On Ferry Heading to Quebec City
Funiculaire up to the Top
At the Entrance to Walled Quebec City
Maccas Menu En Francais
Chocolate Museum
Christmas Shop
Aussie Wine bought in Quebec
Chocolate Pots
Venison FiletQuebec Province has been a real adventure for us. Over here, RVs are known as VRs (Vehicles Recreationale), all of the road signs are in French only, and very few locals in Quebec City speak English. In all of the campgrounds we stayed in, every RV (bar ours & one from British Columbia) was registered in Quebec, unlike in the US where the campers are from all over USA. Apart from the couple from British Columbia, we were the only English speaking people in the campgrounds, but fortunately the managers could speak un peu (a little) English – very little in fact. We got by with a few ‘bonjours’, but it was a little more difficult when we went to a restaurant with Bev & Ross and not only was the menu totally in French, but the only waitress there couldn’t speak English. We got by, and our French improved after a few vin rouges (red wines).
Sunday was a beautiful day. We left our RV on the banks of the St Lawrence River and caught a ferry across to Quebec City. After a delightful morning tea in Du Petite Champlain, we caught the Funiculaire up to the main part of town. It was a stunning spring day and a joy to be out walking in such a quaint and historic area. The main street was blocked off for pedestrian traffic only (perhaps this happens every Sunday?) which made for a very pleasant 10 minute stroll outside the walls to the Chocolate Museum 3 blocks up. Thanks for that tip Alison! We enjoyed the free chocolate squares and the interesting display before buying some dark chocolate with ginger. If I hadn’t already had dark chocolate with chili in the fridge, I would have bought that instead! Next stop lunch in a boulangerie – bakery. Lovely fresh roast beef roll, followed by a superb flan – we shared both! The coffee in Quebec is as close as we have come to our Flat Whites back home (Sandy, come to Quebec for your coffee!). We wandered along and came to the oldest existing cemetery in the whole province of Quebec. I then saw two Christmas Shops and eagerly entered both their portals! The prices were prohibitive, but the displays were so pretty. Before we knew it, 4 hours was up and we took a return ferry back to the other side and on to find our next campground. We stopped in at an IGA to do some grocery shopping – licensed and all in French of course.
At least amongst the 6 TV channels at this campground, 2 are in English. No Wifi at the campsite though, so that has been a disappointment throughout Quebec. Only one of the campgrounds has had free Wifi, although some have a service where you take your laptop up to the office and pay $5 per hour. That doesn’t suit us, as most of our internet access is done of an evening when the office is closed. We aren’t quite that desperate!
It wasn’t until we reached this last campground in Quebec that we had a real two-way conversation with any locals. The Quebec couple camped next to us noticed our aussie flag and were pointing etc, so we went out and said bonjour. They wanted a photo by the flag which we took. This is unusual for the locals, as they usually keep to themselves, but as it happens the wife is a teacher and her class are doing a project on other countries, Australia being one of them. Later they had a campfire and invited us over (lots of hand gestures) but believe it or not, for the next 3 hours, the four of us sat around the fire and with their very limited English and our limited French, plus a few vinos (they had a cask of the same aussie wine we had in a bottle!), we managed to chat and pass the time very pleasantly. It is amazing how many French words emerged from the recesses of my brain which enabled effective communication. Jacque is a retired teacher who now runs his own deer farm just NW of Quebec City and they export venison to USA & Mexico. They gave us a pack of rib eye fillet with their label. We gave her an aussie souvenir school set (ruler, eraser, pencil) for the student who did the best job in the school project on Australia!
Sunday was a beautiful day. We left our RV on the banks of the St Lawrence River and caught a ferry across to Quebec City. After a delightful morning tea in Du Petite Champlain, we caught the Funiculaire up to the main part of town. It was a stunning spring day and a joy to be out walking in such a quaint and historic area. The main street was blocked off for pedestrian traffic only (perhaps this happens every Sunday?) which made for a very pleasant 10 minute stroll outside the walls to the Chocolate Museum 3 blocks up. Thanks for that tip Alison! We enjoyed the free chocolate squares and the interesting display before buying some dark chocolate with ginger. If I hadn’t already had dark chocolate with chili in the fridge, I would have bought that instead! Next stop lunch in a boulangerie – bakery. Lovely fresh roast beef roll, followed by a superb flan – we shared both! The coffee in Quebec is as close as we have come to our Flat Whites back home (Sandy, come to Quebec for your coffee!). We wandered along and came to the oldest existing cemetery in the whole province of Quebec. I then saw two Christmas Shops and eagerly entered both their portals! The prices were prohibitive, but the displays were so pretty. Before we knew it, 4 hours was up and we took a return ferry back to the other side and on to find our next campground. We stopped in at an IGA to do some grocery shopping – licensed and all in French of course.
At least amongst the 6 TV channels at this campground, 2 are in English. No Wifi at the campsite though, so that has been a disappointment throughout Quebec. Only one of the campgrounds has had free Wifi, although some have a service where you take your laptop up to the office and pay $5 per hour. That doesn’t suit us, as most of our internet access is done of an evening when the office is closed. We aren’t quite that desperate!
It wasn’t until we reached this last campground in Quebec that we had a real two-way conversation with any locals. The Quebec couple camped next to us noticed our aussie flag and were pointing etc, so we went out and said bonjour. They wanted a photo by the flag which we took. This is unusual for the locals, as they usually keep to themselves, but as it happens the wife is a teacher and her class are doing a project on other countries, Australia being one of them. Later they had a campfire and invited us over (lots of hand gestures) but believe it or not, for the next 3 hours, the four of us sat around the fire and with their very limited English and our limited French, plus a few vinos (they had a cask of the same aussie wine we had in a bottle!), we managed to chat and pass the time very pleasantly. It is amazing how many French words emerged from the recesses of my brain which enabled effective communication. Jacque is a retired teacher who now runs his own deer farm just NW of Quebec City and they export venison to USA & Mexico. They gave us a pack of rib eye fillet with their label. We gave her an aussie souvenir school set (ruler, eraser, pencil) for the student who did the best job in the school project on Australia!
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