A month ago, Jeff and I spent 10 days in Quebec. I had not been home in four years and Jeff had never been. I was beyond excited to see everyone but also to finally show my husband the unique province where I grew up. His French immersion was sometimes funny, sometimes exhausting, but I certainly give him props for trying and being social despite the language barrier. For weeks, I’ve been looking for the best way to present our trip on my blog. There’s a lot to talk about! So here is the first half of the trip…
Thursday, July 24:
We landed in Montreal and my best friend Catherine picked us up. Half-way home, we decided to stop at a rest area for the traditional “first poutine meal of the trip”. It also happened to be Jeff’s first real poutine (meaning not one made in the US with make-shift ingredients). Once we arrived in my hometown, Grand-Mère, we spent most of the day at my parents’ house and also visited my grandpa (who offered Jeff a glass of rum, mid-afternoon). Later in the evening, Catherine came back for a cozy bonfire with my parents.
Friday, July 25:
We spent most of the day preparing for the next day BBQ. My mom and I made cupcakes. My grandpa came to visit because he was just so excited to see us. Jeff and I ran a few errands including his first visit to Canadian Tire. I was very excited about dinner; we were going to my favorite Chinese restaurant since childhood Café Hong-Kong. The wonton soup was just as wonderful as I had remembered and so were the egg rolls. Oh, the simple pleasures in life. Later that night, my awesome friends of over 15 years planned this great night down memory lane. Silly costumes and nostalgic photos were on the agenda. No pictures to show (I don’t think the ladies would approve ;)) but lots of wonderful memories in mind.
Saturday, July 26:
Saturday was the best day of our trip in my opinion. Jeff and I made a fairly last minute decision (as usual) to renew our vows during the trip since we have been married for five years and never had a chance to celebrate with my friends and family from Quebec. Since I always plan a big BBQ when I go home, I figured it would be a great occasion to do it. Now to understand what we did, it might help to explain how Jeff and I got married. So here’s the short version: Jeff and I decided to get married on two-week notice. The ceremony took place at the courthouse and only our parents joined us. Afterward, we went back to our house to celebrate with all of our friends, potluck-style. Needless to say, we’re not very traditional. When we decided to renew our vows, we followed a similar pattern: we did the ceremony by the river with my parents, grandpa and brother. My best friend, Catherine, was our “officiant”. After the ceremony, we went back to my parents’ house for a BBQ/potluck. It was simple and perfect. Some of my friends even volunteered to decorate and I was blown away by the result.
Sunday, July 27:
The next day was mostly time to recover but we did enjoy an amazing brunch at my cousin Charlie’s restaurant Bistro Le P’tit Canot. I got their “Pilois” (local) breakfast…it was too much food but couldn’t help myself as I wanted to try everything. The homemade cretons (pork spread) are always a favorite of mine. Yum!
Monday, July 28:
We played tourists in my hometown! We started early at Café Morgane for coffee and pastries. Then we headed to Cité de l’Énergie to learn about hydro-electricity and to go up the tower! I can’t even count how many times I have been to that place but going with Jeff and seeing it from a completely new perspective was really cool. Of course, learning made me hungry so we stopped by Bravo Restaurant on the way home for a pizza-poutine combo.
So there you have it, the first half of our trip. In my next post, I will focus on our tourist trip to Quebec city! 🙂
The Hungry Quebbie 