We all learn English, but we are French!

 May 22, 2023

We all learn English, but we are French!

We arrived in Quebec about 7 am, then ashore at 7:30 and off on a tour of the city and countryside by 8. The restored, old Quebec City is close by the dock. We wandered about, learning some history from our elfin guide, Real (Ray-Al). It was early Sunday morning so none of the shops or Funicular that climbs the hill (Quebec is atop a 300 foot cliff) to the impressive  Frontenac Hotel were open. We, instead, relied on Andre, the driver, to navigate the winding, narrow streets up to the castle on the hill. Wonderful views of the city below and river beyond plus a Starbucks!

If I learned anything about Canadian history in school, it is long forgotten. Quebec was constantly battled over by French, British, Spanish, American - you name it - forces. At one time the city was surrounded by a double set of walls with ditch in between. Some of the walls and gates are still standing. It had rained the day before we arrived so everything was clean and the trees and lawns so green. Like Montreal, Quebec has green belts with bicycle/walking paths along the river front for miles and miles. In the winter these become snowy paths (snow on the ground from November to April) for cross country skiing. Quebec also has some spectacular and enormous parks. The day was supposed to be cold and rainy but instead wasn’t quite sunny, but was dry. People everywhere taking advantage of the weather, walking, riding bikes, etc. Lots of challenging hills and electric bikes about. 

It is also very French. Primary signage is in French with English translation most of the time. We’d been warned that the Quebequois are a bit militant RE speaking French, but those we encountered were bilingual. A jaunty Bon jour, or merci from us was acknowledged with a smile. As Real told us, “we study English from first grade through twelfth, but we are French.” Hey, if that means pain au chocolat for breakfast, French it is!

We crossed a bridge over the St Lawrence (according to Real it needs to be replaced, and soon. (Probably would have been better to hear AFTER we’d crossed, not mid-bridge!) to Orleans Island, approximately five by 20 miles. Now I can’t remember why, but plots of land with 100 feet of river front and one mile deep were handed out to be farmed. By law the land must be farmed not developed into condos, so the farms stay in the families for generations. Real told us his niece farms flowers on their family’s land. It is a popular day trip from Quebec to buy farm fresh produce and fruit and enjoy a day in the country. We stopped at a maple syrup farm to learn a bit of that process and buy all things maple-flavored before recrossing that bridge and on down the road to a copper artisan. Don’t think I thought “a day in the country” meant stopping at shops, but oh, well. We spent a hour or so at a gorgeous minor basillica, St. Anne’s, then up the “old road” for lunch.

We sat with some nice people at lunch. Nice, normal people. Where are the wing nuts? The ones a bit off plumb that usually cross my path. It seems like everyone is fairly quiet, not an outrageous one in the bunch. I did notice that the live music repertoires around the ship have  morphed from Big Band (Adieu, Best Generation) to Motown and 60s/70s soft rock (And Hello, Boomer). It’s a short cruise, just seven days, a gentle itinerary with gentle activities that involves just the slightest bit of international travel and time changes. And speaking of, we do go from Eastern to Maritime and back to Eastern time on this trip. Even though we weren’t yet in the Maritime time zone, the clocks went forward an hour after we left Quebec. Captain’s ship, Captain’s time. No one really cares, but all those smart phones we’re relying on are not going to advance that hour until we cross that time zone line. Monday is a cruising day so it doesn’t really matter what time it is unless you’re an hour late for Sunrise Fitness. This will not be an issue pour moi…