today, in addition to visiting the old city, I'm going to find out about buses going down to Boston next week. Quebec really seems to be off the beaten, Canadian, path. To get anywhere, you almost always first have to go to Montreal.
That's all for now, folks!
Hilary
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Sanchia Scott
non-member comment
Wow!!
Hilary I just love your travel tales, I feel just as if I am there with you. I also love the photos - Mark is so handsome and looks like he is very happy. Safe journeying and keep up the tales - can't wait for the next episode.