La Belle Province

What an amazing day in Quebec! We started the morning exploring Old Montreal, but Jim jumped on a freight train, so I had to pick him up 3 hours later in Trois Rivieres!! :))
We arrived at our spectaular apartment inside the walled city of Old Quebec courtesy or our generous friend Janet.  The views were magnifique - out of the front window was the Citadel & Plains of Abraham, while the view from the back porch was the Chateau Frontenac, the rooftops of Old Quebec with the St. Lawrence River and mountains behind! Had we died and gone to heaven?! 
The afternoon was spent strolling the lower part of the old city dating from the 17th century.  The weather was so beautiful, we even enjoyed an espresso au plein air facing the town square. We had to pinch ourselves - it really felt like we were in Europe!
Jim was disappointed that the Extreme Red Bull Crash Ice course had been dismantled from the streets, so had to settle for running down the route instead.

We culminated the day with a romantic 6 course dinner and after a bottle of wine stumbled home to the fabulous  apartment.  No DD necessary tonight!

Officially on the road!

Well, we promised  "after" shots of the van and here they are...
Jim was a bit disappointed that the hockey equipment didn't make the final cut, but generously agreed that Celia's clothes may be more important.  We are both really pumped for this adventure and had to pinch ourselves when we were finally on the road!   Made it to Montreal in good time and had a great visit with Cel's aunt, uncle and cousin.  A little sightseeing around St. Joseph's Oratory and a nice (but brisk!) walk around Old Montreal's cobblestone streets at night. Staying in a quaint, very old hotel with tiny bedroom, but  il c'est bon.
Looking forward to exploring Quebec City tomorrow, then on to Le Massif for some spring skiing. Au revoir!

The Countdown Is On!

Happy to report that Jim has picked up the CAA TripTiks and completed a "practice packing" of the van!  He's thrilled that the bikes, skis, boots, rollerblades, skates, hockey equipment, various balls/racquets, bocce set, dumbells and baseball gloves fit. I noticed that leaves little space for clothes/suitcases, so there might be a re-org....  Here's the "before" shot of the van - the "after" shot will be the next post!

We're planning to head out on Monday after one more weekend of Collingwood skiing. 
First stop - Montreal, then Quebec City.  à bientôt!