It's "Kebec", not "Kwebec"

We have been in Quebec (pronounced “Kebec” not “Kwebec”) for about the last 6 days. The first thing I have to bring to your attention immediately is how BIG Ontario and Quebec really are! I mean, seriously, if you haven’t looked at a map in a while, pull one out right now and really take a look. Secondly, since getting through Ontario and now having driven through Quebec, there are NO bugs… Now this may SEEM great, but I don’t think it is. Our windshield has been basically clean since we left Winnipeg. Now I hate mosquito bites as much as the next person, but we all have to admit it takes ALL things to make the world go ‘round… Thirdly, we have noticed more smoking! I cannot say for sure that they ACTUALLY have more smokers than the west, but we are sure noticing a lot more people lighting up in general.

I think I speak for everyone in the family when I say Quebec has been wonderful. The campground we stayed at in Montreal was about an hour from down town. We haven’t known much about the places we’ve visited until we have gotten there (I’m not a researcher) and Montreal was no different. We quickly discovered it was the SECOND largest city in Canada with 1.78 million people inhabiting the area! We were in fact staying in Terrebonne which is kind of a subdivision of Montreal. Realizing it would be too much to take the truck down town and find parking, we were encouraged to take the Metro. This was definitely a highlight for the girls! The Metro is their underground rail system. It reminded me SO much of my times in Europe! It took us about 30 minutes to get to the Metro station and then a 15-minute Metro ride down town. Worked like a charm!

We spent our time only in Old Port/Old Montreal wandering the streets and walking along the St Lawrence River. The weather was hot! I think about 26 or 27 degrees! Along the river is a tall, white clock tower. We climbed the 192 steps to the top and experienced an incredible view of the river and the city. We read inside that it wasn’t until ships passed this clock tower that they were then considered “in” Montreal. After lunch we walked over to the Notre Dame Basilica. I had no idea they had a replica of sorts of Notre Dame in Montreal! I thought it was very cool and we did go inside to tour. I appreciate the work and craftsmanship that went into these buildings. The detail and skill are baffling to me. We also decided to treat ourselves to a carriage ride which wasn’t very good. Haha! It was advertised that they would do1/2 hour and hour long tours. We asked the driver for an hour long tour and he said, “no, I won’t do an hour. It’s not worth it for me. You only need a half hour.” Kevin asked why he advertised the option but he didn’t answer. We accepted the half hour tour, and about 3 minutes in he said, “ok, I’ll do an hour” to which we replied, “no a half hour is fine”. He drove us down some back street and told us a few points of interest and we were parked back where we started 20 minutes later. I hope you get a better driver than us when you visit Montreal!

Of course, that didn’t spoil our fun. We kept exploring the streets and enjoyed some sorbet in the hot sun while listening to delightfully talented street performers. The second day was rainy, so we met up with some friends at a play centre. In the afternoon we snuggled in for a movie and did some laundry.

Our next stop was Quebec City! It is VERY impressive. If you love history, then this is the place for you. It’s very easy to walk around and tourist friendly. On our first day, we hustled over to the Citadelle to watch the changing of the guards for 10am. It was a similar red coat pomp and circumstance to what we watched in Ottawa plus the charming detail of their mascot: a white goat with gold horns. The goat was a gift from the Queen and has been an important part of this particular regiment every since. The Citadelle is an operational armoury and we could only tour it with a specific tour guide. It is also the only French armoury in Canada, if I recall correctly. The entire exterior is shaped like a star. It was constructed this way by the British after overtaking the French as a way of defending themselves from the Americans. Interestingly enough, Quebec was not attacked again after the Citadelle was built. Later, the area of Quebec was given back to the French.

After lunch, we tried to take a self guided tour. I found a really great app that would take you on a tour and provide great information. It was sometimes a bit confusing but pretty good all in all. We saw all the important things like the statue of Samuel de Champlain, Dufferin Boardwalk, and the views of the port.

I was so happy to be able to set eyes on the Quebec City port myself! Can you believe at that very port 67 years ago THIS MONTH, my mother and grandmother arrived in Canada. This was the first place they set foot on Canadian soil. From Quebec City, they took the train to Moosejaw to join my Opa who had come the year before. This was so humbling to see this part of my history. When I texted the picture to my mom, she laughed and said, “the ships weren’t nearly as luxurious as that one!” I can only imagine.

Today, we went back into Quebec (about a 20 minute drive) and enjoyed perusing the streets again. This time we explored the lower part of the old city outside the walls. Did you know Quebec is the only fortressed city in North America? It is also completely in tact. The one BIG thing about Quebec City you must know is that it is EXTREMELY hilly! You will get a killer workout no matter where you go! The cliffs that surround the city are about 300 feet down in most places. I think that’s how many stairs we climbed to go from the upper town to the lower town! And even the streets are super steep! The downhill was always the more fun way to go, but it always meant uphill again at some point. My thighs and butt look better already, I think. LOL

After we got back to the truck, we took a beautiful drive around the Plains of Abraham. Today, it's a beautiful protected park that many people walk, run and bike through. I read up on the history of this important piece of Canadian history and I encourage you to do the same. Canada would not be the same without this event having taken place, some believe.

And now, the girls are tucked in and snoozing, Kevin is watching Mummy with Tom Cruise and I’m typing away and thinking about doing a bit more work before calling it a night. Tomorrow is a travel day as we jump time zones again and head into the Maritimes! We will spend the next six days in New Brunswick before making it to our much-anticipated destination of Prince Edward Island!

Stay tuned for our Maritime adventures. Be sure to follow my stories to get a glimpse of our happenings of the day-to-day (Facebook or Instagram). @macleods.on.the.move

Do you have any questions about RV life so far? I would love to blog some answers to those. Just shoot me a comment of a message and I will keep in mind for my next post!

xo, jmac