Old Montreal and Good Old Sacramento

Ready or not here we come.  We've done it up big for our fortieth anniversary and now we need to come home and rest up for the next party!  We hope you all are up for seeing us back.  Quick-scamper, scamper and do everything you thought you would do while we were gone.  Now's your last chance.  We enjoyed our last day of our trip in the old town of Montreal.  We had breakfast at our hotel- Chateau Versailles, which was in two stone houses built near McGill University during the golden age for Montreal in the 1880s. We went to old town on the metro- because our car was valet-parked at the hotel and we would have to pay for parking down at the old port.  So this added one more type of vehicle to our traveling- and reminded us of Paris.

We went to a museum in the Ramezay House- which was built in 1740 as the governor's house and also served as headquarters for the East India trading company (beavers and other fur), and in the 1800s as a college for teachers and about 1900 as the Laval law school.  Montreal was ready to tear it down in 1910 when an early preservation group was formed to save it as a museum.  It had informative audio stories about these different periods, with nice pictures and artifacts. And a cute little garden with flowers, vegetables and fruit trees-some on trelleses.   

We looked for lunch along the plaza near the City Hall building overlooking the old docks, and found a delightful restaurant garden- enclosed by old walls and buildings.  This was a perfect spot for our last 40th anniversary lunch!

Next we went on a harbor and port cruise- downstream a few miles past the island where the 1967 World's Fair was held.  I used my telephoto lense and there were nice views of the modern city.  Judy stayed beow deck in the air-conditioned lounge with a big picture window- but I was up on the top deck in the sun and gusty wind-  I needed my hat string several times to save my hat. Montreal was a major port, because upstream falls blocked trasport on ocean ships and everthing was trensfered to canal boats or railroads in the 1900s- until the St Lawrence seaway (big canals and locks).  It is still a major port for railroad transfer to ocean container ships.

We packed our suitcases and prepared for our 8:30 AM flight from old town Montreal to good old Sacramento.  Judy woke up early so we got up and left the hotel and made it to the airport.  Our suitcases were both too heavy (50 lb limit), so we transfered some items to a strong carry-on bag with handles that we had along just in case, and because US customs was in Montreal, we needed the extra time.  We had a good croisant bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast and were ready to fly.  But our flight was delayed by 2 hours and we landed in Chicago at noon, just when our flight to Sacramento left.  The next Sacramento flight was at 9 PM, but it was already booked, and there were about 15 of us with the same missed flight.  So we waited standby for a 2 PM flight to San Francisco, and we had the last two seats (separated), but made it safely to SF at 5:30 PM.  Then we rented a car and drove home to Sacramento.  We drove a total of 2,500 miles during our 20 days including the last 100 miles from SF to Sacramento.

We have learned a lot about our American, British and French tangled histories- so I am anxious to find some good "boring" books (non-fiction) to get it straight in my twisted mind.  Especially about Jacques Cartier the river explorer and more about the fishing fleets and canal boats and such.  I hope you have enjoyed exploring these interesting places along with us on our river roaming adventure for 2014.

Upriver from Quebec to Montreal

Our last day in Quebec was fun- we started with a tour on a double-deck London style bus- with a funny and informative guide.  And we visited the Citadel and ended the day with a very romantic dinner at the lower town along the waterfront, looking up at the brightly lit Chateau Frontenac.  Out table was just in front of the piano player and singer, who provided soft music in english.  And the restaurant served barbecue ribs and pulled pork sandwiches-  what another great 40th anniversary dinner.

Our last car voyage was upstream along the St. Lawrence River from Quebec to Montreal, passing over several large tributaries and through gently rolling forested hills and vast farmlands, green and growing; until we approached Montreal and the fields turned into factories, warehouses and urban landscapes, with as many roads and twisting over-crossings as Los Angeles.  We took a practice drive to the airport, an old habit of Judy's dad, and there were several confusing choices between roads and exits.  Our flight is at 8:30 AM, and we don't want any big surprises early in the morning. Montreal has many tall modern buildings- it looks like they have been steadily building since I visited the 1967 World's Fair with my two high school buddies, Craig and Bob.  That was a big adventure for us (I was just 15)- flying to New York with a bus to Montreal; camping in a little tent with rain, and visiting the international exhibits and pavilions.  

We took another double-deck bus tour of Montreal when we arrived at 3 PM and found a sandwich at subway.  I wasn't expecting such a large city- so letting the bus take us through the streets and up onto Mont-Royal Park- which also holds more than 1 million bodies (similar to the catacombs of Paris only above the City).  We learned that Montreal requires new buildings to spend 1% of the budget on art- so there are some very artistic features to the already impressive architecture.  Walking in the lobby of this building is like being in a rainbow.  And a few older buildings have been preserved.

We found our hotel along Sherbrooke Street near McGill University, and then took the practice airport drive, but when we went to the Old Port and old town looking for dinner, it seemed so dark on the streets, and maybe too late, so we decided to try and find something back near our hotel.  But we ended up at another Tim Hortons (donuts and sandwiches)- which we have enjoyed for several breakfasts, but not for a late night dinner.  We were thankful they were still open.  We were glad to tuck ourselves into bed.

 

Quebec City- where the river narrows

We made it over the Saint John river and through the woods to the Saint Lawrence River valley and into the walls of Old Quebec City to our Hotel Acadian in time for a late lunch of meat pie at the Ancient Canadian restaurant- just like the guide book told us to do.  We wandered through the colorful streets with lots of old buildings and shops and restaurants- not to mention the spectacular view of the river from the high cliffs of the City. A wooden promenade is between the castle-like Chateau Frontenac and the fortification walls- really a nice feature for strolling and street entertainment.  Quebec is a favorite port for cruise ships- including those going from New York to Europe, which come nearly 1,000 miles upstream to visit Quebec and Montreal, but only stop for a day at each.  We have enjoyed being in places for two days- or three in Quebec City. 

We saw a presentation of the historical battles for Quebec, between the french and the British and once against the American patriots in 1775- the same year as Concord, Bunker Hill and the blockade of Boston by the patriots.  We began to understand the strong historical basis for French Canadian's desire to rule themselves in this area.  We enjoyed a nap after 5 pm- since everything closed- and then had a later dinner at a creperie. I had a very delicious chicken and mushroom crepe and then a very-very delicious strawberry with ice cream and chocolate syrup crepe (I ate the first one just so I could feel good about eating the second one).

Today we spent the whole day exploring more of Quebec, starting with a river cruise down to the Montmorency Falls (270 feet- higher than Niagara Falls) and along Ile d'Orleans and including the shipping port- I especially liked the giant grain towers.  This helps to understand why a man from Canada helped start the Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945- because Quebec was the major Canadian port sending grains around the world- this seems to be a worthy effort following WWII- to help other countries facing hunger/famine and developing their own self sustaining crops.  I hope this is still functioning.

I wore a tee-shirt I bought at King's Landing- blue with CA-NA-DA letters down the left front- very appropiate for a tourist.  We really enjoyed all that we saw in Quebec City today.  Wish you could have been along to enjoy the historical sights and sites.  We have found lots of nice places to eat in unique restaurants, as well as familiar places like Subway or McDonald's or Starbucks.  We apparently have a global economy.  Judy really likes the idea that we are visiting France while still in North America- she feels much more secure and comfortable.  The French and British also differed in their religions- we stopped in at the Anglican Cathedral which had beautiful stained glass windows- like this beautiful one showing Jesus as the good shepherd.  I like to remember that Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.  One sad thing we learned was that very few people go to any church now; many of the old churches and convent buildings are being remodeled into condominiums.  This makes me wonder if our modern era with socialized government services and personal freedom is ultimately really an improvement over the much harder life of the past- which included faith and service and community.  We still all desperately need God's love and salvation and blessings.  

 

Avonlea and History

Yesterday we traveled through time back to 1890 into Avonlea, the story town for Anne of Green Gables, written by Lucy M Montgomery.  These are fun stories about settlers and farmers on PEI (similar to Little House on the Prairie) The author was born and raised here and wrote many stories about a make-believe girl who was a lot like the real Lucy.  Canada turned the house she lived in with her grandparents and some of the north shore of PEI into a national park in 1939- to save some of the historic houses and buildings and woodland and beaches in the area. So we visited the house that inspired these tales in the town of Cavendish, and the nearby attraction called Avonlea, which is a recreated village from the story book Anne of Green Gables.  This village has nicely done buildings with lots of activities for small children- like a country fair contest and animals and costumed characters including red-haired pig-tailed Anne.  And they have moved and restored a large wooden church from a nearby village, and the manse from Lucy's Aunts's village, and the school house where Lucy taught school for a year from another village.  I thought it was like Knott's Berry Farm might have been in the early years- showing some authentic buildings from this bygone era.  And we bought the book on CD which we listened to today while we drove across New Brunswick toward Quebec. So we are thoroughly mixed up about where we are and when we are.  We are celebrating our own story of love and family and memories and adventures together.

The PEI countryside is exceptionally picturesque.  The greenest fields and woodlands, rolling hills, and many coastal bays and marshlands with bridges on the winding roads.  The most distinctive feature are the white wooden churches with tall steeples.  Here are a few pictures to give you a feel for the story-land we have traveling through. 

It was raining all day, but was just drizzling when we made it to King's Landing near Fredericton NB.  Because it was 4:10 and open only to 5 pm, the woman let us in the restored village of several houses and many barns with outbuildings for free.   Most people spend several hours, but we made it into 4 houses and a carpenters barn and other barns with horses and pigs in 45 minutes, taking pictures of many rooms.  The guides were costumed and they had great furniture and kitchen articles in the rooms from the 1820-1890 period.  The village was created in the 1960s because a large dam was being constructed that would flood many of the river towns; this was a preservation project that was initially opened in 19__; they had banners celebrating their 40th year anniversary (isn't that sweet). And because we have both enjoyed old houses and historic sites since our early years together, this was a fun surprise- to see another village together.  A very nice spin tour of the old houses.  We finally made it to Edmudnston NB near the tip of Maine, and found a very nice restaurant in the historic town of Woodstock NB.  Tomorrow we hope to arrive in Quebec City by early afternoon, in time to see something French looking; we are headed west.