Sept. 25 Oh, Canada

Sept. 25

We took off for Canada this morning! A large part of the road was under construction which made for a rather tense situation, especially in the towns. The first part of the trip was glorious with color. The road through upper Maine was so scenic. There was a beautiful winding river along the road, the leaves are turning now and many are in full color. They’ve told us that by the time we get to Vermont, the color should be at peak.
We had no problems at customs. I’ve heard that sometimes it can be pretty harrowing; cars may be searched, people questioned at length and even detained if they are suspicious. I told Joe not to frown and squint his eyes like he does sometimes when he’s trying to see something, for fear they may interpret him as hostile.

Last night there was an optional dinner at a restaurant in Old Town Quebec. Since we had spent our 30th anniversary at Quebec, we decided to split from the group and go to the same restaurant where we ate 13 years ago. It was a sweet outdoor café and we had a wonderful meal. There was a saxophone player performing on the sidewalk right next to the café. It felt just like what I think Paris would feel like. We then walked down several levels of streets to the hotel we stayed in those many years ago. We took some pictures of the outside, but did not go in to see if our “old” room was vacant (for pictures of course). Door to Auberge Saint Antoinne where we stayed on our 30th anniversary.

Sept. 26 Today we had a bus tour of Old Town Quebec and the countryside. Our tour guide was a local French C+anadian and he was wonderful. He gave us so much history and insights into the establishment and development of Quebec. In the countryside, we saw the Montmorency Falls, had lunch overlooking the Saint Lawrence River and then went to a family owned cooper shop.



Saint Anne's Basilica


The man who started the business designed and made the solid copper doors of Saint Anne’s basilica. We visited Saint Annes and it was a sight to behold. The tour lasted all day but it was the highlight of our trip – so far.
The guide told us about the many advantages of living in Quebec, like socialized education, medicine and insurance. A nice house close to the river can be had for about $200,00. and their environment is one of the best in the world. Sounded pretty good to me, then he mentioned the average winter snowfall here is 10-20 feet. “Good feeling gone.”



We have one more day and night here before we head back to the states to New Hampshire.