You know it's very difficult to post a blog a week after the event. We are sitting in New York - we are absolutely buggered and here we are trying to finish the last post for Quebec and I'm just bemused at the lack of memory I have!!! I'm hoping at some point in the future I don't lose the entire trip from my memory - at least if we keep up the blog I will have concrete memories. Okay enough blathering, let me try and think. We have spoken about the Carnival (I said that with a French accent in my head - how cool is that!!), Hotel du Glace (same again!) and oh damn..........oh yes the park. Now the hard part...what else. Okay I've given up - I have to ask Megs.
Right she has filled me in - I'm a full bottle with more accent - here we go. We went to Montmorency (said 'mon more on see' - or as sometimes comes out my mouth 'mon moron see') Falls. Fabulous bus rides - we didn't get lost - not once - amazing. The falls on the other hand were closed but we did get to see them from the bridge and have a look around the surrounding towns that had the most gorgeous little houses. See photos
The next day we went to Wendake (said 'when dar ka') this is an inuit village or as people here refer to them People of the First Nation. We managed to get here without any problems as well - we are just soooo good at this public transport. Actually I'm lying because yesterday on the way home we missed our bus stop and had to go all the way into town to come back out - very funny. Anyway back to Wendake - a lovely little village that is all based on the First Nation People's culture and heritage. There is a recreated village that we visited where we learned many different facts: not as nomadic a tribe in these areas due to weather, clans grouped together and wonderful cooking and medicinal properties of the surrounding area. We have taken some lovely shots.
We actually made it home without going into town!!!! Truly.
Our last big adventure before leaving this fabulous city was DOG SLEDDING!!!!!!! I was very excited I can tell you. We had actually organised a shuttle from the Hotel de Frontenac (that's the Fairmont - bloody great big castle in the centre of town) We met our other dog sledding enthusiasts; Tara and Dianne from Jersey and a lovely married couple whose names have escaped me (just as well we didn't give them the blog details!) from San Francisco. The shuttle took us 45minutes north of Quebec city and we enjoyed seeing the country scenery. On arrival to the dog sledding place we were greeted by the most gorgeous looking dog and the many voices of dogs in the distance. We were given a 20 minute instruction of dog sledding - 15 minutes of that was in French - so we're all set and off to go meet the dogs!!!!!!
Very confusing, very loud and bloody hundreds of dogs - seriously! We decide I will drive first - that means Meg's said "You're driving!" This whole driving thing isn't as easy as it looks and uphill involves running and pushing the sled with the person in it yelling encouragement at the bloody dogs to PLEASE try harder!! Down hill was a little hard to navigate - I'm getting a little sick of having problems with my lack of mass - watching the show off man in front - who obviously new what he was doing; leaned into the corners and his sled turned...me; I lean and the sled does NOTHING!!!! Hence we hit a number of trees and many close calls of turning Meg's out on her head. After a number of hills and in 3 layers of clothing and now sweat I begged Meg's to take a turn. We managed the swap over and I get comfortable under my blankey and hope to god my heart will not beat out of my chest and I hear "I'm NOT comfortable with this!!!!!!" my response: laughter first then "I'm not moving - I need a rest!" This was an hour and half of sledding and we were about half way but I have to admit we hit some major hills and I succumbed and we did another swap...I'm thinking now she probably regrets this move as not long after this - remember the hills??? Well hills have two sides and I took us down one that had a corner that I just couldn't turn into and we hit the side of the track and flew - yes flew, in which the sled overturned dumping Megs into the snow and me into a tree. After the shock of hitting a tree passed - this was the time it took for the dogs to manage to wiggle the bloody sled around the tree and it was off - as was I and I was running again. I caught up and once again not having enough mass and having no weight in the sled, I had to jump up and down on the brake whilst in motion yelling at the dogs Arret Arret (stop stop). This did happen eventually and I looked back at Megs who was in a tree well (this is okay because she is REALLY experienced at getting out of these now) but I did yell at her to hurry up because I didn't know how long I could hold onto the dogs. She put up with my driving for a little longer until the realisation that pretty much every corner was terrifying for her and she decided she would finish the driving of the sled. The rest of the trip was uneventful in respects to the fact that we didn't kill one another.
So people that's the end of that dream - No moving to Alaska and starting up a dogsledding team!!!! Maybe two dogs, and one of those with three legs pulling a baby sled!!!! Nah...not going to happen I guess :((
It was lots of fun - really - a little scary but loads of fun. We were given a tour of the kennels - there are 199 dogs!! Check out the photos even some puppies!! Sooo cute! After our tour of the kennels we got hot chocolate and cookies and then piled back into the shuttle to head back. Now you have read our tales and you probably think we were really crap...well, not so apparently!! The mother daughter duo were a mess and wanted to get a skadoo back about 20 minutes in and dumped each other out continuously. The lovely married couple from San Francisco also managed to dump each other out three times. So after hearing their stories we felt quite good about ourselves. Having said that I AM the worst sled driver there is!!
We packed and we organised for the car to take us to NEW YORK for tomorrow. There Quebec Part 2 finished - please enjoy the snaps!!
Megs at the Breakfast Table
Sitting room at the front of the house
Snowy Day at Montmorency
Frozen waterfall with water still rushing through underneath
Occasionally the force of the water underneath can create a blowhole effect
US on the bridge over the falls
The Chateau Montmorency
The Deck at the front of the Chateau
View of the banks of the falls
Pretty Houses
Towns dating back to the 1700's
Very pretty
Cutesy
ooohh
Elona's french has improved so much - she can speak to the chocolatiers on the phone.
You can get your photo made into a chocolate bar!
Wedding Photo on chocolates
Chocolate Christmas (Guess who took this photo???)
Chocolate Log Cabin
Wendake - The First Nation People used Tipis for smoking food
Hotel Gallery - Restaurant downstairs serves Seal, Buffalo, Deer
Dessert - YUMMMMMM
Elona's love affair with the moose continues
Local art
On our way to the Village
Some very cute houses
First Nation People - were not as nomadic as those further south
and lived in large constructions with their entire clan
Basket
Sleeping area for one family of the clan
Storage in the house
Wood area underneath is the heating system
Wolf Pelt
Smoking Hut
Totem
Canoe building
Medicine man tent - no photo allowed inside
Stories of the house on tanned hide
Read the blue sign under "Reprocite" - We are on Bastien Ave.
Getting our tutorial in dog sledding - look at the puppy!!
Guest Relations
It is definitely not as easy as it looks.
We did better than most other teams out there with only 1 crash.
We did get the hang of it.
The flat areas are the easy part - the up and down hills not so easy (therefore not photos)
Puppy tired from the long trip.
I am ready for my photo now.
One of the smallest dogs but one of the best lead dogs they have.
Alaskan White Husky
Malamute
One section of the kennels
Hairy Malamut
more Husky
Some attention please.
Baby puppies
mama is very protective - constantly circling in front of her babies
Time for a snooze
cuddles
Statues in front of the Chateau Frontenac - Quebec City
View from the park at sunset - Quebec City
Us in front of the Chateau Frontenac
Scene-scape of the Old City Quebec
Sculpture in front of the Hilton
Valentines Day is coming up.
Wolves jumping into the theatre centre
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