We had a beautiful drive through Maine on our way to Quebec City. Leaving on Mothers Day, the roads had little traffic, and the construction on the roads was minimal.
Stopped at the Duty Free store just before the border. Paul asked us to pick up some whisky. The brand he asked for wasn't there, but the store clerk, helped us buy a good brand. Not being drinkers, we didn't have a clue about brands and prices. Paul was quite pleased with our buy though.
It was nice being back in our own country, but it still didn't quite feel right. I always forget how French Quebec is. All the signs are in French and in Quebec City area, it was a challenge at times finding people who spoke English. Even though I speak really good Parisian French, it is hard for me to communicate with the Quebecquois. Pat and I love visiting this area of the country none the less.
Pat got us a great RV park not too far from the city. I was happy it was a drive through, so set up was really fast. (only could get one channel in English on our antenna, but lots of french stations).
Had to get supplies as we got rid of all our our fruit and veggies. Went to a Boston Pizza for lunch and they were kind enough to give us one of their few English menus. The best thing about being home, was everything we paid for didn't include an additional fee for foreign exchange.
The next day we had to take care of laundry and getting our Canadian phones and internet working. We had an address for a laundromat but drove up to a
Buanderie .
I had never seen that French word before ,....but sure enough it was a coin laundry place.
We lucked out at Rogers, finding a student who spoke really good English. We got a much better deal with our hotspot internet then we had with Telus. As well we arranged to combine our phone plans with Rogers at a cheaper deal which meant I had to say goodbye to Telus.
The next day we drove into Old Quebec city.
The tour guide pointed out this "graffiti on the bridge pillars. They were beautifully painted.
A really popular thing in Quebec City
is the copper roofs. The hotel Frontenac is all cooper roofs. Considering the price of copper, these roofs better last a long time.
Of course Quebec city was the home of The plains of Abraham. Here is your history lesson of the tour.
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham (13 September 1759) was a pivotal moment in the Seven Years' War and in the history of Canada. A British invasion force led by General James Wolfe defeated French troops under the Marquis de Montcalm, leading to the surrender of Québec to the British
There is a cool street here where all the street lamps have lamp shades. I have never seen a street like this before. It was amazing.
Picture of the oldest shop in Quebec City.
The tour was interesting, but more about the architecture then the actual history of the city. After the tour we wanted to have some good poutine.
We ended up in a restaurant attached to Hotel Frontenac...the same restaurant we ate at the last time in Quebec City to eat Fondu. Anyway there Poutine was delicious. You can buy cheese curds to make Poutine everywhere in the city, including the 7-11's.
Growing up we always referred to this place as Quebec City. But the locals just say Quebec....and drop the city part.
The next day we packed up and headed for Ottawa. We originally thought we would go to Montreal, but Pat spend many years growing up in Ottawa and wanted to see her old houses/schools and neighbourhood.
We parked the motorhome in a city park, that was full of trees and great sites. The mosquitoes were out though in full force.
Our first place we visited in Ottawa was of course the Parliament buildings. It was a sunny warm day and there was lots of action on the lawns (later to discover it was the Right to Life group).
Next the Rideau Canal Locks. I have been to the city lots but don't ever remember seeing these locks. Really cool.
Then over to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This is where recently one of the guards was murdered by some crazy guy that later stormed the Parliament buildings. (He was killed by the security people).
Unlike the USA version, this monument is huge and is right in the heart of the city.
The rest of the day we spent visiting Pat's old houses. Even though she was very young when she lived here, she has an amazing memory of each and every house.....see below.
After our brief visit of Ottawa, we moved the RV to Toronto. We parked in the same RV site as last year (Glen Rouge Park) and it was easy to find our way there this time. Almost forgot that we were arriving at the beginning of a long weekend and the park was getting full. Our site wasn't facing the river this year, but it was still very big and good and level.
Met up with Paul and Ronnie the first night by meeting them to see a movie. (the Avengers). It was great seeing them again. They both look good.
Over the next few weeks we met up with them as much as possible. Paul was very busy at work and we did our best to work around his schedule. They were also in the process of moving, so we did lots of visits at the RV which was really nice for us having the company.
Forgot how busy Toronto highways can be and how much gas you can use.
We got to Toronto in time for Paul's birthday. We took him to dinner at one of Toronto's oldest restaurant....The Senator - details below.
Hiding out just steps from the clamour and bright lights of Yonge-Dundas Square, the venerable old Senator opened as Busy Bee Lunch in 1929. A classified ad printed in the Globe in 1936 tempted prospective customers with "delicious meals; dinners at reasonable prices." Not much has changed since. The diner was renamed The Senator in 1948 and given its current interior fixtures courtesy of the Toronto Refrigeration Fixture Company the same year. In 2013, the diner's kitchen was given an overhaul, but the original interior remains.
The food was good and the waiter was hilarious. We then crossed the street to see the play " Once". I had never heard of this play before, but Paul had seen the movie and wanted to see the play. Here is the IMDB write up about
A modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story.
While Paul and Ronnie were working, we took the time to see our relatives. I only have one aunt (Olga) in Toronto so we took her lunch and had a visit. My cousin Robert was there as well.
Pat has some cousins in the area, and we did manage to see Catherine and Mary. As well we saw Pat's Aunt Isabel and Uncle Jim in Orangeville. We also took them lunch and had a good visit.
One weekend we went with Paul and Ronnie to Toronto Island.
Ronnie and Paul treated us for Mothers and Fathers day by taking us to a restaurant called Signs. We figured we did the totally blind dining concept last year at eating at O'Noir. This year was our deaf experience. All the waiters were deaf and we had to order our meal and drinks with sign language. The menu had all the signs we had to make. The food was tasty and it was fun trying to sign to the waiter. Our friends Stan and Carolyn Tanner would have loved this place.
They also took us to a Blue Jay's game.
I haven't been to a game since the early 90's when I got to go when worked sent me for a conference. It was a lot of fun, except the Jay's lost.
The worst part of Toronto was having to take the RV in to get the breaks fixed. We had been worried about the breaks for awhile and had even tried to get them fixed in Orlando. It is hard to find places that will even fix them. We lucked out at a Midas near our RV park who said they had experience. As this was our home in Toronto, we begged that they would have it ready in one day. It took from 8 am to 7 pm to fix them...but they finally got done, at least the back ones. Very pricy and we still have the front ones to do which sucks.
It was fun spending time with Paul and Ronnie. They are both busy with work , moving and getting ready for their wedding which is this Thanksgiving. Can't wait to see them again.
SHE SAID:
Wow...He Said a lot! Not much left for me :)
You can all be relieved at that! As we were in Maine, the road to
Quebec was not an Interstate, so it was a bit slow and there were WAY less
trucks on the road. I like that. One of my biggest dislikes about
driving in the RV is when a Semi passes us. Think being sucked in and
shaken. On an Interstate it can be pretty consistent. I stopped
driving the beast for this reason...along with the fact that I have no depth
perception and getting into some of the road work - unknown as to what and when
it will be there, but it always arrives. John is a great chauffeur and
doesn't complain at all. I guess he feels safer driving than me gasping
every time a truck passed us, or my comments on possible upcoming narrow
passages and how i could totally destroy our home.
I do love Quebec City. There is so much of
Canadian history to see and feel. It has the old buildings and has always
captured my imagination.
Ottawa was a very fun trip down
memory lane for me! Seeing where we lived and where I went to school was
wonderful! So much came back walking and driving around different parts
of the city. The houses haven't changed much and reliving childhood was
fun!
1212 Surrey St (now Road, go figure) is a
brick duplex. I can still recall our neighbour, Eloise MacArthur popping
her head through the front door shouting - "Yoohoo, it's Eloise";
Norms friend Danny Sulord and the Zlepnicks next door. Linda Z was my
first best friend who I learned to wallpaper her moms dresser with newspaper, I
think (this was our own initiative). I was about 2 to 4 years old at the
time. I can feel the wind in my hair as I rode my kiddy car down the huge
hill - which for some reason doesn't seem to be there now - it's a gentle
incline.
The next house - a brick bungalow we lived in when
I was in grade 2 and 3. That was the house that I first saw the Beatles
on Ed Sullivan - I was young...I thought it was going to be an amazing insect
show due to all of the hype. I did grow into a big fan of the music
group, after getting over my disappointment. This is also where we lived
when Kennedy was shot. I remember I was walking home from school and some big
kid said the President had been shot and there was going to be BIG problems,
maybe war. Scared me.
The last house was on Quentin Street, where
we lived from '67 to '69. This was the first house my parents purchased.
I loved this house - big, 2 storey. I remember being at the eternal
flame when it was lit on July 1 1967 - very big deal then. Now you have
all lived my Ottawa memories. Oh and the Hog's Back...never knew he went
away :).
Toronto was great! Seeing Paul and Ronnie -
who were moving again this year - we did lots as John has covered.
Visiting with relatives was great, as it always is. We had supper
at my cousin Mary and her family home in Grimsby. They have recently returned
to Canada after many years of living over seas. Their home is beautiful,
right on Lake Ontario. They were wonderful hosts! We took lunch to
Johns Aunt Olga and Cousin Rob in Etobicoke - great conversation and company.
Lunch was also taken to Orangeville to my Uncle Jim and Aunt Isabelle in
Orangeville. They have decided to move to a condo - again my memories of
their home go along way back, as I recall their showing us the empty lot, and
then a few years late the new home. One of the constant places during my
lifetime. We saw my Cousin Catherine a few times as well in Toronto.
She is a shade younger than me (a few months) and it's always a
good time to hang out with her!
My biggest shopping coup of this part of the trip
was when we were driving by the Timex Factory, they advertised their clearance
sale, which is held every second year - we got some nice watches for 85% off.
Can't beat that!
