Montreal/Quebec, June 2017
The end of May and early June 2017, six lovely women joined me on a tour of Montreal and Québec City. With about five days in each city, part of the goal of the trip was to speak and use the French they are learning in my classes. Canadian French is different from France, in its accent and vocabulary, and comparing the differences was a good study for my group. Everyone in Montreal is bilingual, and that was a great surprise for the group. They would practice their French but rarely did the locals switch to English. In Quebec not as many people are bilingual, so they had to use their French more often than not, which was great practice!
A memorable impression for all of us was how clean everything was in both cities, with no trash littering public places and no sign of homelessness on the streets. Just delightful!! Every day we walked from our hotel to a different area of the city to explore it all on foot. We did use the well-designed and efficient metro system a few times, finding it easy to navigate.
The Biosphere in Montreal, which was built by the Americans for the '67 World Expo, is a fascinating architectural feat. The Cathedral/Basilica Notre Dame in downtown Montreal is spectacular and unforgettably beautiful with its rich colors of blue, red, purple and gold in the main sanctuary, and filled with intricate wood carvings and statues. The Musée des Beaux Arts is spread across five different "Pavilions" with extensive exhibits in each. Saint Joseph Oratory has the third largest dome after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The Underground City covers 20 linear miles with interconnecting malls, offices, cinemas and even a stadium. The last evening we went to see Cirque du Soleil's Volta, in their huge tent by the river.
We took the train to Quebec, staying next to Chateau Frontenac. The walled city is small and easy to wander — rue St. Jean and rue St. Louis lead to the old walled gates and are full of boutiques and restaurants. The Marché du Vieux Port is a marvelous indoor food and flower market. Le Petit Champlain neighborhood, below Chateau Frontenac, is a quaint area of artisanal boutiques with marvelous trompe l'oeil façades.
The contrast of metropolitan Montreal and the quaint walled city of Quebec made for a delightful two-for-one trip. Thank you all ladies, as it was another great trip to a French-speaking part of this lovely world.