 |
| Upon arrival in Magog |
It's been seven years since PJ and I visited Quebec (province) -
the last time is described here - so we decided it was time to return. As much as we liked our previous itinerary, we made a change - spent the first three nights in the "eastern townships" (for this visit, centered in the town of Magog), then three nights in Quebec (city) and two nights in Montreal.
 |
| Manoir Hovey overlooks a lake in North Hatley |
 |
| First of two visits to Manoir Hovey |
I predict we'll return before too long, and probably stick pretty closely to this revised itinerary.
 |
Kind of interesting to think
how life would be with
this kind of schedule |
Magog hotel was "just OK" in terms of the room, but "just what we prefer" in terms of location - easy walk to the street where all the restaurants and shops are concentrated. We find that we do tend to enjoy the smaller towns more as the years go by. Magog with a lovely lake. We find our way to Manoir Hovey in very-nearby North Hatley (incredible lakeside setting with even better food); we visit an actual monastery in a lovely setting (Abbaye De St-Benoit-Du-Lac (St. Benedict's Abbey)) and have the opportunity to hear Gregorian chant; we find an amazing dinner at Tavern 1855. Some of these spots not using a lot of English (though Magog is definitely a tourist-driven town at this point); for our best restaurant meal there (Tavern 1855) we relied on Google translate app to figure out food. Weather good though a bit chilly on first arrival plus a bit of rain; perfect weather thereafter.
 |
| St. Benedict's Abbey |
I won't write much about the Quebec and Montreal portions of the trip because we repeated the things we loved on prior trips - lots of walking, lots of visiting lovely churches, lots of fine dining. Things that stood out on this trip: (1) the weather was amazing; (2) we did a good job of getting out and walking in lovely late afternoon - sundown settings - this was particularly compelling while wandering around Quebec city; (3) we had an unprecedentedly high hit rate for truly remarkable meals - normally if we hit one or two great meals over a trip of this length, we're pretty pleased - but it's easy to count at least seven that were amazing. Clocher Penche and L'Echaude in Quebec (two meals at each); Garde Manger in Montreal, for example.
 |
| At Montmorency Falls |
A new stop was Montmorency Falls (enroute to Isle d'Orleans) - we liked it.
And PJ is quite an excellent traveling companion! We'll look forward to returning.
 |
| Notre Dame Cathedral in Montreal |
 |
| inside Notre Dame Cathedral |
 |
| St. Patrick's (Montreal - a favorite) |
 |
A lovely evening in Quebec city - looking out toward Isle d'Orleans - this is where the townspeople
in Cather's Shadows on the Rock would have looked for the ships arriving from France . . . |
 |
| Clocher Penche, Quebec |
