Bonjour from Quebec We are HERE!!
(warning-long)
As we crossed into Quebec province on Thursday, we feel like we are stepping into a new world, French is everywhere and so is the rain?rain?rain?rain. We begin looking for an information center and find it several exits after we entered Quebec province. The center is being either remodeled or newly constructed so we were directed to a temporary facility and run into our first problem. Although the parking looked pretty good we spied an area where we could pull through into a large turn around area and still be able to get out. Wrong, we didn?t see the cording stretched across the entry way so we find ourselves stuck and blocking other people who were parked. We started to feel panicked and then reminded ourselves that this will probably happen again, so we take a deep breath. We?ve got the hooking up/unhooking down to a quick art, so we got the car off, coach parked and ourselves out of the line of traffic pretty quickly, then headed towards the buildings where the people ?don?t like Americans and only speak in French? were supposed to be. Boy what a surprise!!! As we opened the door with much trepidation 7-8 smiling young faces said Hi! Can we help you? Wow, we didn?t expect that at all. We had, after all, been practicing our limited French for the last several days and lo and behold they all spoke great English.
Juan, (Tim?s computer with the Streets & Maps with GPS) map showed us crossing under the St. Lawrence River through a tunnel in the heart of Montreal. Tim and I debated changing our route since we didn?t know the clearance, but the young man that helped us said it would easily clear 14 feet. I asked him what that was in meters and he didn?t know. Now that, I did thought, was strange. His routing through Montreal was through the tunnel and he said we should not have any traffic this time of day. We also were given several great touring guides, a campground guide and he marked several places of interest for us to visit. We left very happy and much relieved. Back in the parking lot we re-hook the little car and off we go to Montreal.
The roads are really in bad shape as we approach Montreal and we are watching and trying to figure out signs as we go and actually having fun. We are sorta getting the hang of it with Tim driving and me with my ?Cliff Note? version of highway translations. Once we are in Montreal, traffic comes to a stop and creeps for the next two hours. This was OK with us because we could see everything and had lots of time to try interpreting the signs. And, the traffic just seems like we are in Los Angeles, CA, so it?s nothing new to us. Charlie (the dog) also thought it was neat. When he gets a bit bored, he moves to behind the driver?s seat where Tim opens the small window and slides the screen over so that he can ?peek? his head out only when we are creeping along. As we are stopped on the ?Autoroute? (interstate) he has a chance to look out and see everyone in the cars. He tail wags at 50 miles per hour, people wave and he thinks he?s a celebrity.
I am not sure if we found the heart of Montreal, but we saw a lot of the industry, some newer areas and probably sat next to most of the population as we inched down the road. We did notice that most of the cars were small sub compacts with very few large automobiles and SUVs common in the States. At last we make it through the tunnel under the river and eventually to the campground. As I checked us in I asked about the traffic and was told that that was normal traffic. At any rate we enjoyed the city excursion and decided we might try to spend a few days exploring more of Montreal on our return trip.
Friday and it should be my turn to drive, but I?m concerned that Tim can?t read the small fine print on our cheat sheet and; what else is new, once again it is raining. We have a short drive today and we quickly begin to recognize ?travaux? which means road work. It also helps that there are icons used to help describe things. We decided to stop and have lunch/breakfast which ever we feel like at the moment. As we pull into a truck stop, following their ?RVs this area? sign, we realize that we don?t fit and are able to ?squeeze? around the cars and find the truck parking area. It was a very nice place to stop AND?.BEER IS CHEAP! Lunch and a chance to stock up on beer, what else could a couple of Californians wish for. Remember our discussion on Pontine: the French fries and cheese curds covered with gravy? Well, it was on the menu so we decided to try it. I actually got brave ordered mine in French ??Sil Vous Plait Pontain poulet petite, Merci?. Of course the waitress spoke English, but she got a kick out of my French.
I was a bit worried the dish would be very strong, especially the brown gravy. It seems that brown gravy is heavier and harsher in the States; however, here it was light and very good. We noticed you could order just regular fries with sauce (gravy). We both decided we really liked it and will definitely try where Marc suggested and get it again. I can definitely attest to it being a cholesterol and heart attack meal on a plate.
The road from Montreal to Quebec is terrible and of course we have more rain and now we can add fog. So we toddle along, find the campground and get settled in once more. With no internet (rain problem), we decided to check in with the campground office to see about taking a city tour tomorrow. The office was helpful, with broken English and pamphlets. I called the tour company and found that we just appear at their tour bus sight, pay our Canadian money and hop on. No special pick up service at the campground like Betty and Terry had for those who are on the south side of St. Lawrence Seaway. (
to Betty). The first tour at 9 am is English speaking, so we are planning on getting to the ferry early. As we had some time in the evening we wanted to make sure we knew where we were going, so we grabbed our maps and Jill (My GPS) and took off looking for the ferry. It was very easy to find. But because we can?t read the French information/instructions, we search out where to park the car and where the entrance is located. We also drove through the town of Levi looking for food for the kitties. Tomorrow, we plan to pack our backpacks, wear good walking shoes and pray for sun. Oh yea, and bring the camera and my English to French cheat sheets.
Saturday AM
Being retired is wonderful, we can change our plans. It?s still raining and Tim thinks he is getting the beginnings of a cold, so we decide to tour with the car. It?s supposed to be sunny tomorrow, so we think we will enjoy the ferry, the bus tour and walking around Quebec more if the weather?s nice. Today we will visit the Montmorency falls and drive along the sea way towards St Anne de Beaupre. ?Encore Plus Tard? (more later)
Marsha~
