Friday, May 04, 2012

je suis arrivée

Today, I returned to Vieux Québec; the last time I was here, I reaffirmed my love of not just all things French, but of this beautiful country with its rich (and so often forgotten)  history.  Jadek and I packed up and left the 'Saug at 0500, making the 8-hour trek to Quebec City; it was a great drive, with excellent passenger relations.  We chatted about Warcraft and read "Discover" magazine articles for a lot of the trip and passionately discussed topics like Einstein's Theory of Relativity, unsolvable math problems and dreams posed by the impatient futurist. Only two yawns on the entire trip.  Also: one tank of gas!  Go Bella!
After checking in (and getting a free upgrade to a Deluxe King), I unpacked my bag, laid out my dinner outfit and promptly went down for a two-hour nap.  Best nap ever.  Woke up, refreshed and rejuvenated.  We went out for a bit of wandering, popping in and out of jewelry stores and bonboniers.  We ate a small but thoroughly artery-clogging poutine. We meandered through Artillery Park near Port Saint-Jean, coming up through the more residential areas of what is, essentially, a living museum.  The sidewalks are tiny and the streets are narrow, cobbled and very steep.  There's a light drizzle.  Up ahead, a little boy toddled along, beside his father.  For a moment, time stopped and I was in a village 300 years ago.  

We got back to our hotel to get ready for dinner at Les Anciens Canadiens.  I've been there before (for fois gras!) and this time I had the most ridiculously sized "Assiette de Dégustation Québécoise " (Québec meat pie, Lac St-Jean meat pie made with wild meats, meatball ragout and pig’s knuckle, salt pork grillades, baked beans).  I was not able to do justice to that meal; and it broke my heart that they didn't "do" doggie bags.  Note to self: order one course at a time.  The wine, atmosphere, and service were excellent.  A slightly tipsy walk home in the rain capped off an excellent first day.  Bonne nuit!

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