Blogs from Quebec, Canada, North America - page 3

Lévis, 28 juillet Treize-mille bornes depuis un mois, Canada nous voilà! Retour au bercail après cette belle épopée qui nous a littéralement menés d'un océan à l'autre, des rivages du Saint-Laurent aux eaux froides du Pacifique, aller-retour. La route est évidemment longue, mais les surprises sont toujours au rendez-vous et la longitudinalité de ce grand pays amène son lot de moments hors du temps au fil des kilomètres parcourus. Depuis les rivages Ouest de l'île de Vancouver, nous avons donc viré de bord Lof pour Lof pour entreprendre le retour à l'Est. Retrouvailles avec les Rocheuses à Yoho et Banff, avec le lac Moraine en prime (fin de journée, foule moins dense), puis la prairie et les belles collines de la Saskatchewan. Notre soirée (et baignade!) au Lac Pelletier fut un délice... Rendez-vous à Thunder Bay ... read more

We continued North-East to reach one of my highlight: Forillon National park. It's a peninsula at the end of the Gaspesian peninsula. A mix of ocean, forest, cold streams and beautiful landscapes. The most beautiful spot in the park is for me, the Bon-Ami Cape. It's dramatic because of its topography and at the same time beautiful for its blue and green ocean waters. The park has a wide range of hiking trails ranging from very easy and interpreted, to the rough and long with only limited shelters. Park have also many beaches whether with sand or pebbles. One sector harbors old historic buildings from 19th century showing small village life of that era. Other sector contains a distinctive taiga section, normally only see far in the North. Roads are well maintained. A good place for ... read more

We are now in upper Gaspesie region. There are cliffs, deep valleys, secluded bays, villages, fishing boats and the ever deep blue sea. It's a very scenic road. I might have stopped a dozen of times that day to admire the landscapes! Region has a couple of very beautiful light houses, especially the all red at La Martre! In Mont St-Pierre, mountains seem to drop directly into the sea. It's a place renowned for paragliding and for good reasons! No cities there but only small villages. It can be seen by the abundance of the fauna. In the last decade, I noticed a big decline in insect population where I live, (a far away suburb of a big city), especially large butterflies. But I see large butterflies everywhere here. Same thing for some birds like the ... read more

Trip continues. We stopped at Grand Metis to visit the Redford Gardens, (Jardins de Metis). This used to be the summer home of a very rich English family. It's now a botanical garden. What's remarkable about this place is that the gardens are integrated into the surrounding nature, (forest, stream, plains), instead of supplanting it like some other European French gardens for instance. This is a very beautiful place, and you can easily spend a day there. My favorite gardens there were the entrance garden, the stream garden and the alley of peonies. Considering the cool climate, it's remarkable to see the variety of plants. We then continue on the road, North-East direction to follow the sea road. The estuary widens more and more and at Ste-Anne des Monts, it's about 70km wide, making it really ... read more

I spend ten minutes or so doing a couple of Duolingo lessons in French so I can kid myself I’m not lying when I tell the locals I’ve tried to learn their language. It's then off for a wander along Rue Saint Jean into Old Quebec. It’s insanely cute, and just like Michael said - “a trip to Europe without crossing the pond”. The Rue’s closed off to cars and is wall to wall street cafes, most of them packed with Sunday morning diners. I could well believe I was in Paris. The City Hall and other similar public buildings have got an extra French look and feel to them with their green copper rooves. I stroll along the massive deck in front of the even more massive Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac overlooking the St Lawrence ... read more