Baie St Paul and Tony's favourite meal

region of Charlevoix - Tuesday afternoon

Baie St Paul, the biggest town in the region of Charlevoix, has a population of 7 500. It is primarily a summer destination, with hiking, swimming, islands, whale watching and art being the main attractions. We arrived in rain …. and rain …. for the whole afternoon. We found a cafe where we could relax and hang out … and hope that the rain stopped. It didn’t. But Tony had one of his best meals of the trip thus far: an adult version of poutine, with crispy squid and octopus as the chips element, then feta, olives, caramelised onions (with maple syrup) and a few chillis as the topping. He was in his element! Accompanied by a local beer, it was another unexpected bonus!

We stayed at the cafe for as long as we could justify, before heading to find our van park. As lovely as it appeared, we really couldn't explore at all as the rain was heavy. We spent an evening updating diaries, sorting photos, playing on technology before finally cooking our meal on the gas cooktop inside Bertha - the first time we've had to cook indoors this trip.

Goodbye Montreal and Hello RV world

Heading North ... to explore Quebec province a little more.

Our time in Montreal has come to an end. The Dostaler family have returned home and we’ve caught up with them several times. We’ve shared many stories and they loved their time in Australia. They loved Canberra and wanted to thank all our friends who showed hospitality towards them. Isabelle particularly loved running around Canberra - the paths and the smell of eucalyptus were significant memories. Pascale loved the opportunities for bike riding and the hills; on one day, rode 120km. They thought there was no traffic in Canberra! Now that we know Montreal, we can confirm that the bike and walking tracks in Canberra are unique; also Montreal is so flat that we can understand that Pascale loved the mountains to ride up and down; and yes, the traffic is shocking in Montreal! They have visited every museum and gallery that Canberra has to offer and loved how many were free. They found the distances in Australia are bigger than they expected and the prices dearer than Canada but overall, loved their experience. 

So we are back into an RV and off exploring. RV has been named Bertha, as Tony equates it to driving a tractor on the farm at Moonamby (Mudgee). After using an RV when we visited the Grand Canyon and finding it rather challenging, we feel much more prepared this time. Coming straight from a house, we were able to bring a significant amount of food with us. We have borrowed a small, 2 burner gas cooker from the Dostaler family, which allows us to cook outside, as well as camping chairs and the all important stove-top coffee maker! With much warmer weather, we are able to cook and eat outside. 

The children are very comfortable at a table as we drive Bertha around, usually making “loom bracelets”, drawing, writing or playing on the iPads. One person can stretch out on the bed behind the front passenger, buckled in and sleep quite well. Tony is very comfortable driving Bertha and happily drives up and down roads with 18% gradients. On the other hand, I’m in the front requesting more use of the brakes. The children change sleeping locations each night but all are comfortable. 

We are making our own lunches each day, having coffee in the van at a local park somewhere each morning and most importantly, we can have ice-cream whenever we need a break! 

We have also lit a fire each evening, which does nothing more than provide something comforting to sit around! It is not cold, nor dark, so really… no need for a fire. But who doesn’t love a fire! Unfortunately our BBQ grill hasn’t fitted across the fire sites thus far; so last night instead we did the trick of bananas with chocolate, wrapped in foil and toasted. With a dollop of ice-cream, it is a whole lot of bad but a whole lot of yumminess!

Quebec City

Quebec City - Sunday, Monday and Tuesday morning 

We headed north out of Montreal and towards Quebec City. We visited the old town in Quebec City briefly in winter and were keen to return in summer. Of course, the change is dramatic. Not only is the environment almost unrecognisable, but the number of tour groups frustrated us! Quebec City is the capital of Quebec, the province. 

 Montreal is the biggest city in Quebec province but Quebec City is the capital. It has a population of 800 000 but an area of less than half of Canberra. It is located on the St Lawrence River and we learnt Quebec is actually a word from the Algonquin tribe, one of the indigenous tribes of Canada. Most assume that it is a french word. Quebec means “narrow river” which is why the French settlers set up camp there - they figured they would be able to see and stop any enemies coming up the river. It is very flat land except for one hill, on which the old town is perched - and it is up a very steep escarpment.

Our first day was a day of travel and after arriving at our van park, we unloaded our bikes and set off. One of the main tourist attractions is the Montmorency Falls. These falls are 30 metres higher than Niagara Falls, but not as wide and not nearly as much water falling over them. We all found them a little underwhelming. We enjoyed our bike ride there and the walk across the top; but probably our ice-cream and people watching was more interesting! There was a high school prom at the function centre that evening, so we enjoyed watching all the girls in their stunning dresses arrive for photos!

The Montmorency Falls, with St Lawrence River in the background. 

The next day, we drove into the city and (eventually) found a park for Bertha. We unloaded our bikes and used them to get around the old town. First stop was Changing of the Guards at the Citadel, which we thought would be a 20 minute visit. Three hours later, we left! We love it when we find an unexpected, interesting tourist attraction! We had a tour around the Citadel, which is an active military base and learnt much about the Canadian history and the three distinct periods: the French, the British and then the Canadian. For the first time since January, we also heard and met several other Australians!

Interesting, the phrase “je me souviens” is the phrase at the bottom of all number plates in Quebec province. Translating to “I remember”, we have often wondered what we are remembering. Seeing it displayed in floral format at the Citadel, we asked … it is to remember our history and our ancestors. Now we know!

Being at the Citadel much longer than expected changed all our plans. After lunch and coffee, we headed into the areas in which we explored in winter. The bikes proved to be very useful for this and allowed us to travel quickly between places. The differences between winter and summer were extreme. Much more life with people everywhere; more colour with potted flowers everywhere; outdoor tables at cafes and restaurants; and a more vibrant feeling from the shop keepers made it feel more alive. We were caught out with our parking expiring so had to leave; but it was also very hot; we needed to shop and our van park had a pool … so by 4.30, we were happy to leave. It was 6pm by the time we returned home and we headed straight to the pool which was beautiful!

We were somewhat undecided about plans after Quebec City, but felt that we wanted more time in the old town area. We decided to give QC a few more hours so headed back in there the next day. This time, we just wandered … with no agenda, we explored little streets and meandered. We discovered a few squares that we hadn’t seen before. The area felt much like the old town of Stockholm with its cobbled stones, or Rome, with architecture from the 1600’s and the small squares, with five or six streets leading into them, dotted with cafes and galleries. 

One of the best things was this enormous fresco on the side of a building. It is a pictorial history of Quebec province, featuring Jacques Cartier who first found New France, right up to modern day (ice) hockey players. It is an amazing art work and we saw it a few times. It is created so that you feel as though as you could walk right into the scene - it is all life like and life size. It was stunning. 

Lunch was in Bertha, right on the edge of the old town and the St Lawrence River. RVs are not so common in the city of Quebec so we feel that we are constantly providing entertainment for everyone! Bet our lunch was healthier and cheaper though! We left Quebec and headed north again, to the town of Baie St Paul. Rain … the whole journey. 

Visit from Mum and Dad

Over the last three weeks, we've had Mum and Dad visit the eastern provinces of Canada. They came to us for 10 days prior to their conducted tour; then hung out with us on the days the tour was in Montreal; then returned for 4 days of relaxation (actually normal family life after living it up on a cruise ship) prior to returning to Australia.

We all loved having them with us. We've eaten lunch out many times; drunk lots of alcohol; toured the sites of Montreal, including the Old Port; Notre Dame Basilica; Mont-Royal; St Joseph's Oratory (another church, but we kept it at two); the shopping areas including the underground shopping centre of Montreal (Dad loved this .......) ; mastered the Metro system; celebrated my birthday; went to Ottawa to run; and visited the Botanical Gardens. Add that to normal family life of kids off to school, meals to cook and cleaning to do and its been a hectic, fun time. Really though, looking through the photos, all we did was eat and drink! Dad's goal was to have beer at lunch time every day ... I think he managed every day except one, when he was with us!

Lunch time drinks ...

As the Dostaler family have now returned to Montreal (and wanted their house back .... fancy that!), we needed to find alternative accommodation. We found a lovely self contained cottage with a studio room downstairs, then an internal connecting staircase to a two bedroom self contained unit upstairs. It is not far from where we've been living, as the children are still at school. We've all been very comfortable together and not too squeezy. The children have all had turns having sleep overs with Gran and Pa and will be very sorry to see them go.

Having spent so much time with us, Mum and Dad are now quite familiar with our neighbourhood and our daily routines. Its been great to share stories with them and for them to be able to visualize exactly what we are talking about. They have met school teachers, friends, the Dostaler family and seen where we walk, where we shop and where we live. They understand some of the things that have frustrated us; as well as the many things that make us laugh and make Montreal such an interesting city to explore. Its been such a thrill to share the small day to day details with them.

Afternoon drinks while waiting for
 the children to finish their french lesson

Hot chocolates this time!

Cuddles ....

Airport farewell .....

A Week of Numbers

We've had a big week this week!

Firstly, Mum and Dad arrived on Monday night, from Australia. They were with us for 10 days and there had been excitement about this visit for about 3 months! They were in great form and lasted a couple of hours with us before heading off to bed to sleep off the jet lag.

Dinner on the deck on the night of my actual birthday.

The first numbers event this week occurred on Wednesday when I celebrated my 40th birthday. I am very positive about reaching 40 and embracing it! Certainly the year thus far has far exceeded expectations and the experiences have all contributed to a very memorable 40th birthday. My final wish was for a warm birthday ... something I've only experienced once before when I turned 18 in Sweden many years ago! The weather was not looking promising until Tuesday, when summer arrived ... and yes, Tuesday and Wednesday were very warm. The children were promised a day off school this week to spend with Gran and Pa; and my children, as they do in Australia, "had things on" at school on Thursday and Friday so couldn't miss the days; so they spent Wednesday at home with us. We had a lovely brunch of pancakes with maple syrup (of course), then a long lunch and walk around Ile d' Visitation in the sun. Dinner was a casual takeaway at home, but we are planning to go out and celebrate in more style next week.

Tony pre-race

The second numbers event for the week was the Ottawa Running Festival. The group I regularly run with here in Montreal were entering this running festival and aiming to complete the half marathon. I resisted for many weeks, as I knew Mum and Dad would be here; however after I started doing the long runs with this group - 12 - 17 kms; I couldn't resist any longer and managed to get a late registration. At the same time, Tony decided to enter his first long run and he did the 10km run on the same weekend. So we headed off to Ottawa, with Mum and Dad, the kids and the Australian flags!

Cheer squad. 

Tony's race was held in the evening, at 6:30pm. This is the biggest running festival in Canada, so it was a huge weekend. On Saturday, there was a 2km, 5km and 10km event. In just the 10km alone, there were 12 000 runners. Tony has been working really hard for this and has increased the distances he runs and the speed at which he runs. It all paid off as he did an amazing time of 46.32 mins. We all felt very proud of him and he was certainly pleased with his efforts, placing about 600th out of 12 200 odd runners. We found a place on the course and set up our flags to cheer him on. Unfortunately it was very hard to be along the course and at the finish line, as moving our cheer squad along with the other 20 000 people watching was a slow process. We did manage to see him just after he had finished, before he came through the recovery zone.

Post race

It is worth commenting that due to the size of this running festival, there was a huge amount of consideration put into the recovery of runners. There were seats at the finishing line, but this was a considerable distance from the "main area" of the fun run and the starting line. Once runners had finished, you had to continue walking - about 600 metres. This was an area for runners only and blocked off from supporters and family. There was first aid initially, then you were then handed your medal; for my run, we were also wrapped in space blankets; then you proceeded through a food tent, where so much food and drink was shoved into your hands. Care of the runners was paramount and they were not wanting people to collapse just over the finish line: in a way, this long walk (yes, long after a half mara) was essentially a warm down for everyone.  The food was to ensure no-one fainted along the way. All up, it was probably 15 mins before I came out and could meet up with Tony and the crew. As they had been watching from the crowds, about 500 metres from the finishing line, they also had quite a walk back to the meeting spot.

1 km into the race when I ran past the cheer squad!

My run was Sunday morning, and along with 13,100 other runners, I lined up for the start. There were several waves and most people seemed appropriately placed in the waves. I was running before the start line which is always good. This photo shows me as I saw Tony and the family, just after the start. This also shows the crowd, which was like this, and more crowded, for most of the run.

21.1 kms is one very long way! I did a particularly fast first 10 kms which was a big mistake. Crowd and excitement urged me on so I did 10 kms in about 51 mins. Of course I paid for that shortly after and found it hard to keep going. A stitch slowed me down for a couple of kms; then at 15 kms, the 1hr 55 min pace bunny passed me ... that was my goal! It made me angry for while, then spurred me on ... but unfortunately I didn't quite catch him at the end.

The Rideau Canal

Gemma post race

Us with our bling!

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, in the province of Ontario. It is a really pretty city,with amazing architecture and is famous for its tulips - a bigger tulip festival than Holland. It has a population of a bit over 800 000. The running festival had over 40 000 people participating over the whole weekend, so the city was packed. Ottawa has the Rideau Canal running through it, which was the basis for Tony's 10km run. I also run along part of it, then further into Ottawa, over the river and back into the province of Quebec and around the city of Gatineaux (Gatineaux is a border town to Ottawa) and back into Ottawa. I didn't really take in the scenery and landmarks very well! The crowds were amazing and the atmosphere was huge. Along the 21km route, there were at least 10 musical acts (singers, bands, drumming groups); about 7 water (and sometimes fruit) stations; and lots and lots of people.  It really was fun and from 18 kms onwards, both sides of the road were lined with spectators. At this 18km, the marathon runners merged into us and we both ran the same last 3 kms. They had started two hours before us, so there were still plenty of them running and the road became quite crowded. It did feel rather special to be running through a line of supporters cheering you on! I was really feeling it at this stage so did struggle somewhat, but the cheering certainly made it fun. I finished in a time of 1hr 56:06 mins which meant I reached my goal of under 2hrs. To give it some perspective, I came  3000th out of 13 100 runners,  so I was pretty happy. I was also struggling with a calf injury, so ultimately I'm just happy to have completed it! The buzz afterwards is certainly a good one!

We had found a great cafe on the edge of the canal in Ottawa and had lunch there on Saturday. It was a restrained lunch for Tony and I; focusing on water hydration and carbohydrates. We enjoyed it so much, as well as the space for the kids to run about, that we made a booking for lunch time on Sunday. Post races, there were some beers involved and a less healthy lunch! A great way to celebrate.

Birthday celebration dinner.

 The final celebration for the week of numbers was a dinner for my 40th. We had decided to wait until after the run weekend so that we could celebrate properly. We got a babysitter and went off to a lovely restaurant in town. We had a very impressive tasting menu, with some very interesting regional food, with matching wines ... that taxi was a great idea! It was also Mum & Dad's last night in Montreal, so a fitting way to end their stay.

Mum and Dad now head off on an 18 day tour of Eastern Canada. They will actually revisit Ottawa, be back in Montreal for a day next week (which we will spend with them), then they head to Quebec City and onto a cruise out through the Gulf of St Lawrence, to Prince Edward Island, then to Nova Scotia and down to Boston. They return to Montreal mid-June and will have 3 days with us before heading home. That will also be the end of our Montreal stay, but we are heading off travelling for a while before heading home.

Toronto

Our time in Toronto was short and sweet. While it is the biggest city in Canada, it is just another big city. It is known for the CN Tower, which for a while, was the tallest tower in the world (not any more). There are plenty of museums but we weren’t in the mood for an educational afternoon. The city is situated on Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes of US and Canada, so the waterfront is a big highlight and really where we wanted to explore … with an ice-cream of course!

However the little hitch was … the rain. Its hard to explore a harbour side in the rain. The children wanted to go up the CN Tower, but having just gone up the tower at Niagara, in addition to the cost of over $100 for the family to go up, Tony and I weren’t so keen! We opted for a Red Bus Tour, which we haven’t done yet, as a way of finding out a little about the city in the short time we were there.

So, rain and all, off we went. Started off sitting upstairs but moved down when the rain and wind became impossible. Toronto was founded in the late 18th century but has had two big fires (1849 and 1905) that wiped out the downtown area, so it really is quite modern. Anything over 100 years old is heritage listed, as it should be, so the city has an interesting mix of architecture. It appears to have a good mix of cultures and socio-demographics, as any city does, and we certainly found that the bus tour took us to parts of the city that we wouldn’t have walked to ourselves. We had two tour guides who were both good fun and from them, we got a recommendation for dinner. There were some great markets which we would have liked to poke around, but they were closed on a Sunday. Unusual! There is a huge shopping centre in the central area, the biggest in Canada, but Livvy and I were the only ones interested in that … so we lost out! 

After the bus tour, the rain had stopped, so we did head down to the Harbourside. The Harbourside reminded me a little of Darling Harbour in Sydney, as it is very developed and very family friendly: a grassy area with stage in the middle, good seating. There are some creative play areas for the children which entertained our crew for a while! 

Beaver Tails - definitely a "sometimes" food!

We were heading for ice-cream, but instead, found “beaver tails”. Beaver tails is a sweet treat that has been on our list of “food to try” for a while. For many weeks, Lach and Sophie thought it meant that we would be eating a cooked version of the tail of an actual beaver, but that is far from it. Instead, it is more like deep fried pastry covered in maple syrup or chocolate! So much nutrition in that! When the kids heard that, they were very eager to try! Imagine a thin donut, shaped in an oval shape, covered with a choice of toppings: we chose cinnamon sugar, maple syrup and chocolate; and also cookies and cream ice-cream. Yummy! Lucky I’m doing a fair bit of running …..!  The final report is that they were rather yummy and the children would quite happily eat them regularly!



A walk a little further into town and we found an old railway roundhouse, which has been turned into a brewery and railway museum.  Interesting to explore for a while also.

So Toronto will be remembered for the red bus tour in the rain and eating beaver tails! A quick trip but we don’t feel the need to spend much longer there. 

Niagara Falls, Ontario

View from Rainbow Bridge

View from Skylon Tower

We’ve just had another long weekend here in Quebec. The children had another pedagogical day (equivalent to a pupil free day) on Friday; and Monday was Victoria Day / Patriots Day (depends whether you are for or against the Commonwealth). With four days once again, we decided to road trip down south, to Niagara Falls, right on the border with the US.

It was much further than we thought! It took us about 8 hours of travelling on Friday, through Toronto (largest city in Canada), to arrive late afternoon about 5pm. We were staying in a 2 bedroom house that was just beautiful, with lots of space and a huge kitchen. We all snacked on cheese toast then decided to at least go and view the Falls before dark. As this was the first weekend of summer, the fireworks over the Falls were starting, but not until 10pm. Lights also illuminate the Falls from 9pm, so we knew we were in for a long night.

Dinner with the Falls in the background. 

That first view, like any natural wonder, is breath-taking. We approached from the top, where the water is quite shallow with rapids. All of a sudden, the Falls just drop - a 70 metre drop down into the basin. The power, the amount of water and the speed at which it drops is amazing. The water is quite green, due to rock sediments, and the mist that is created rises nearly as high as the Falls.

We walked and photographed the view for quite a while. The weather was cold with light rain - remember this is first weekend of summer! We were very glad we had coats with us. We found a restaurant with views right over the top of the Falls, so enjoyed a late dinner and stayed there until the fireworks started.

Red ponchos for boat ride. 

On Saturday, we headed back to the Falls area. You can access the Falls from the Canadian side or the US side. We stayed on the Canadian side the whole time. It appeared to be more commercial than the American side, with many hotels right on the edge of the street, with views over the Falls. It is a huge tourist attraction with one street looking like Side Show Alley. We avoided that area!

Our first adventure was on the boat ride, which gets you up close to the Falls, as well as very wet! Both US and Canada operate boat rides, with everyone decked out in wet weather ponchos. Definitely needed! It was also still cold, so one memory I take away is that wet, damp feeling of clothes and hair. Sophie didn't like getting wet so stayed further back in the boat, behind the walls. Olivia and Lach didn't mind the wind or the water and were right up the front. The power of the water as it falls down is stunning and so loud!

A purchased, completely photoshopped family photo!

We then headed to the Skylon Tower for lunch and to view the Falls from above. We managed to go up the tower and see the view, but the rest of the lunch and a subsequent bus trip was ridiculous and made Niagara Tourism look terrible. No-one quite knew whether they were on summer timetables and schedules or not. Anyway, as we waited ages for a bus, we were all a little revived. Sophie did her normal trip of actually falling asleep on the bus, so when we finally made it back down to the Falls, we were all revived and ready to go again.

Yellow ponchos for Journey Behind the Falls!

We went on a walk behind the Falls. Not as amazing as it sounds but still incredible. There are man-made tunnels that go behind the falls, with  two port holes that you can look through. The water, naturally, runs with such force and creates so much mist that all you could really see was mist! Again, we had rain ponchos on and everything was wet and damp. There was a viewing platform at the bottom and that was great: you could see the side of the waterfall and see the water coming down. 

Tony went off to see the 4D movie presentation about the Falls; but the kids chickened out. We had heard the noise and felt the floor rumbling as an effect of the movie, so my kids who don’t like thunder and lightning weren’t having anything to do with that! Hot chocolates was more appropriate for us. And yes, Tony got wet!

Sunday dawned as a beautiful sunny day, so we headed off to walk over the bridge. (That sunshine only lasted a few hours though). The Rainbow Bridge connects Canada and the US and is a symbol of peace between the two countries. I liked it as it had the best view of the Falls, giving perspective. We had no intention of entering the US, but still had to take passports. The traffic queue on this bridge, and all bridges in the area, was back up to at least 45 mins. We walked halfway; admired; photographed; had a quick trip to the US and then walked back. Had to show our passports to get back into Canada though!

Another feature of the Niagara River is the rapids. The rapids are just downstream of the Falls and are Class 6, which is the highest in the category system and considered unpassable. A short walk along the boardwalk there and we were done. 

Niagara is a real tourist haven. Everything you do takes you out through the souvenir shop. It was tiresome by the end, especially as much of it is tacky. While it was a long weekend in Canada, the weather was cool and damp, which presumably kept the crowds away. Next weekend is a long weekend in the US and they are expecting a much busier weekend. 

Once again, I acknowledge how lucky we are to be doing this and seeing such amazing things. Niagara Falls are definitely worth seeing but you don’t need a long time there. We felt we did it really well and by late Sunday morning, we were ready to make our way North again and head back to Toronto.