Wandering around the streets of Québec City
This past week we spent in Québec on our annual RV trip. We flew into Montreal very late Sunday night (actually it was early Monday morning), thankfully we had a booked our first night at the Airport Marriott. We picked up our RV around noon on Monday and we were off. Our first stop was Québec City where we wandered around the old town for a couple of hours. Then it was on to our first night in Saguenay Fjord where we would be spending the week.
At the Notre Dame du Saguenay Statue overlooking the fjord
Our first full day was spent hiking to the Notre Dame statue in Saguenay Fjord National Park. It was a bit longer than we expected and it rained quite a bit but it was a beautiful hike with spectacular views of the fjord.
Our one night of fine dining at Auberge La Fjordelaise
That night we booked a fine dining establishment in L’Anse St Jean called Auberge La Fjordelaise which was fantastic, our best meal of the trip. It was a B&B run by an elderly French couple who spoke no English but we communicated ok with Jude practicing his French, and Marcy for that matter.
Jumping off the pier at Parc Aventures Cap Jaseux
The next day we moved camp to the other side of the fjord, staying in a more rustic setting at an RV Park called Parc Aventures Cap Jaseux. As the name suggests, this was an adventure park as well as a campground and was everyone’s favorite place on the trip. They had a pier for jumping off, sea kayaking, a ropes course, volleyball and more.
Sea kayaking on the fjord
We spent more of our time on the beach. The water was cold (well under 70 degrees) but the kids didn’t seem to mind. Marcy joined in as well but I wasn’t feeling that great so I stayed out of the water. Although we all went seak kayaking one afternoon, which was a blast.
At the Beluga whale viewing area
The next day we had lunch in the cute town of St Rose Du Nord, and then we stopped at Baie Sainte Marguerite to see if we could spot some beluga whales. There was a 4-mile out and back hike to a viewing area, and sure enough we saw a flew spouts from blowholes in the distance that were undoubtedly whales.
Outside our RV, a converted ambulance
Our last day was spent mainly driving back to Montreal although we did manage a quick stop at Montmorency Falls near Québec City. Then it was to our hotel in Montreal for our last night. We just wandered around the city and grabbed some dinner.
On a hike to the top of Mount Royal (where Montreal gets its name)
Montreal is one of the few cities in the world that has a mountain, really a large hill (740 feet elevation), on the very outskirts of downtown. It took less than an hour, this morning, for us to walk from our hotel to its summit. That was our last adventure before heading home this afternoon.
I should also mention that Jude and I were in England the previous week. Jude was at his International soccer camp north of London and I was on a work trip to London. Jude loved his camp, particularly meeting kids from all over Europe. The counselors/coaches were great and he said he got a lot out of it. But we were both really tired with less than 24 hours at home between trips. The lack of sleep didn’t help fend off a cold that we both experienced during the first part of the Canada trip.
One reason we were happy to return to Denver was to see Olive and Pickles, who stayed home with our housesitter. Both animals seem happy to have us home.