Summer in Canada
After spending the month of June visiting family and friends and seeing all our doctors, we took off to Canada. This past winter season in the Bahamas we met and befriended several cruisers from Canada. They all invited us to visit them this summer. Having never been to eastern Canada, we decided to take a trip up to the area this summer.
Our first visit was to some friends who live on a farm about an hour outside Toronto. I always thought of Canada as a frozen tundra, except for maybe 2 weeks a year. But it was hot enough in Toronto that we actually needed air conditioning reaching the high 80s Fahrenheit. My knowledge of Canadian geography was not as comprehensive as I thought; I did not realize the latitude of the Toronto area is about the same as northern Michigan or the Boston area. However, our hosts did admit that this was warmer than usual for the Toronto area, and it turned out to be the warmest period of our trip.
Typical Street in Old Quebec
We visited a couple other cruising friends who have summer homes on lakes in Ontario and then went on to Quebec City where we rented an apartment for a month. Quebec City is about a 10 hour drive northeast of Toronto and it is considerably cooler. Quebec City is the same latitude as northern Maine. We have been here in Quebec City for 3 weeks and we have yet to use the air conditioning.
Quebec City is a little slice of France in North America. I had always read in travel guides that everyone in Quebec speaks French as their everyday language, but I thought that was just embellishment by the travel industry. But it is true, everyone speaks French and they assume you do as well. As an American, it is strange meeting people on the streets of Quebec who look just like us, same ethnic features, same clothes and hair styles, same everything in outward appearance, but then speak to you in a foreign language.
Catholic church in Place Royale, the oldest Plaza in Quebec
However, almost everyone here speaks English. And, contrary to what some have said, they were happy to do so. The people here could not have been nicer to us, which is a good thing because we could not have gotten very far with our high school French.
Quebec City’s history revolves around the strategic location of the city on the St. Lawrence River as a prime trading location to the Canadian part of North America. The area had numerous battles between the French and British to occupy the location. As such, Quebec City has an impressive stone wall that surrounds the old part of the city. This wall was built in phases from the late 1600s to the late 1800s. Quebec City is the only city in North America with such a wall.
Musee Du Fort, a Popular Tourist spot
I have included a few pictures of the old section of Quebec City. It is a wonderful place to visit (in the summer) and has lots of activities to keep busy.
From Quebec we are heading to the Canadian Maritimes, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, to visit a few more Canadian friends before returning to Maryland.
Dena in the lower old town in front of Le Chateau Frontenac, an impressive hotel in Quebec
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Ted we met you and Dena on the boat cruise in Baddeck and discussed sailboats. I wanted to thank you for all of your helpful advice on retirement and sailing. I have gone back to the beginning and read every single post and I found this blog to be extremely helpful to me. Great job I wish you all the best in your sailing and retirement Tony and Laura