The next day in Quebec, in pictures.

So, the next day in Quebec, we decided we'd better see Quebec. :P It's about a 40 minute drive from our condo, so very doable. We decided to walk around the Old Town right on the water. When we arrived, it was a gorgeous sunny day and offered up a large variety of scenic views. 

 They had SO many gorgeous arrangements of flowers and landscaping. Every shop had quaint window-boxes and flowers. Everything was so beautiful and colorful and well-maintained.

 Below is the Petit Champlain, the little shopping street in Old Town. They had glass-blowers, souvenirs, jewelry (lots of jewelry) and other things handmade by local artists. It was pretty fun to walk around and see it all.

The Petit Champlain had a little garden to rest in about halfway down the street.

As I said, all the shops have the most adorable decor.

This wall had quite the mural on it. The real people liked to take pictures amongst the fake street as you can see.

 When we got hungry, we tried a restaurant that was recommended by the artist's wife from the day before, but it wasn't open until dinner time and we were wanting a late lunch. :( So, that was one place we didn't get to try that she had mentioned as good.

So, we found this quaint little restaurant called Piazzetti.

We had an Aranciata to start.

I had a stuffed pasta dish with sundried tomatoes and goat cheese and homemade bread. It was excellent. 

Then a specialty coffee for afterwards.

Then we ate a molten chocolate cake with salted caramel oozing out of the middle. SOOO good!

Here was the fountain right next to our restaurant. We thought it was pretty unique.

After lunch we wandered some more and found the Notre Dame des Victoires in an adorable courtyard. Below is a sampling of the stores/buildings within the courtyard.

And here is the church.

The victories that this church was named after were both military victories won by the people on Quebec after they prayed for protection and victory in this church.

We saw two more things this day, but they include enough pictures that I didn't want to put them all in one post. Be looking for more tomorrow on the Chute de Montmorency and a quaint little farm with a gorgeous view.

•

read: Finished Fire today. It was just as excellent as Graceling. Now, I'm just twiddling my thumbs till Bitterblue comes in from the library.
taste: mac n cheese I stole from Micah
see: clouds and sprinklings of rain. I'm not disappointed about it. :)
hear: The Olympics in the background. US women's volleyball just won against Brazil.
smell: the shampoo in my hair?  Can't think of anything else...
touch: the keyboard
think: waterpolo is a very interesting sport...
feel: great!
via

Quebec trip cont. (picture heavy)

Hello again everyone. We had very slow and unreliable internet at our small condo in Beaupré, so I had to wait until I got home before it would allow me to upload my pictures to the internet.

We had such a lovely time and saw a lot of really awesome things. I'm going to do a post for each day that we went to sightsee. Today's post is from last Monday.

We had driven by the road that led to some sort of a canyon with a huge waterfall, so we knew we wanted to see that. We also saw a sign along the road about an Art Gallery of local artists nearby, so we went there first.

We drove up the driveway and found this absolutely quaint little house.

They had some artwork in their yard, mainly metal and stone sculptures.

They had a gorgeous view. The to left of this was an adorable covered porch with an even better view but that was fenced off to the public.

As with almost every other house in Quebec, they had very well-maintained plants and gardens. So beautiful.

We were not allowed to take pictures inside the gallery, but it was very neat inside, complete with huge stone steps leading to the downstairs, stone walls, and aged hardwood floors, and large overlooking windows. The art was wonderful too, with all types, more modern art, and more realistic. None of which we could afford, but we had a nice time looking.

Anyway, the best part was that the caretaker's (and one of the artists) wife came home while we were there and told us about all of her favorite places to visit in Beaupré and Quebec City. She told us about the "sugar shack" and a scenic drive in the country to get a gorgeous view of the lower town and the St. Lawrence River. We determined to visit as many of these places as we could. She was so helpful, and a darling grandmotherly lady. Everyone here was very helpful and nice. Not that I expected any less...

Since the Canyon de Sainte Anne was closest, we went there first. It was spectacular. We walked down a path that sported several wooden animal sculptures.

Running through the canyon is the "Rivière Ste Anne du Nord" (North Sainte Anne River). Here was the beginning of the trail that led down and around this river running through the canyon. There were 3 bridges to cross. This one being the most tame.

 Here is the view from the top while you're standing in the middle of the first bridge.

A side-view from the right top.

As we went further down, you could see the first bridge, and then the HUGE drop of the waterfall.

Pictures don't do it justice, but all in all it's taller than the Niagara Falls by several meters.

Down further and around the corner, the falls continue in a series of smaller waterfalls.

It was sooooo hot and humid that day. Mum and I were sweating just standing here. We decided to attempt a decent picture regardless. :P

Did you see the rainbow above? Here's a close up.

The bottom of the waterfalls opened out to this flatter area.

Some videos that give you a better idea of the majesty of this waterfall. : )

Mom conquering her fear of heights. Go you mom! : P
 

So after we saw the canyon, we drove to the "sugar shack". On the way there, we stopped and got the following view:

A sweet lady was there at the sugar shack, the place where they cook maple syrup. And now you will receive an education about maple syrup.

90% of the world's maple syrup is produced in Canada, and 80% of the syrup is produced in Quebec alone.

Below is a spigot in an example tree with a pail attached. During early spring when the snows are still high, they go out and put in a spigot right above snow level so the pail rests just above the snow. The spigots in Quebec are not left in year to year, the holes are allowed to close and heal after the season. Many producers in the US, if not most, use formaldehyde to keep the holes from closing up throughout the year, so they can tap the same hole every year. The problem with this is the trace amounts of formaldehyde in the syrup and the fact that their trees only live 30 years tops as opposed to 200 years with those that are allowed to reclose out-of-season. Since the snow levels in Quebec always vary, the spigots are never placed in the same holes. Every day in Quebec, they go out and collect the maple water. It is very watery and just slightly sweet. This is what's boiled down to make the syrup and it takes a very great amount of maple water to make just one liter of syrup (a 12:1 ratio I believe?). Early season makes light syrup, middle season makes darker syrup and late season collects much more actual sap making very dark syrup. The best is the middle season. Some manfacturers combine the light and dark to make "medium" but it's not the same flavor as the straight up middle season syrup.

Below is the sugar shack and on top is the smokestack that they open when boiling down maple water. That hinged panel is opened completely.

 So, I've tried "maple syrup" before, bought here in the US or in Whistler, Canada and frankly, I never really liked it. It had a weird flavor that was different than butterworths, but just weird. Evidentally, this is because it's not actually full maple syrup! The US brands (you know the really expensive stuff that's called 100% real maple syrup), is in actuality only 8% maple syrup on average, with fillers. In Quebec, they're not even allowed to say on the label that it's "maple" anything unless it is completely 100% maple syrup. If it's a smaller percentage than 100% it's called "table syrup". But, even their table syrup is better than the "maple syrup" we get here in the US. Anyway, they had lots of free samples. I LOVE maple syrup! The real stuff that is. It was thick and the flavor wasn't at all weird. It was sweet and tasty and just so nummm. I bought some regular maple syrup and some cranberry flavored maple syrup (that was an excellent combo).

Never again will I buy the fake maple syrup. It's not worth it. I'm not sure how I'll get the genuine stuff. Maybe order it? I dunno, but it's just the kind you can use to make the maple syrup candy (like in Laura Ingalls Wilder books :) ). Maybe I'll buy it just for special occasions. Not sure, but I can't wait to make something that calls for my new maple syrup (which I was told was canned about a week and a half ago). :D

Anyway, that's the scoop on Monday of last week. More upcoming.

•

read: Fire, a prequel to Graceling (such an excellent series).
taste: maple syrup
see: blue sky! The sun's been doing it's job burning off the clouds, yet it's not too hot here, just right.
hear: the waterfalls from the videos I posted. They were even louder irl.
smell: maple syrup
touch: Micah. It was so nice to wrap my arms around him in the airport and this morning.
think: that I need to get more stuff made for my shop! :)
feel: rejuvenated, ready to take on the world!
via

La Vie en Quebec...

Hello my readers from the faraway land of Quebec, a province all unto its own. :)

My mother and I were available this summer to take a week jaunt to a timeshare in Beaupre, just a few miles from Quebec City. We left late last week and flew into Boston, of which the first few pictures are from.

We arrived early evening in Boston and found our hotel. We had not been to Boston for 12 years I believe and the last time we were there we ate at a restaurant chain called "Legal Seafoods". It was still to date the best fish I've ever eaten. It's well known for it's excellent seafood, obviously. We decided that we HAD to go there again and low and behold, there was at least 3 restaurants near our hotel (they've evidentally expanded).

Below is a small structure in a park that we found on our way to the restaurant.

We had a 15 minute wait, so we walked around nearby. We ran across a street that didn't have the "walk" sign on and were concerned that the policemen on the wharf had noticed. :P If he did, he didn't care, because he happily offered to take the picture below of us. ;)

Below was my dish. I had the butter and caper salmon with sauteed spinach and buttermilk mashed potatoes. The fish was soooo tender, the sauce was so flavorful, the mashed potatoes melted in your mouth, the spinach was perfectly cooked and seasoned. It doesn't get much better than that. It was very dark inside, so I had to use flash, making the picture no do justice to how it actually looked.

The following day we drove to Montreal hoping to see the Old Town on our way up and over to Quebec City, but we left too late, had TONS of construction to deal with, and ended up reaching Montreal during rush-hour. It took almost an hour to try and get out of town (and we never had time to stop) so that we wouldn't get to our resort too late that evening. We were afraid that we wouldn't make it in time to check in.

So, we spent the ENTIRE day driving. Blah. We did stop by a Tim Horton's and had a sandwich and Hot Chocolate, which helped us keep our sanity. Mom though is the one you should feel sorry for.  Only she can drive the rental car, and with all the detours, construction, and side trips, she drove almost a solid 11 hours in one day.

The next day we took a much needed break and rested (this was Saturday).

Sunday we decided to get out and see some sights, but it was SOOO hot we only ended up exploring the Basilique de Sainte Anne, pictured below.

It's actually pretty new, as it was rebuilt in 1965, but it was done in the "old style" as you can see. It's a very impressive building for many reasons.

I had never heard of Sainte Anne before, but according to some sacred writings written 150-200 AD (I'm forgetting the name now) that was circulated in the Middle East and then later Europe and now North America, Anne was the mother of the Virgin Mary. It tells of how her and her husband Joachim met and married and how they raised Mary to be the other of the Messiah. She was evidentally barren and became pregnant with Mary miraculously. People from all over the world venerate her as Jesus' grandmother and this place had a TON of pilgrims coming for a pilgrimage, healing, intercession, etc. When the story was brought to Quebec, it really resonated with the Native Tribes living in Quebec. This church (it was still just a church then) did a good job of ministering to them and helping them with their needs. Also, this church's priests and nuns were well known for their care and concern of the poor, in particular the poor children and are today honored for their contributions to the community.

One of the most striking things is how alive this basilica is. It is not filled with tourists, but locals and pilgrims. There was a service going on when we arrived late Sunday morning, as we expected, but at least 200 people were there specifically for it. I've been to a very good share of Basilicas in my life so far, and this one has been the most well-loved and well-used that I've seen with maybe the exception of St. Peter's in Vatican City (and there there's so many people, it's hard to tell who's all tourists and who's not).

The decor here was also quite different. Modern artists from the area and all over the world came to decorate the Basilica. There was a FULL fresco for the floors, copper statues, huge gorgeous paintings, stained glass, all marble alcoves, tons of detail work. All things the older churches are usually without or have faded over time. This place was vibrant in color. Underneath the sanctuary was the lower level which was a huge chapel, just as decorated as above.

Below is a video that I took while walking into the Basilica. No pictures allowed of course because flash would disturb people inside, so I surreptitiously took a video to give you at least a small glimpse of the inside.

The grounds of course were very nice. Here's a large fountain down the pathway. It was so unbearably hot we had to "accidentally" walk through it...twice.

We went to see the museum that explained the history of Saint Anne (is it true? I don't know, but I don't think that was really the point. She evidentally means a lot to a lot of people.). But, we have since been informed that there was an UPSTAIRS to the museum that we didn't know existed! It had the old frescos and stained glass that were previously in the Basilica. We just might have to go back if we have time....

All in all it was a good day and was only dampened by the heat rash on my stomach. :P And yes, dampened probably is the right word, considering the humidity here.

Today I will have to post about later. The internet here is shoddy at best and it took my FOREVER to download the one video. I tried and tried to download another video I took of the inside of the basilica, but to no avail. Sorry. :(

So, when the internet cooperates, a post about a more than adequate lightening storm, a gorgeous falls taller than the Niagara, a little art gallery where the sweetest lady directed us to the must-see sites, and some maple sugar. :)

If any of you blogging readers know how to put accents into text, I'd be much appreciated. The keystrokes for PC don't work. I haven't tried copy/paste yet from another document.

•

read: Fire, part of the continuing series of "Graceling" This was an EXCELLENT book. I would recommend to anyone, but if you like fantasy, it's a MUST.
taste: maple caramel yogurt
see: a computer screen I suppose
hear: the wind kicking up, perhaps another storm?
smell: fresh air as I have the sliding glass door open
touch: hot weather makes me itch *wrinkles nose*
think: how much she is looking forward to tomorrow. Hopefully it's not so hot...
feel: lovely, but hot. I went to the pool today, so I'm doing better than I could be.
via

VLOG post about life in general

•

read: Graceling
taste: Steak fajitas
see: Formula 1 race
hear: see above
smell: lavendar lemonade
touch: Fuzzy kitty
think: that I really miss having my own classroom and am feeling withdrawals.
feel:  Too hot!
via

My Etsy Shop!

Hey everyone!  Just a quick post about my new etsy shop I've opened.  Right now it's just earrings, but we'll see how things go and maybe add necklaces as well.  I'm really into the wire-wrapped style.  Here's a sneak peek of what I have and the link for the shop.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LaceyJewels

•

read: The Wolf and the Dove (another cheesy romance novel.  Hadn't read one in ages...)
taste: pizza very soon!  So hungry!
see: some blue sky!  Yay!  It's been pretty cloudy the last several days...
hear: Micah listening to his podcasts
smell: clean air (it's pretty windy out and we have all the doors and windows open)
touch: my earrings I'm wearing
think: hoping I'll actually sell something from my shop *fingers crossed*
feel:  hungry
via