Walking in the footsteps of Gamance
Anzie and I decided it was time to re-visit Quebec for two reasons:
- We were both enchanted by the series of mystery books written by the Canadian author, Louise Penny. She developed a charming cast – including Chief Inspector Armand Gamache – who live and work around Montreal, especially the cute little town called Three Pines. We knew that Louise lives in the little town of Knowlton, Quebec, which is located not far north of the Vermont border. We wanted to visit Knowlton to see how much it resembled Three Pines.
- We visited Quebec City several years ago – before we were married, I think. Ergo, before 2000. We remember that we enjoyed the trip and wanted to repeat it. Also, it’s Fall, and we hoped to see some blazing colors.
Knowlton is a cute little town – clean, several art shops, bars and restaurants. We stayed at the Auberge Lakeview, a charming, ancient inn – built in 1874. The new owners, Chantal and Brendan, are warm, helpful and easy to get to know. We dined at Bistro Le Relaisa short walking distance away. A fine dining experience.
We spent two nights there. Did we meet Louise Penny? No. However, we thoroughly enjoyed touring the area. One of our highlights was attending Vespers at the Abbey Saint Benoit du Lac. The interior décor was impressive. A long hallway decorated with multi-colored tiles led to a church that was constructed in the 1990’s. Minimalist architecture with stunning stained glass. The Benedictine monks all seemed a bit tired as they chanted. Perhaps because of their countless repetitions. We took advantage of their skills, though, buying bottles of hard cider and several cheeses at their store.
Another treat was the town of Magog. The name is a shortened version of the lake it borders, Lake Memphremagog. The downtown offers several nice shops and restaurants. Again, clean. All of the towns we visited were clean and neat.
Knowlton is a four-hour journey from home.
Quebec City is three hours north of Knowlton. Anne found us a charming apartment just a couple of blocks from Old Town – an absolute plethora of restaurants, bars, cafes and shops.
It’s a great walking-around town. Our place was just a block from Rue St. Jean.
Just before the rampart that separates Old Town from downtown Quebec, we discovered an outdoor Jumbotron. Turns out there was a Film Festival going on. Films were presented all day and into the night. Even X-rated. We watched a portion of one about two comedians performing in bed with naked Nubian lovelies. Anne finally dragged me away.
The next day featured a bike race. Around 50 cyclists made around 38 tours through the town. It lasted about three hours. One cyclist was the winner of this year’s Tour de France. We were on a walking tour of the Old Town while this was going on. A couple of times we were forced to wait while the cyclists sped by.
Our tour included visits to and descriptions of Quebec’s history, including the Plains of Abraham, Samuel de Champlain, Jacques Cartier, Montcalm and Wolfe. It is said that the English and the French still are wary of each other, and that there still exists a group of “Separatists” who would prefer to have the province of Quebec a separate entity from the rest of Canada. Remember when mailboxes were being blown up all over Quebec in the ‘60’s? And the big migration of English speakers to Toronto?
I remember the popular joke of the time: Why wasn’t Christ born in Western Canada?
Because they couldn’t find three wise men in the East.
Prices appear to be expensive until you do the math. Canadian currency is about 1.33% higher than U.S.
We discovered a jazz club in Old Town, Bar Ste. Angel. The owner is a jazz guitarist, whose last name is Ste Angel. He studied Composition at Berklee in Boston. I really thought that he was living the dream. He’s of retirement age, and he gets to play music every night, as he pleases, and he has staff who run the place. We were there three evenings. He played on two of them. Good music. A laid-back atmosphere.
You’ll find poutine on just about every restaurant menu in Quebec. It’s a combination of French fries, cheese curds and gravy. It’s often served with a portion of meat. I’d call it comfort food. I must have gained five pounds during our trip.
One day we decided to travel to the Ile d’Orleans. We could see it in the distance from the overlook in front of Chateau Frontenac, which is now owned by Fairmont Hotels. The Ile is surrounded by the St. Lawrence Seaway.
On the way we passed by Ste Anne de Beauprė. I remember visiting this holy site at age 13. My mother insisted that I accompany her on a rather long stair-climb up to the altar on our knees.
We crossed the bridge onto the Ile. The island is rather large – about 20 miles long and 8 miles wide. It consists of six townships. As we traveled the island the beautiful scenery, the greenery, the farmland made me feel even more peaceful. I finally exclaimed to my bride: “If Trump wins the election, I would seriously consider moving here.”
On our return trip to Quebec City we hiked the Montmorency Falls. Nice hike. Spectacular site – Quebec’s Niagara Falls.
On our way home I remembered our return trip when I was 13. We passed through a small village with an impressively large church. An hour later we passed through another small village with another impressive church. “Wait a minute,” says Mom. “That’s the same church!” Yes, it was. We were lost.
As Rick always says, “Keep on travelin!’”. Chuck & Anzie
