L’Anse aux Meadows
This historic site was uncovered in 1960, when a resident of this small fishing village pointed out a series of mounds in the earth that he and his neighbors had always believed to be an ancient Native American camp. The village has been restored and allowed us to visualize what life was life for these people. They lived in sod houses, constructed of soil, packed over wooden frames. They were quite large and probably housed more than one family. They burned both wood and peat. We were treated to fry bread which was similar to the Irish scone so it was hard to pull me away from that table. The folks who were there to give us information and answer our questions were dressed in traditional garb of animal skins and carried swords and knives. Everyone wore thick scarves and hats. The men all wore over-the-shoulder pouches (what we now call purses). Men and women wore lots of jewelry, much of it made by the carpenters and ironsmiths; each piece had a meaning. Life was tough but these people seemed quite comfortable.
From there we walked a couple miles up the road to another site, again with spectacular views of the rugged coastline. The trees were starting to turn colors and one could only imagine the beauty of this place right before the harsh winter sets in.
Saguenay
As we travel down the road, we pass the Ha! Ha! Pyramid, which is a contemporary monument dedicated to the Great Flood of 1996. The Pyramid is named after the nearby Ha! Ha! River. The project was seen as a form of therapy to help residents recover from the traumatic events of the flood, and to revitalize the area by adding a new tourist and artistic attraction. It is 69 feet tall and composed of 3,000 yield signs. “Yield” in French is similar to “to help each other” which is what was needed after the flood. 16,000 people evacuated out of a total population of 145,000.
We also pass what’s known as The Little White House. This house stood for four days while raging waters ran all around its base. It has become a symbol of perseverance and currently, it houses a museum which commemorates the floods. The city believes no matter what comes in the future this house will probably be the last thing standing. Our tour guide’s parents lived in this house. Due to shifting soil, they poured a concrete foundation that went down 15 feet to granite. This is the reason why it survived and the others were carried out into the fjord.
We visit a small family-owned goat farm to learn how to produce mohair wool. The drive to the farm was long and the tour short. There were only 20 goats on the farm, and a small processing area. The wool washing process utilizes a household clothes washing machine. The final products, available in the gift shop as we exit to the bus, is very soft.
Last stop is the home of a local barber and painter which was also moved. In a daring act of engineering, this one was moved in one piece from its original neighborhood and re-installed within the walls of the historic pulp mill. At the age of 47, Arthur Villeneuve picked up a brush and turned his entire home into a canvas of bright, lively frescoes. In a little over two years’ time, Arthur managed to cover his house inside and out, top to bottom in motifs that drift from realist to romantic, human to animal and back again. Not quite our style, but someone’s style none the less. As if that wasn’t enough, while he and his wife still lived in the house, he opened it up to visitors so they could marvel at his creations.
Day #2 – Even though it’s four days later, it’s still cold, windy and rainy. Our plan was to take a Hop-On, Hop-Off bus to visit the other boroughs of Saguenay. However, we’re told they are not running today so we take a taxi 15 miles to the borough of Chicoutimi where we thought we’d find some action. Not so much. We walked the entire borough and found another taxi, which was difficult to do. The next problem was the dispatcher and driver spoke no English, none, really not a word. Realizing our map is in English, we show the driver a picture of a cruise ship, he utters a few words, and all we could do is shake our heads yes and hope of the best. After a really long drive, the driver turns a corner and we see the Viking logo. Success.
Quebec City
Halloween is a very big deal in Quebec and signs of what’s to come are everywhere. Pumpkins in orange, black, gold, silver, wire mesh and anything else you can think of can be found on porch steps, window boxes, in store windows, etc. There are scary houses being built, statues being decorated, brides and grooms with long noses and witches waiting are waiting to be staked into the ground. Probably a fun place to be on October 31.
Poutine is a dish that includes French fries and cheese curds topped with brown gravy. It originated in the Canadian province of Quebec in the 1950’s. For many years, it was perceived negatively and mocked, and even used by some to stigmatize Quebec society. Poutine is now celebrated as a symbol of cultural pride. It’s also called “a heart attack on a plate”. And, yes, we plan to eat poutine in every province we visit. And yes, so far we are on track!
Day #2 – We decided another day of walking on our own was needed. We went to many of the places we drove by on Day #1, like The Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec and was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years’ War. It ended with a decisive British victory because the French surrendered. The battle was fought on a plateau, on land that was original owned by a farmer named Abraham Martin, hence the name. The battle involved fewer than 10,000 troops, but proved to be a deciding moment in the conflict between France and Britain and influenced the later creation of Canada. The Citadel, which sits atop the Plains and forms part of the walls of Quebec City. There are no handrails on these walls and tourists are allowed to walk the tops. You actually jump over one wall to another and YES there is a space in between where you could fall through and straight edges on the sides where you could fall off. It was nothing but fun!
After that we needed food and you guessed it, Poutine was on the menu at a place called I’Omelette. It probably tasted better because we’d just risked our lives hopping over walls.
We climbed up streets that landed us on top of what’s called Upper Old Town. We went into Trinity Cathedral, which is a church for all people. We visited the Quebec Seminary (boy’s school) and the Ursuline Convent (girl’s school). We take the Breakneck Stairs back to the Lower Old Town and strolled the cobblestone street, listened to an old Canadian man play the piano, and wandered in and out of shops. Another great day.
Montreal
Rain stops and we head out again. More people are out and the city seems much more awake. We walked and walked and nothing really grabbed us making us want to come back. We had an appetizer of soft serve ice cream before dinner. It was great. We ended up having Lebanese food for dinner which was very good and then we found a chocolate shop and had frappes as our after dinner drink that were good, not great. For the price, they should have been great. Felt obligated to walk a little more to work off the frappes, then back to the ship.
Day #2 – Ahhhh…the sun is out and the city looks entirely different. Today, we put on helmets and hop on bikes for a 3-hr bicycle excursion. It was terrific. Montreal has a vast network of bike paths that stretch over 200 miles. We started out along the Lachine Canal and actually crossed into 2 other provinces of Montreal. We peddled our way past diverse architecture and through quaint neighborhoods. Our guide took us to the Formula 21 racetrack and we got to ride around a curve. We all had a heck of a time getting around that curve because it was so tight and couldn’t imagine cars taking it at 150+ mph. We stopped at a Public Market for a sandwich type snack which was delicious. Again, I’m sure the sun had something to do with this perfect excursion. We all made it back without incident and turned in our equipment.
Montreal is known for its “smokey meat”. It’s brisket which cooks, marinates and cooks again for up to 72 hours and is served with yellow (not brown, not Dijon) mustard on a roll and turns out to be incredibly delicious.
Our second excursion for the day was a 3-hour walking tour of Old Montreal. It was led by a former teacher who appeared to be really laided back. We didn’t know if we would be able to stick it out for 3-hours. Turns out he just had a different style than what we were used to and it was a good 3-hours. He took us to Notre Dame Basilica, the financial district and part of the underground city. It was built so people could get from point A to point B in the winter, safely with feet of snow. Our guide shared that his uncle started using the underground one winter and has never been outside since. He loves not dealing with traffic or bicyclists or wind or rain. He appears quite happy but very pale. Our guide also bought us bagels. Montreal claims to have better bagels than New York. Not sure if they are better but different and very good. They are sweeter and much, much softer.
Gaspé
We had about 4 hours before our excursion so we walked the city to see what we could see. It’s a small town with a population of 15,000. There is a wonderful boardwalk along the St Lawrence River that’s about 2 miles long ending at a museum. The main employer is the regional hospital. Another big employer is a company that makes windmill blades. In fact, Gaspe used to have a railroad but some years ago the track was labeled unsafe, so there is no way to get out of Gaspe other than driving. There is hope that this new windmill employer will provide help in getting the railway working again.
We had an outstanding lunch at the Café des Artistes. Their special of the day started with butter squash soup and bread. Then came the main course (now remember, this is lunch) 3 slices of pork with gravy, scalloped potatoes, and an incredible mix of corn, peas, peppers and onions. Delish!
We selected the Forillon National Park Panorama excursion. We started at the Micmac, which is a First Nations people, who inhabited the region for centuries. Unlike many other tribes, you cannot tell a Micmac from anyone else. They have migrated into the population and are 100% accepted. We learned a little about their way of life and culture.
Years ago, the French speaking Quebec Province voted to secede from Canada and form their new nation. The vote failed, another vote was taken, and another fail. During this lengthy political process, the English speaking Canadians left. The result, more than 97% of Quebec Provence people in this region speak French at home.
Now we head to the Park. We were hoping for color but it was not to be. I think we missed it. Leaves were already falling off the trees. A lot of the park was closed for the winter but we did go to a cove where the whale watching boats launched. It was pretty windy, but beautiful.
Halifax
We boarded a Hop-On, Hop-Off bus to get a feel for the city, and then proceeded to walk. We started at the oldest continuously operating farmers’ market in North America and stepped outside to the Waterfront which begins at the Canadian Museum of Immigration, gateway into Canada for one million immigrants and ends at the timber-frame & stone warehouses of Historic Properties, originally built to safeguard booty captured by legalized pirates (Ha).
The Halifax Public Gardens are a site to behold. We’ve never seen so many delphinium’s in every color imaginable. We were there on October 5 and you’d think the flowers would be all done for the year. It was pure joy walking the paths.
We also went to an Aging Exhibit on Designing for Dignity. Many creative ideas on how to design items (portable toilets for bedrooms, hair blowers, toilet paper holder, wipe assist, transfer and bath seats, kitchen utensils, etc.) that were modern, colorful and amazingly useful. We spent some time with the professor who teaches product design. He’s focused on designing products for an aging population that, as he puts it, ‘don’t smell like a hospital”.
Halifax is also home to Fairview Cemetery, which is the final resting place for 121 victims of the RMS Titanic, more than any other cemetery in the world. The occupants of a third of the graves have never been identified and their markers contain just the date of death and marker number. Most of these graves are the crew on board the Titanic when it sank. The Titanic’s owner, The White Star Line, would not pay for the transfer of the bodies back to Europe for burial.
We also visited a quaint Hydrostone neighborhood known for its wide, tree-lined boulevards of 1920 row houses and ample green spaces. The neighborhood consists of 10 short streets with 4 to 6 houses in groups, named because of cinderblocks from which the houses were built. The blond and dense construction blocks were developed for rebuilding of the blast zone of the Halifax explosions. They still look great after a hundred years.